When you try to quit

Showering early in the morning helps the mind and body revitalise. I ensure I do that early when I wake up. Once I have showered, I can face the day like a champion. Some victories are won, others are lost. Albeit, life goes on. You cannot win all battles. Some are as easy as ABC. Others are fairly difficult. Some are very difficult. I struggle with so many battles. Those won are worth celebrating. Of those in progress, some will be won and others lost.

I have been struggling being sobber for the past two months. I had given myself a target of around 100 days. It never was fruitful. Within a week, I was back to drinking what I wanted to keep off from. How do former drunkards completely quit? Obviously, there is the issue of association. You quit hanging out with friends who are indulging. Then you reduce your weekly consumption. 

One of the measures I had put in place was to reduce consumption to the extent that I saved the amount that I should have consumed. Within a week of starting the fast, I found myself among people drinking. If you are hanging out with people who are drinking and you are not, you look like the odd one out. It should be known that you do not always drink alcohol. If you are trying to avoid it, like a sect, those who religiously engage in it will not allow you to. It is a bold decision to quit alcohol.

Have I quit? Nope! I wanted to take a break but I was incapable of doing it. The best I could do was quickly fall prey. Once you find yourself in the company of those who drink, the best you can do is to avoid drinking and come up with an excuse that you are on drugs. 

A friend of mine who was a heavy consumer of alcohol once went to see a medic and was told to avoid alcohol because he had improper fat deposits in his body. Well, the medic he consulted was wrong. He decided to seek a second opinion because he was a daily drinker. The second advice quickly made him return to drinking. The medic examined him and saw no reason why he should not drink.

When I decided to take a brak, I thought it was going to be easy. The first week, I was able to avoid it until I travelled with an uncle who loves indulging. I took the drivers seat and avoid ale as much as possible pretending that I cannot multi task. It was easy to avoid ale until we met with other people at a certain bistro where alcohol was flowing freely. I went for fruit juice and drunk it until we went home. Home was around 30 miles from where we were drinking.

I felt like a hero. That I had not drunk made me feel good. It was the start of a 100 day period that was materialize with a few goodies. Among them was the ability to save the amount that I drink on a weekly basis. It was mostly because I am a social drinker. I thought I could put the amount into a kitty. Then there was the health and medical benefits. I would not be waking up with headaches that had a stinging effect. When it came to time. I would sleep at during the day.

There is a lot of precious time wastage associated with alcohol. You even become full of story za jaba. The urbane calls them KhatGPT. If you waste around 10 hours of drinking with the excuse that you are socialising, then you always end up wasting more sleep time. What you could have probably done is pushed forward or disregarded because you are drunk like a skunk.

Initially, I had given myself a certain caveat: I would always ensure I was in the house by 12 am. If I were out there, that was basically my target. Hence by 11 pm, if I was supposed to take a cab, drive back,  or walk back to the house, then that is what I would have done. The 12 am rule was quickly broken because I would arrive later than that time. If I went to a company event, then that would happen. There is usually the party after party.

When it comes to the 100-day journey, I managed a week of sobriety. After that, because all the people I interact with are heavy on ale, I was enticed to go back. Did I decline? Tricky. I cannot say I was on drugs because I have been healthy throughout the year. One day, I will quit for a hundred days or maybe for the rest of my life. At the moment, I am taking it easy. 

Hasta La Vista Baby

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Breaking a sweat

Sweating is one of the best ways to flush out toxins from the excretory system. It helps maintain your temperature and, therefore, a healthy lifestyle. When salty drops run down the face, it means that you have engaged in an activity that is blowing a kiss of life into the body. I am not implying sweating because it is hot outside. I mean the glow as a result of physical exertion, most probably training. Being in an area with sweltering heat normally triggers sweating. However, it's a better way to discover the type of environment your body is conditioned to acclimate to.

Exercising remains the best way to invigorate the body and induce a healthy sweat. Yet, the mere thought of working out causes the body to instinctively cringe and involuntarily shudder. It is rarely an activity you approach with fervent zeal and enthusiasm. Very few can transform working out from being a daunting task into a rewarding ritual that makes the body look forward to such a positive experience.

