To The Ones Becoming: The 12 Weeks I Showed Up

The past 12 weeks have been the most fulfilling weeks of my life.

Before I dive deeper into this reflection, I’d like to say this in caps:

I, OJO JULIANA OLAYIDE, AM A FINISHER.

Yes, I finish what I start. I can finish whatever I start.

Why is this a big deal?

Because I have always doubted myself. I start a lot of things and don’t finish. I give up, run away, and let shame and doubt swallow me.

But these past 12 weeks have shown me that I can finish whatever I start, and so can anyone.

My 12-week year ended yesterday, and it was so emotional for me.

It was rigorous. It stretched me and, at some point, drained me.

I realized the loopholes in this well-meaning plan. I identified what worked, what stretched me, what I would adjust, and what I would leverage more.

Today is the beginning of my 13th week, and this week, I am meant to draw out another 12-week year, which I will certainly be doing.

There is no big applause for all that I am doing for my life right now, and to be very honest, I don’t need that.

That was not the aim.

I did this for peace of mind, for fulfillment money cannot buy, for alignment with God’s purpose for my life.

So, the applause of men, which is unstable and feeble, is not my focus.

But I have realized something: anyone who gets that applause must have done some kind of work on and for themselves.

There is a principle for that.

Before sharing my milestones in numbers, let me share my milestones in kind.

Over the last 12 weeks, I have focused on character development, resilience, faith, peace, fulfillment, knowledge, accountability, honesty, making the most of time, urgency, prioritization, journaling, consistency, healthy habits, a healthy mindset, and leaving my comfort zone.

These are what the numbers I will list gave me.

I had 5 goals for five areas of my life: faith, career, finances, intellectual development, and legacy.

For each of these goals, I identified 2–3 non-negotiable actions (lead indicators) that would drive me toward my goal at the end of my 12-week year.

For faith, it was reading 4 chapters of my Bible daily, praying every day, saying my confessions, and documenting what I read and prayed about.

My goal was to show up 75 days out of 81 days (January 11 to March 31).

I showed up for 77 days.

Although I read my Bible every day, I couldn’t pray and document every day. And the rule was to tick a day only after completing all three actions, so I had to be honest with myself.

For my career, I wanted to build a personal brand in development communications and digital communications.

So I set out to make 24 posts on C4D on LinkedIn and Instagram, 2 posts per week.

I met the goal.

For my finances, I set out to build a clearly documented personal finance system and consistently track my income and expenses.

So I tracked every naira I spent daily and reviewed my expenses weekly.

I showed up for 12 weeks straight.

This has made me more conscious of how I spend every naira I have.

For intellectual development, I set out to read 3 books, write reviews (both private and public), write 12 reflections (this is my 12th, you can count), and practice speaking for 10 minutes weekly.

I went on to read 8 books, submitted reviews every Saturday since the first Saturday of the year, wrote 12 reflections, and recorded 12 speaking practices.

Lastly, for legacy, I started building She and Her Finances.

I relaunched it, held an onboarding session, developed community materials, hosted 9 weekly money check-ins, activated our Instagram page, shared financial prompts, and built our first financial tool, an automated expense tracker.

I am so grateful for the last 12 weeks.

But before I close this review, I must tell you the downside of all of this:

Isolation.

Too much screen time (15–18 hours daily).
Always busy.
Little to no time for family and friends.
As long as I stay committed to the process.

Every time I spent time with loved ones, I paid for it with my sleep.

My parents complained.

I had to apologize often for delayed responses.

For every task outside this 12-week year that I took on, there was a cost.

At some point, I was mentally drained.

I wanted to scream for sanity.

I wanted to give up.

You don’t have to tell me that I did more than I was supposed to, even ChatGPT told me.

But I needed to stretch myself. I needed to leave the comfort zone that was limiting me.

Because I knew there was more in me.

And while I achieved that, I now want something different.

A more sustainable life.

A life where nothing has to suffer for something else.

I don’t need to prove anything to myself anymore.

Now, I want a fulfilling and balanced life.

Because while it is me against me, I still need people.

While I want to grow and win, I also want to experience joy and the fullness of life.

This week is for building my next 12-week year.

And I will build it with intention, leveraging the good and learning from the hard parts.

I’d like to thank Mr. Marvellous Sumiboye for recommending the book The 12 Week Year by Brian P. Moran and Michael Lennington.

I urge you to read it. It will change your life.

In all, I know my tomorrow will say thank you for the life I have chosen to live.

As long as I remain true to myself.

Forever is the deal.

There is no timeline, but for every seed planted, there will be a harvest.

And my harvest will surely come.

This is my becoming, to you, the ones becoming.

I hope you had a great read.

Till I become.

With love,
Olayide Juliana

A steward who believes that light shed, knowledge shared, and beliefs reviewed can make both me and the world better.