And somehow, we’re still chasing what we can’t even name.
Every November, it starts the same way.
Someone will post, “Can you believe it’s almost Christmas?”
Someone else will reply, “Where did the year go?”
And just like that, a familiar Nigerian panic starts to hum through our collective bloodstream.
Because once October ends, Nigerians home or abroad switch into emergency mode.
Goals start resurfacing like uninvited guests.
The same gym membership that expired in February suddenly starts looking at you with judgment.
And the voice in your head whispers that age-old December proverb:
“You better do something before the year ends.”
The Annual Panic
It doesn’t matter where you are Lagos, London, or Toronto by the second week of November, we all start behaving like there’s an invisible scoreboard somewhere.
In Lagos, it’s the time for spontaneous “Detty December” plans that nobody can really afford but everyone is attending.
In the diaspora, it’s the time you remember that you haven’t achieved half the things you said you would before spring.
You open your journal from January the one that smelled like hope and realise the vision board you printed still has more vision than result.
And suddenly, there’s pressure.
To finish strong.
To “go harder.”
To tick boxes, even if the boxes were never really yours to tick.
Our Relationship With Time Is Violent
Let’s be honest.
We don’t just measure time; we wrestle it.
Maybe it’s cultural conditioning. Maybe it’s survival.
But Nigerians have a way of turning time into a scoreboard and ourselves into the match officials.
We don’t rest easily because rest feels like guilt.
We don’t pause because pausing feels like failure.
We don’t say “I’ve done enough” because somehow, enough sounds like settling.
Even abroad, where the pace is supposedly slower, we carry that Lagos urgency in our bones.
The emails must be replied to.
The side hustle must side.
The bills must bill.
The ancestors must be proud.
But somewhere in all that rushing, we forget that life is not waiting at the finish line with a medal.
What If Finishing Strong Isn’t About Doing More?
Maybe this year isn’t running away from us.
Maybe it’s trying to hand us something but we’re too busy sprinting to notice.
What if “finishing strong” looked like finishing soft?
Like calling the friend you haven’t checked on since May.
Like forgiving yourself for the plans that didn’t happen.
Like unclenching your jaw long enough to taste your food again.
Like admitting that productivity is not the only evidence of progress.
Sometimes, strength is in surrender.
Sometimes, the biggest goal you can achieve is peace.
Slow Down. The Year Will End, But You Don’t Have To.
There’s still time…time to do, time to breathe, time to just be.
Maybe the year rushed us, but that doesn’t mean we have to rush ourselves.
You don’t need to reinvent your life before December 31st.
You don’t even need to have a plan.
You just need to show up for yourself with honesty.
So if you need a sign, here it is:
Take your time.
You’re not behind.
You’re alive.
And that’s something worth carrying into the next year slowly.
📣 How are you feeling as the year winds down? Tired? Hopeful? Grateful? All of the above?
Let’s talk in the comments or share your reflections using #EgogoReflections.
