3 Ways to Blow Up Your Life (the RIGHT way) in 2026

The first time I tried reimagining my life, I felt completely lost. Helpless even. My destiny as a lawyer had been pre-mapped for me the minute I showed any interest in humanities — it was the only logical conclusion. If I liked to read or write, law was the only possible thing I could do with my life.

Like most kids growing up, you like to presume your parents know better. They’re the best resource for how to chart your future, even though they’re likely to know the least about next generation possibilities.

I was not that kid. I came out the womb stubborn and resolute in my mindset. Even if I was wrong, I wanted to be wrong my way.

The problem was I really didn’t know what I wanted to do. And how could I? At age 17, locked up in a strict Catholic boarding school for the past 6 years, how could I emerge from this island with all the worldly knowledge and experience needed to determine my life career path. It felt too big a decision. Heavier than whether I was very sure I preferred yam and corn beef stew to the ‘new Chinese restaurant that just opened in Ikoyi’. This was too weighty for my scrawny shoulders to bear.

So I deferred to their wisdom. The wisdom of Law.

And it was wisdom in a sense. The wisdom that carried the ‘rents through trekking for miles as kids to the one primary school in their vicinity, through colonial independence and journeys to the West for elite education, through coups and civil war. Law was one of the degrees that made it all worth it. That guaranteed success through it all. According to my father, all his friends who chose law earned significantly more than him (an accountant), which was hard to believe because he was the Central and World Bank to my teenage self.

And for 15 years, I continued to defer until it became an active choice. All I saw was the (legal) path in front of me, not the multiple paths I could choose if I peered behind the curtain. Law isn’t that bad after all. And the money is kinda noicee. There’s also a certain prestige that comes with it. ‘Oh you’re a lawyer. You must be incredibly intelligent. Incredibly hardworking. ’ But even then, it never quite felt like they were describing me.

What they don’t tell you, is that the more you stay inside a box, the harder it is for you to see yourself outside of it.

To imagine a scenario where you’re not doing the very thing that defines your existence. That determines how people scale you within the first few minutes of an introduction. You may dream of an alternate reality where you translated that hobby into a profitable business and regained some agency over your life. But that reality feels like a funny illusion now. Something to laugh about over dinner with your girlfriends, who are battling their own internal struggles.

It lasts for a while. Sometimes a good while.

Until the cracks start to glitter against the shattered glass. Like glossy paint on a dark wall — impossible to ignore. Is it the insecure boss that is threatened by any sign of your inevitable success? The politics of playing office with a bunch of people whose values you question on a daily basis. …like, why are you even here? Or just the sense of a slow, insipid death crawling its way up your spine till it lodges in your chest as you spend day after day in mindless activity.

For me, the first crack was simple.

The people I was meant to look up to, to follow eagerly in their footsteps… they scared me. Instead of a giddy head of admiration, I kept thinking “gosh, I would hate if my life turned out like theirs”. The endless hours placating clients, the years in front of a screen passing contracts back and forth like a tennis match. I couldn’t see myself doing 5 more years of this, much less a full 30–40 year career.

Something had to give.

1. Get Help

My first stop was to get a career coach. Now this may not be for every one and almost like a therapist, you may need to test run a few before you get your perfect match… but I can guarantee you that the right coach will do wonders for your mindset. The best gift I received was breaking out of the ‘legal’ mindset into a world of endless possibilities.. which I later refined of course. The second is the toolkit and structure (and baby steps!) needed for the daunting task of reimagining your life. Positioning yourself for change is not an easy task and can be a second full-time job if you’re not careful — but it is time well spent if you’re determined to live your life according to your rules.

If the thought of getting a career coach sounds too daunting, read from the experts on how to align your career with your purpose (sometimes it’s the smallest change). A book I would highly recommend, and also recommended to me by my coach, is “Designing Your Life” by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans. Comment/ message me your ‘Thank You’s’ when you’re done reading or if you would like an introduction to my Career Coach!

2. Start Small

You hear this all the time but test your ideas first. Start small and see what resonates with your audience. The worst thing you could possibly do to your self-esteem is to go full out on an untested idea, that may or may not work. If it doesn’t work, as humans we tend to beat ourselves up and think the problem is with us and not the idea. We end up in a downward spiral and give up altogether.

Starting small allows you to “fail safely” (a term I picked up from a SpaceX executive), evaluate your mistakes and learning points, and try again till you get it right.

I’ll tell you a little secret. The core reason I started this page is because I’m writing a book. I’m currently on my second draft and was yearning for a space to test out my ideas/ skills and connect with a like-minded audience. An article takes 2 hours of my time whereas my novel is taking years. You tell me which space is easier to try and fail repeatedly.

3. Be Vulnerable

There’s a power in sharing your story. It may be hard to believe but there are more people willing to help you than you think. And while we are more likely to focus on the one negative comment on social media as opposed to the countless positive ones, we have to actively remind ourselves to share because no one can help with a problem they don’t even know about. Sharing opens you up to connection with others just like you and to new perspectives that you probably never thought of.

What is that saying again… “a problem shared is a problem half-solved.”

Not everyone will like you. That’s life.. But the people in your corner will cheer you on to many successes, platforms and awards!