2018

As is custom, at the end or start of year I share my goals and progress as we close and open new chapters. I don’t think there’s an actual chapter closed or opened, it’s comforting to think about it that way but i think life is a continuos stream of … life events that ultimately define our entire existence, there is no break. None. Whatever it may look like, it is a continuation. It’s a mere formality then to state that the last year and all that took place had been a long time coming, whether we acknowledge it or not.

Comparing what my aims were at the end of 2017 and now, I cannot help but feel like I am no longer as open with some of my ideas, goals etc. The reasons behind that are not quite apparent to me, but going through last year’s post I even marvelled at how much I shared about my life and where I intended to go. I sure do hope to investigate my reasons for initially defaulting to scraping the surface with this blog post.

Lest I digress, 2018 was a really fantastic, enlightening but also topsy-turvy kind of year. Taking a look at what I listed as my main goals for 2018, to offer some context:

1. I'm going to write 1 blog post every week of 2017!
This is a challenge i'm taking with [Zinyando](http://twitter.com/zinyando)	
2. Contribute 300 commits to open source software
3. Read 2 books every month
4. Become a strong Javascript React & Node developer
5. Master PHP, and C# to become a strong fullstack dev
5. I'm going to start going to the gym and working out at least twice every week
6. I've a REALLY huge goal to transition from software programmer to engineer
My approach to this is to take online courses (MOOCS) from top universities on computer science and software engineering to fill gaps in my self-taught programming knowledge.
7. Financially, in 2017 I'm looking to grow my gross income by a factor of 3.5
8. Relationship goal is to become a bit more stable and land a partner who shares and agrees with core beliefs
9. I want to increase passive income and revenue from hobbies and side projects to $400 per month.

The first goal of writing more often got absolutely forgotten as I got lost in a lot of noise and bustle everywhere else. I kept it as a goal throughout the year, and even when I started using Done app, a fantastic habit former app, I listed the goal of writing one blog post a week but rarely achieved it. Whilst I can ramble on about the reasons, the sad truth is I did not meet this simple-to-state but lofty goal. On the flip side, I did learn a lot about what doesn’t work so going into the new year I am a bit more enlightened!

I also missed the second goal by a long shot. My https://github.com/therealchiko has a meagre 59 commits as a of today. I did write a lot of code but I overestimated the time I would have on my hands due to family commitments and doubling down at work. More of that in a second. I do not have a lot of regret in missing this goal however, I feel I made significant coding gains I wanted to achieve via open source contributions, albeit differently.

For all the other goals on the list that are work-related, I think I made significant strides there. The technologies were not the ones I was aiming for however as client requirements are rarely fixed. For example, I did no intensive C# work at all the whole year, nor did I use React in any meaningful way. Looking back, I set those goals with the assumption I would carry on with the tech I used in 2017 but life was busy happening. However, my role in projects at work transitioned to more senior-like, as I architectured apps in full and led development which was the biggest highlight of my year. That alone, gave me an immense understanding of some of the architectural decisons I was taking for granted. I will leave it to reviewers but I feel my coding improved quite a bit!

I didn’t manage to multiply my gross income by 3.5. What multiplied is probably my approach and thinking about building income & worth. In sticking to the goal, I had to step back first to set myself up for hopefully, a leap, later. There is so much that was unpacked via some of my failures in business investing that I am so happy I set such a goal and stuck at achieving it despite the odds and tumult of life. I will detail some of the things I have become involved in in time :)

In summary, the task of setting goals has been super important and its a tradition I wish to uphold. I may not have slashed through all or any one of them in a clear, measurable way but I feel having something to aim at allowed me to measure the distance to be travelled still and where I need to put more effort. In this coming year, I am going to take last year’s revelations in stride and again, take a high aim and cock with all the power and precision in the world!

Thanks for reading this post! I am curious to know how you found 2018 and some of the more important things you learned during the year. I am reachable on twitter, email (hi@chikomukwenha.co) and in the comments belowe.

Have a fantastic 2019!