How Do You Celebrate The Big 50?

It's day 50 of documenting 2025!

It's the Big 50!

This is officially the 50th post on Documenting 2025.

I also have good news to share with you.

But first, let me celebrate this milestone!

💃🎉5️⃣0️⃣🎉💃

50 days of consistency

50 days of staying true

50 days of heart 💜

It's been a wonderful ride, my friend.

And I look to the next milestone, Day 100.

Let me tell you a little secret, I've never been this committed to something before.

Last year was my turning year....let me call it that.

I went offline in the months of September and October.

By offline, I mean off Whatsapp, Facebook and Instagram.....social media.

Why? To work on my personal development.

Before then, I was inconsistent and had terrible habits.

Then, I started reading books.

I introduced myself to podcasts.

I worked on projects.

I learned about habits and routine.

How small habits repeated daily can make a difference between a success and a failure.

On the first offline day, I listened to one particular podcast that changed everything for me.

It was Diary Of A CEO by Steve Bartlett.

I realized that the first few episodes of DOAC (as it's called) were just a form of documentation.

He would talk about how his week as a CEO went and the lessons he wanted to teach himself.

Steve said something in one of those episodes.

I don't remember the exact lines now....

But he was basically saying, "documenting your journey is a tool for personal growth because you can see how far you've come as well your accomplishments and lessons you have learned."

Something along that line 🤓

That same day, I started documenting.

I started a blog called, Thinking Out Loud.

It was day 1 of my offline period.

Guess what I titled it?

"I Just Did Something Crazy!" 😆

That time, I would type out what I was thinking at the moment.

Projects I was working on,

Apps I played with,

Podcasts,

Books.

Everyday for 61 days, I would think out loud.

It was much messier than this blog.

But it was a way for me to feel sane without chatting with friends, which I couldn't do.

After 61 days, I stopped writing.

(But the blog still exists)

I came back online, more knowledgeable about how to apply routines in my daily life.

I'm still on the night routine I started then.

I also learned about consistency, as I never missed a day of posting on the blog.

Even when we had power problems.

Let me tell you a secret.

(Shh 🤫.... promise not to tell anyone)

This blog is an extension of Thinking Out Loud.

61 days then, 365 days now (ongoing).

From then till now, I can confidently say that I have had a significant amount of personal growth.

I still struggle with self discipline, I must confess.

But I'm becoming a master of myself one day at a time.

That's the end of my reflective thoughts for the big 50.

I wonder what the reflection for Day 100 would look like...🤔

Don't rush, Duon!

Let's get there first.

And there's no better time to share my good news than now.

Good news is, I finally got certified.

If you have been following my posts, you would remember I told you about taking a content marketing certification course.

Guess what?

I wrote the exam yesterday and I passed 🙌

Duon is a certified content marketer now!

With that certificate from Hubspot, I can secure a freelance gig on Upwork and get paid in sweet dollars 🤑

One hiccup tho....

I know nothing about freelancing.

But I can learn.

Got certified by day 50.

What would my next accomplishment be, before day 100?

I guess we're gonna find out.

I want to say this to you, my friend:

Learn about habits.

Develop your routines.

By doing so, you set yourself on a path to great achievements.

Your future self is counting on you.

That's all for milestones and achievements.

It's time for the highlights of the books I'm reading.

I started this new format just this week.

I would read a different book from Monday to Friday, as well as my writing ritual book.....

(Again with the ritual stuff! Makes me look fetish 😂)

It's actually the book I read before typing each and every blog post.

It's called 365 Days With Self-discipline.

Today's book was different from yesterday's book and it's called, SMART Goals Made Simple by SJ Scott.

So, here are highlights from the books mentioned above.

I read them for up to 10 minutes before I started typing this post.

Basically, the format will look like,

Book title 

Book chapter 

Highlighted points.

365 Days With Self-discipline 

📌 Day 50: On Not Resting On Your Laurels 

"I think if you do something and it turns out pretty good, then you should go do something else wonderful, not dwell on it for too long. Just figure out what’s next."

Quote by Steve Jobs.

"To be human is to grow, challenge yourself, and strive to always become better. 

It’s important to celebrate your triumphs, but dwelling on them for too long can lead to resting on your laurels and jeopardizing your future growth."

"After you’re done celebrating your success, figure out what your next

challenge is. How can you take your life to an even higher level?"

"Treat wonderful accomplishments as opportunities to accomplish even more wonderful things, and not as permission to become lazy."

Hmm 🤔 

This one is speaking to me.

I've celebrated my Big 50 and certification accomplishment.

What's my next challenge?

Well, I can think of one.

Studying hard to pass my JAMB exam.

I've set a goal for a score that seems ambitious but it's totally doable.

SMART Goals Made Simple 

📌 Setting Goals For 7 Areas Of Your Life

"Goal setting isn’t just about your job performance. 

You’ll find that when you set goals for every area of your life, each goal supports the others and transforms you into a well-rounded person."

"My advice is to set goals for all seven areas of your life: 

1. Health

2. Relationships 

3. Business

4. Finances

5. Leisure

6. Spirituality 

7. Community

Take time to reflect on your life. Figure out what truly matters. 

Once you can identify what’s important, you can create milestones that focus on leading a balanced life."

"How many goals should you have at once?

My advice is to focus on five areas of your life at any given point."

"Now, I’ll be the first to admit that writing down a goal isn’t the same as achieving it. 

The only way you’ll get results is to take action. 

The funny thing?

The “action” doesn’t need to be a monumental thing. 

Instead, it’s better to take baby steps on a daily basis. 

In other words, you can achieve any goal by focusing on your habits."

Baby steps 👣

On a daily basis.

This brings to mind a particular quote I come across often.

It goes like this:

"Success doesn't come from what you do occasionally, success comes from what you do consistently".

Another related quote is from Alex Hormozi, a millionaire businessman who owns a company called Acquisition.

He shares business and self development tips on social media, as well as YouTube.

I watched one of his videos where he said these exact words:

"You have to first become consistent before you can become exceptional".

He said a lot more, but this was the one I picked out.

I hope you learned a thing or two, my friend.

But learning is one thing and doing is another.

Try to take one small step today.

And tomorrow.

And the day after.

Very soon, you'll achieve something remarkable.

Thanks for reading 😊

Thank you for encouraging me to write more.

Every single day.

I hope it's all good where you are.

And if it's not, don't stop believing that it will get better.

I'm Duon Ada.

This is Documenting 2025.

And I'll see you tomorrow. 

Ciao 💕