THE ONE THAT CHANGES YOUR LIFE

What if I told you that this post will change your life?*

‘Motivation’ as used on the cover of a book is one of my personal red flags. That I’ll pay 1495/= and suddenly have the energy to change my life? SCAM. I am not criticizing motivational books, or bashing those that read them- there’s enough of that energy on Twitter lately. All I am expressing is what I am sure so many of you have struggled with. 

So sit down, or roll over to the other side of the bed you’re reading this from. Or ignore those unwashed dishes for five more minutes. Your assignment will definitely not do itself, but hear me out first. And remember this moment.

THIS is the crossover moment. The division between your ‘before’ and ‘after’.

Let me ease you in with a short story of my own. Motivation is such a bland topic, ordinarily. It’s the salesman that promises a wedding dress and honeymoon but delivers overalls and a list of duties. It’s the book that promises to change your life in a year, but shows you 365 new ways to feel guilty every morning. 

I was born one morning, the 22nd of March. Now, before you skim through the rest of my life story, I’d better get to the part that’s relevant to you. I was Thirteen. Year undisclosed, because I would like to stay 29 for 5 years without pressure. I met Adema, she was Fourteen.

We HIT IT OFF, wacha tu.

In case you haven’t read any of the previous posts on this blog (you should babe), we started writing together. We did it for the entirety of high school. We did everything that could be considered writing; poetry, stories, novels. I even used to do caricatures of teachers during classes and pass them around for opinion polls on teaching methods. Particularly Physics. It sometimes got a bit personal. But before I admit to slander on the internet, I’ll get back to the point.

Writing was an escape for four years. It was what I did when I really wasn’t vibing with Geog lessons. Or when school got boring. I did it to keep busy. I did it to avoid bugging my desk-mate during prep. (I used to love making her sing with me, hi Debz!). It was beautiful, it was fun. It was nothing more.

Naturally, when there’s nothing to escape from, then you don’t need an escape. So I lost touch with writing for a bit. Instead I dedicated my time to WhatsApp group chats. Which I did with all my heart. If you’re judging, it was a phase. And everyone was doing it. And then after that, uni. Writing just potead. I wasn’t even journaling or anything. 

So then 2019 rolls around. I’m done with uni. Cher called me, and we started talking about goals for 2020. I got into the conversation, started hyping up. I waxed poetic on how I was going to write once a week in 2020, and how I really wanted to get back into writing. Kumbe she was taking notes all this time. January and Feb 2020, she used to constantly ask about how I was doing with the writing. 

This is where I admit that sometimes I have 0 follow-through. I told her about how I was focusing on my career, how I wanted to be those people that read books like ‘Objectivist Epistemology’. (I actually did read that. And it’s the reason I slept so well in February). She wasn’t taking any of that though. She still kept calling to ask, and I still gave her bs reasons. 

Then last month, she told me about her blog. I was excited for her. I mean, I really loved her writing. And she had been consistent with it throughout, so she was really good at it. I told her as much, and asked her to send me the link as soon as she had the first post up. She did. I remember being excited to look at the first post. It was beautiful, as I had expected. But then, a surprise:

She had named me as a co-author.

Ladies and gentlemen, there it was, in all its glory: Motivation.

Now, like I had said earlier, I had struggled with getting myself together for a while. There was nothing like a friend pushing you off a cliff to kickstart your flying career. That sounds a bit off, but that’s what it felt like. Think Icarus. Fly or Fall. I chose to fly. There was no way I was disappointing Cher, there was no way I was disappointing myself.

I told you this post would change your life*. I know you’re still waiting. There is relevance. I won’t try to sell you a book you will not read, but I will tell you this; Fuck motivation. It’s all in the timing. Listen to yourself. If you don’t feel intuitively that the time is right, don’t do it. Forcing yourself to do things will only take away the joy of doing them. Better put them off until the right time. Think of your energy when you want to wash dishes, versus the energy when someone tells you to do it. It always has to come from you first. And if you have a Cher in your life that can help you get going, count yourself lucky. 

I do.

*(Disclaimer: If you feel that your life hasn’t really been changed by this tidbit of wisdom, remember two things;

1. At least I didn’t sell you a book for 1495/= to tell you this

2. You can always buy a book for 1495/= and read it again.)

Hi. I’m Nash. I’m rather shy, so I didn’t want to get into bed with you guys before we got to know each other at least a little bit. I hope you join Cher and I on this journey, and you enjoy it as much as we intend to.

XoXo