WHAT AN UNGRATEFUL HUMAN I AM
A reflection on gratitude, expectations, social media growth and the danger of overlooking little achievements.

WHAT AN UNGRATEFUL HUMAN I AM

Sometimes, the problem is not that we are not making progress. Sometimes, the problem is that we become so obsessed with what we have not achieved that we forget to appreciate how far we have come.

Recently, I found myself in that situation.

I had become obsessed with LinkedIn. I was constantly checking my impressions, monitoring my growth and paying close attention to how my posts performed.

At some point, I reached approximately 70,000 impressions. I was excited. It felt like my efforts were finally paying off.

But a few days later, the impressions started declining.

And just like that, my excitement began to disappear.

I became concerned about the declining numbers, almost forgetting that reaching 70,000 impressions was an achievement in itself.

Then came YouTube.

About eight days ago, I published three YouTube Shorts. Each of them started receiving approximately 1,000 views.

I was excited. Finally, I felt that my content was making sense, reaching people and getting the attention I had hoped for.

My channel started crossing milestones.

3,500 views.

4,500 views.

5,000 views.

10,000 views.

15,000 views.

20,000 views.


I was happy. My channel, which was still less than five months old, was beginning to show signs of growth.

According to my own tracking, I had accumulated approximately 24,000 views within eight days and gained 28 subscribers.

Alhamdulillah.

But something happened again.

After a few days, the views started dropping. Some of my uploads received very little attention, and I became worried.

I started asking myself questions.

Why are my views suddenly dropping?

What happened to the growth?

Why are people no longer watching my content?

I became unhappy about the decline.

And then I stopped to think.

WHAT AN UNGRATEFUL HUMAN I AM.

How could I become so concerned about a temporary decline that I completely forgot what I had achieved?

I had spent time celebrating when the numbers were increasing, but the moment they started decreasing, I began questioning everything.

I decided to examine my channel more carefully using vidIQ.

The analytics gave me another perspective.

Between October 9 and November 5, the available daily analytics recorded:

  • 23,114 views.
  • 13,203 engaged views.
  • 7,884 minutes of watch time.
  • 34 subscribers gained.
  • 6 subscribers lost.
  • A net increase of 28 subscribers.
  • 669 likes.
  • 39 comments.
  • 64 shares.

The daily report showed that November 2 recorded 5,581 views, while November 3 recorded 7,054 views.

The format report also showed that Shorts accounted for 23,130 views during the reporting period.

These numbers reminded me that something meaningful had happened, even if the performance was not consistent every single day.

I had been so focused on the days when my videos received fewer views that I overlooked the days when thousands of people watched them.

I was looking at what I had lost instead of appreciating what I had gained.

And perhaps the most important analysis I needed was not about my YouTube channel. It was an analysis of myself.

There is nothing wrong with wanting more. There is nothing wrong with setting bigger goals, improving your content, studying analytics or looking for better opportunities.

Ambition is important.

But ambition without gratitude can make even meaningful achievements feel insignificant.

I am still learning. I still want to grow. I want OFF_LIMIT TECH to reach more people, create valuable content and become something meaningful.

I will continue studying my analytics, improving my content and learning from my mistakes.

But I also want to learn how to appreciate the progress I have already made.

My channel is still young. My journey is still unfolding. There is so much more to learn and achieve.

For now, I choose to be grateful.

Alhamdulillah for the growth, the lessons, the opportunities and even the moments that remind me to reflect.

Never become so obsessed with what you are yet to achieve that you forget to appreciate what you have already achieved.

What an ungrateful human I am!

But today, I choose gratitude.