First Year Anniversary At the Job of My Dreams

Do not Waste Your Pain

This post was due in August 2020, but for some reason, I left it in my draft, but I said to myself, don’t be selfish share this with the world. So here I am publishing a long overdue blog post. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Don’t forget to leave a comment, serves as the icing on the cake for me.

This month, LinkedIn reminded me that this August marked my first year anniversary in my current place of work. Time flies so fast, and it is surreal that I have already spent one year at the most amazing office.

Often times we don’t get to our destination as fast as we want to, but today I am grateful for my journey and the route that brought me to this point. Looking back at the period I spent toiling in the banking sector (I miss that period, it kept my weight in check) I can say with assurance that it was a painful period in my life but it was all part of God’s grand plan for me. I remember days I would go to the restroom just to cry because I was overwhelmed and generally felt unfulfilled. I would not say I have attained a level of fulfilment at this point but the vision gets clearer each day and I am grateful for clarity.

I was having a phone discussion with my friends and we talked about the price that we might need to pay to do a career shift from one sector to another. This made me think of the prices I have had to pay in the last year. First, the salary at my previous job was higher, and I didn’t have to rent a new apartment.

But I am grateful for this job, as it is God giving me a second chance to experience life and enjoy life as I know it now.

My previous job taught me to develop tough skin because the emphasis is on getting the job done. But today, I am grateful for that journey; I made valuable friends from the rigorous training school and the teams I worked in. I remember telling one of my colleagues that I would not put in my banking experience on LinkedIn or anywhere because it didn’t align with my career plans and all. But God spoke through my team lead at the time, who though not given to gisting with us, gave me a piece of advice that struck a chord in my heart, ever since then, I have worn my experience like a badge even though it was just for less than a year but I am thankful to have treaded that part. I would never forget during the interview when I casually mentioned that I had worked in a bank and the panellists got interested in me and what I had to say. For times like this and many other times, I am happy that my pain was not a waste.

I am not the best motivational speaker and I don’t even consider preaching as one of my callings but when God gives you a message, He won’t let you be, till you type and publish the message. I got this title of this blog post from one of the books written by my pastor, Godman Akinlabi. I shared some lessons in my post on lessons from my first job, and I will not be exaggerating if I said the job was a pain in my joints. Working in Lagos is an extreme sport, coupled with working out of sales and marketing, it is bloody guys,

Stressful days when I wake up at 5a.m I start having palpitations, and fear will engulf me. First, I haven’t mastered the act of bathing in 3 minutes, I always have last-minute change in plans for dressing and days when mr flow decides to visit me in the month it would take me a minimum of 30 minutes to conclude on an outfit. Thankfully, I was the queen of hitch riding thank God I wasn’t kidnapped because I entered over 20 free rides from both male and female, on those early morning rush. I made a couple of friends, including potential husbands, pastors, cheating husbands and club boys, and the likes. Going home was easier, my office friend was such a blessing, God bless his soul, and he always drove me home while I slept comfortably through the Lagos traffic. I was slim guys, always looking skinny and unhappy. This feeling of sadness was not singularly as a result of my colleagues, but the nature of the job did not give room for so much joy and happiness. So when I had the chance to leave, I took it and I was convinced that God had something better for me. I also remember that he gave me a word and His words and his words would never go back to him void.


Pain is part of the growth process, it might have been in the past, in the present or it might come in the future, my blog post is to say that you should endeavor not to waste your pain, instead, learn from it, grow past it, heal from it, forgive those that caused you pain and use the pain to your advantage. I remember how hard it was for me to move past my painful experience and begin to utilize all the lessons learned. For a few months after I left the organization, I blocked those that I felt hurt me and in other instances, I would throw subtle shade at them, but wetin I gain now, nothing oo.

I hope that this post resonates with you or somehow reminds you that your pains should not go to waste and everything will come together very soon.

Your comments will mean a lot to me, kindly drop a comment below.