I think i'm lost

Hi. It's been a while I wrote something about me here. These are a few lessons I have learnt in a few months and I'm willing to share them here.

Recently, I've been noticing a steep decline in my communication with people. I used to be an extrovert. Always happy, cheerful, available to talk to anyone at anytime and always willing to lend a helping hand. Something changed. I started becoming more introspective and I seem to be doing lots of thinking these days. What happened?

Lately, I have been doing some serious reading and talking to older persons on how life has been treating them, what lessons they have learnt and I have also witnessed crisis around me of various dimensions and in different context. I started realizing that as far as life is concerned, you usually don't get what you want all the time. 

I was counselled that whilst it is good to dream big and work extra hard, one has to be very careful about certain things:

1. Which goes first? Family or work? 
With Internet almost always available, I started to realize I spent more time online chatting and fixing other people's problems whilst staying in touch with my family a lot less.

 "Family should always come first", she said(The "she" is a tale for another day). Each time she said that, I just pick up my phone and call my mum to check on her and everyone else at home. They usually appreciate the call and it kinda freshens up the bond. I saw them very few times in a year and decided that that had to change. And so i devised a plan to visit them as often as I can and to call more frequently. I learnt that "a call is worth a thousand chat messages".

2. God are we still friends?
There seemed to be no much time left out of my busy schedule to say a few words to God in prayers as the day rushed on. I was always reading different books on my phone, visiting blogs to keep up with latest technologies, trying to be at the top of my game and to be ready when a well paying job comes along after youth service.
Then one day it dawned on me. "Why am I doing all this hustling?" "For whom? who am I trying to impress?" "Is this all my life is about? work! work! work!" "When was the last time I took a break to say a prayer to God during a busy day, aside my morning and night prayers?"

I had to hit the reset button and asked a brother to pray for me. I started to look inward and develop the man in me. I started drawing closer to God and it all became easier. My life's pace slowed down considerably and it all started making sense. We all have aspirations and ambitions, but let us learn to put God first.  Let Him know your plans. Talk to Him like a friend and Father that He is. You would see the difference. At least I did .

3. Only the lazy sleep at night
That was my motto. I was a workaholic. Partly due to my experiences whilst growing up, and partly due to the extra money it was getting me, I loved work. People see me online at 3 .am and wonder if I'm having insomnia. They try to chat and I respond immediately. The first question is always "Guy, u no dey sleep ni?"

Somehow, I had developed an habit of keeping late nights and working through the night. I had a day job but I always felt compelled to do something new at night. I started falling ill every month. My immune system became weak to stress induced malaria. I was always tired and cold. But i had to work. Experience has shown me that it's not about the number of hours you put in, but it is the quality of those hours. 3 hours of consistent work is better than 12 hours of inconsistent work. I had to change that.

4. Food is for farmers
Eating junk was a habit. I rarely had time to cook good food. It wasn't the case that I didn't know how to cook, but I always felt that it was a time wasting endeavor  1 hour+ in the kitchen? you have no idea how far I would have gone in that project. But in the end, health  is wealth. Good food is required to stay healthy and good health is required to remain productive.

 I haven't forgotten my friends. I just need some time to straighten my life's course. I have started making amends. 
In a nutshell, there's a new Sam in the block. Have you met him yet? I don't think so. If he's not at work or taking those long solitary walks, he is reading a book or he's cooking.