Cue Tupac – Changes
It’s been about two years since I was here. Wait, that can’t be right… My last post says January 2014. CRAP! That’s almost 3 years. I got married, became a father, a professor, and an outstanding role model in society among many other things. Well, at least most of this is true.
However, that is not what this post is about.
I wish I could say that I had carefully planned for the long hiatus but to be honest, that couldn’t be further from the truth. I was just too lazy to log in and write. That and the fact that I lost my confidence in writing somewhere along the way. Not entirely sure what caused this but I’m overcoming it one page at a time after reading this awesome article.
Personally, I do not believe in being ‘too busy’ for something. If it’s important to me, I will make time for it. If not, I will most probably dig deep to find an excuse or two – a bad habit I know but I’m making amends. I think that learning to out rightly say no to plans that I do not want to be part of is very important, but that’s a story for another day. Nevertheless, I have had a whole lot of time to think about a lot over these past three years. I’ll try capture it all in less than 500 words.
Changes, changes, changes. If you have a relative/friend who has just given birth, try make an appointment to see them at least every 6 months. For me, nothing hits home like watching a child grow. If you’re ballsy enough, have a child of your own, sit back and watch time fly! lol! It often appears that things remain the same year-in-year out until a life is involved. Don’t believe me? Dig up your childhood photos or call up a friend you haven’t seen in years and I’m sure you will notice a physical change in them. Other changes may also be apparent but physical may be the most outstanding. Not convincing enough? Pay a visit to the schools you went to. Still in doubt? Attend a high school/primary school/ university reunion and then tell me if you still think that things/people do not change. Finally look up the ‘On this day’ feature on your Facebook page and you’ll most probably laugh your head off or wander into a silent flashback wondering who kidnapped this young, vibrant, carefree person that always spoke their mind. Give anything enough time and you might just be fortunate to see changes happening in real time. I’ve been kicking myself all the time every time I realize that if I had made a decision to do something routinely back when I first thought about it. I kind of wish I had the patience to commit to long term projects, keeping the (rewarding) end in mind; again a work in progress.
GIF of a plant growing
Start. Most of us wait for the stars to align so that we can execute our plans or simply just take a leap. The truth is that this hardly ever happens for anyone. That’s the reason why many people live routine lives promising themselves that the next year will be different as soon as they start achieving their new year resolutions. If you’ve had a chance to speak to any successful person, they will most likely tell you that in order to become successful, they had to first had to start. Which means that they must have had to get uncomfortable before reaping the fruits. A word of advise – simply get off your butt and start working on your dreams. If it helps, start with the end in mind. Where do you want to be in one day, one week, one month, one year, five years, ten years? People often underestimate the power of spoken and written word. Put pen to paper and speak it to yourself every chance you get, sooner rather than later, it will come to pass.
Habits become you. I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to realize that what you do routinely ends up becoming the core of your person. It may be something as simple as smoking one cigarette a day, watching TV when you get home, drinking a cup of coffee a day or even reading one chapter of a book each day. The mind is like a baby- and we all know how quickly children pick up every single thing you say around them whether good or bad. Just as you would eliminate curse words from your vocabulary as soon as you get a baby, make sure you also eliminate laziness, poor money habits and any other vice your may want to do away with. In most cases, it is easier to pick up a guilty pleasure rather than constructive habits. Always be aware of what you allow yourself to do routinely as this will ultimately affect the person you become both in the short term and in the long term.
I wanted to keep this post short so I might do a part 2 later. I knoe I said the same thing about the previous post 3 years ago, but this time I’m here to stay so have some faith won’t you 🙂
tkimani 