HOW DID SHE DO IT? - The Maud Chifamba Story

I’M ALIVE

Consumed by the determination to not only archive my thoughts but also improve on my writing prowess, I decided to build a blog. It was a simple task to carry out. In point of fact, it took me less than an hour to get the blog running. And with the help and motivation of a dear friend, I created a content calendar and publishing schedule. For the first few weeks, I was consistently writing, editing, designing post covers, publishing and even sharing on my other social platforms. However, just like many of the other things I have been involved in, I fell short.

I missed one posting day, then skipped one week, one month, one year, and now it has been 2 years! It has been two years friend; two whole years since I published anything on this blog I created, with so much enthusiasm. The truth is that I never for once forgot that I had a blog that needed my attention. I had content ideas and topics I had written down which never appeared on the blog. No, I was not sick, I was not too busy, I did not lose my phone or forget the site’s password; I, in a layman's language, LOST INSPIRATION.

I still do not know how I lost the zeal to write or post; neither do I know if I have gotten back the zeal. But what Mark Mason has told me in his book The subtle art of not giving a fuck" is that "Action isn’t just the effect of motivation; it’s also the cause of it. However, most of us humans commit to action only when we feel some level of motivation, and we feel motivation only when we feel enough emotional inspiration. According to Mark, This "inspiration first" pattern of doing things is wrong, because if you want to accomplish something, but don’t feel inspired or motivated, then you assume that there is nothing you can do. And not until a major emotional life event occurs, you won’t get off the couch and do something. From my personal experience, I cannot but totally agree with Mark that the "inspiration-first" pattern of living is faulty and futile. I'll give you two reasons for my assertion:

•          You Will Miss Opportunities: If you receive a call at 7 am for an 8 am interview, after being jobless for months, what will you do? Will you sit on the bed and wait for the inspiration to come? Well, I guess not. Surely, you jump out of bed, shake off the sleep from your eyes, and make preparations for the interview – you take action immediately because you know that there are probably other people who got the call for the interview as well, and you would not want to miss at your chance of getting a job. One harsh truth about life is that "Opportunities do not wait for you to be inspired and ready". Like trains, if they pass your station and you are unavailable, they move to the next station to pick up those who are prepared. Thus, if you are someone who waits for inspiration before getting things done, then you will certainly miss tons of chances.

•                  It Means Your Emotions Control You: Indeed, emotions are an important aspect of our lives, which we should put into consideration while making life decisions. They are there to inform us that something is either likely right or wrong. Nonetheless, if your life was a car, your emotions could be seen as the gear, not the engine. If your taking action is based on how inspired you are, then you have made your emotions the engine of your car, because inspiration is mostly drawn from emotional life events. Hence, more than just opportunities, an "inspiration first" lifestyle can cost you relationships, money, time and everything that can be lost when we allow our emotions to control our lives. In the words of an anonymous speaker, “If your emotion is the driver of your life, accidents are inevitable.”

So much has happened these past 2 years, but I think the climax of everything is the realization that I cannot just sit and wait for inspiration to come before I write, post or take any action. Action births inspiration and inspiration births motivation - this is what Mark Mason’s calls the "do-something principle", and it is this principle that I have chosen to apply on PRACTICALIVE and other areas of my life.

To you, my dear reader, never forget - INSPIRATION FOLLOWS ACTION.