A letter to my future self: ‘The only standards you need to meet are your own’

Journalist and author Otegha Uwagba reflects on the next 10 years of her career – and hopes she’ll stay true to her instincts and ambitions. Consider this letter an intervention – a wake-up call from me to you, containing a much-needed reminder to stop, take stock, and appreciate how far you’ve come over the past 10 years.

Because you’re not so good at doing that, are you? In fact, I’d go as far as saying that you’re terrible at it – it’s one of your worst traits (and I think I can be direct here, given that I am, essentially … you!). If I know you – and I do, better than anyone else – you’ve probably achieved quite a lot career-wise in the 10 years since writing this letter, and you’ve almost certainly set yourself a series of new, even more ambitious professional goals. And goals are good! Great, actually. Setting yourself clear, quantifiable goals is how you’ve managed to thrive at work so far.

But you also have a bad habit of failing to recognise and savour your successes as they come. As soon as you’ve ticked one thing off the list, you move on to the next – forever casting your mind forward and thinking about the next thing on your to-do list. The next rung to climb on the ladder. What’s next, what’s next, what’s next ….

You often forget that 10 years ago you dreamed of having the career you have today, and doing the work you’re doing now – making a living as a writer, publishing books, having a platform, being your own boss, having the freedom to choose how, where and when (and with whom) you work, for your work to have brought you financial independence.

Funnily enough, as you write this letter, you’re in the middle of another career transition, similar to when you left your job in advertising 10 years ago to pursue writing (although, thankfully, this is a far smaller leap). You’re trying your hand at new things – writing a novel, working on some screenplays – and I imagine that by the time you read this letter, you’ll have had some successes and established yourself within those fields as well. Perhaps you’re reading this from the set of a TV show you created, or in the middle of a book tour for your latest book! But I also hope that rather than staying where you feel comfortable, you continue to push yourself to try new things (whatever they may be – I truly don’t know where your interests might lie in a decade’s time), learn new skills, and continue to challenge yourself both creatively and professionally.

And I hope you’ve continued to trust your instincts and your ability to figure out the best way of getting to where you want to be for you. People are always more than happy to give their twopence on what you ought to be doing to push your career forward – friends, peers, even total strangers. And though they mean well, the reality is they often have very different aspirations and talents to you, and are giving you advice that correlates with what they would do in your position. You’ve allowed other people’s opinions to lead you astray in the past – remember that colleague at your last job who insisted you’d “regret” quitting without another job lined up? Remember how much that freaked you out, and how you nearly went to your boss to rescind your resignation (thank God, you didn’t!). Working there may have been his dream job, but for you it was a literal nightmare – career goals aren’t one-size-fits-all.

And on that note, I want you to remember why it is you do what you do, and that the only standards you need to meet are your own. To tune out the noise and avoid getting sidetracked by industry shifts, expectations, trends, and to not rush the process, or get frustrated when things take longer than you’d like them to. Because the writers and artists you most admire, the ones whose work you treasure and return to time and time again, who write things you rave about and tell your friends to read – in essence, what you, yourself, aspire to be for others – aren’t the ones who concern themselves with personal brands and algorithms. Nor are they the relentless self-promoters.

They’re the ones who prioritise the work above all, who focus purely on their creative output and on creating art for art’s sake – knowing that that is the secret to producing meaningful, lasting work, which is ultimately what you want. Here’s to the next 10 years.

With love,. Otegha x. PS. The advice I’m giving my future self might just help you out too:. 1 Recognise and celebrate your successes when they come. It’s easy to move on to the next goal without giving yourself due credit. 2 Try new things, learn new skills. Progress rarely happens in your comfort zone.