No more excuses

These last couple of years, it seems like the phrase "in this economy" has become part of many Kenyans' regularly used phrases.

Someone speaks of enrolling for a course to further their studies, the response they get is: in this economy? Another talks of their desire to build their family home, and someone will point out to them: in this economy? Yet another talks about planning to have a child, and the response is... You guessed right: in this economy?

While I'm not trying to downplay the realities of a stretched shilling - what with the heavy tax burden and questionable regulations coming up every so often that affect incomes - your mindset also plays a role in how you experience life. I want to share two examples that have got me thinking about the power of a positive (and negative) mindset.

First, my current read, @James Clear's 'Atomic Habits' talks about how you can start to change your circumstances by changing your words. Instead of saying "I have to...", make it "I get to". Think of that task that you groan about, change your wording, and start looking at how your outcome changes. It's not instant but gradual. For example, "I get to work out", rather than "I have to exercise".

Another example I'll draw is from a book reading session I attended held by Soma Nami Books with Cece Ojany-Bekhor for her book: I'll take some love with that. When talking about her writing journey, she said that the costs associated with publishing should not be a deterrent to getting published, adding that there's a service provider available for every budget and pocket. Basically, drop the excuses and go about doing that thing that you need to do.

What's that thing you've been making excuses about? Can we commit to the atomic habit way of doing things and get that stuff done?

Have a good week ahead.