Ideally, you force your body to go through the torture and discomfort associated with physical exercises. Even simple exercises like raising your arms can be challenging if you are not used to them. It may appear simple to hold your hands aloft for 2 minutes until you have to start progressing from easy to extra strenuous versions that add complexity. 

If you increase the number of repetitions and sets, then your body automatically ignites that burning sensation, which signals the onset of fatigue. It is normally a fiery sensation that builds muscle strength and endurance. Over time, you adapt and become more resilient. It is wise to make small changes over time. Do not expect to achieve it all at once. Evolve your habits to suit what you have immersed yourself in. However, if you make the mistake of forgoing consistency, you will easily regress.

Once in a while, I exercise because I sit a lot. In a day, I spend close to 12 hours seated. I could be working to make money or engage in other hobbies that involve sitting, like writing or reading. The two hobbies are closely linked and have a strong correlation. Therefore, I allocate a lot of time to them. Luckily, I can sharpen my mind and strengthen my mental muscular memory in bed. 

I normally flip through my phone or a read book. I prefer reading eBooks hence my phone is the one-stop shop for perusal. Currently, I have a few physical books. But I plan to increase my collection in the coming months. That said, it has never crossed my mind that I should go to a bookshop or even order some online.

While reading can be done in bed, writing requires a chair and desk to candidly engage in. Asked, I spend more time reading. Sometimes, I wake up in the middle of the night because my sleep is disrupted because of a salivary chock, a cough or an impending pee. If I have not fallen back to sleep after thirty minutes, I usually turn to reading blogs. 

What works best is skimming through a book. Some sites offer free eBooks, provided you subscribe and become a platform member. As usual, the websites take advantage of your data and use it to their advantage to tailor advertisements that algorithms think suit your age, gender, and all other traits that they deduce from your profile given the kind of books you read. Of course, I clear cookies, cache, and web history after a while to avoid being marketed products that lead to frivolous purchases.

I often end up lousy and lethargic while indulging in the two hobbies. Fortunately, my body tends to signal that I should get moving to relieve the buildup of tension. Naturally, the body becomes clenched and tensed because of the sedentary and indoorsy lifestyle. My daily routine is simple: I wake up, brush my teeth, and shower. Then dive into the day. Subtly, if you work from home, like yours truly, there is a high likelihood you may get caught up in tasks that stretch for long without pausing for a breather.

That is where a smart band comes in handy. Depending on your lifestyle, after every 1 or two hours, you get a gentle reminder to be up and about. When you have been in the same state for a long time, you might become stiff due to prolonged inertia. That is why a band comes with ingenuous nudges to encourage you to stretch and stay limber.

One of the regions in the body that usually ends up in pain is the lower back. If you are not in a job that involves a lot of sitting, then stand is your posture. Standing is beneficial. You rarely end up in pain because at some point, you will walk.

That cannot be said of sitting. It is easy to forget to get up and move when I am busy involved in a task that occupies so much of my time. I normally suffer from lower back pains, and sometimes, I just overlook the issue because I see no need to work on the body. When I sit down to read, I have come up a strategy in where I do around 50 pages in one hour. Sometimes, depending on my mood, it can stretch to an hour and a half. Ideally, if I spend three hours reading, I do not notice that I was absorbed in the activity. 

Unfortunately, writing and reading occupy so much of my time to the  extent thatI forget that I need to stretch my body. I love lower back stretches because they are less intensive and help promote cardiovascular healing while strengthening the core. Exercises like body tilts, cobra pose, child pose, planks, bird dog pose and other exercises have come in handy lately. They help melt away stress, and you feel revitalized. The bridge helps with lowering back pain. It stabilizes the spine and delivers relief from discomfort in the strained area.

If you do not incorporate a workout regimen, you may end up having a slight stoop. You never notice that the body is in distress because you sit down longer than usual. No wonder there are mirrors in gyms to remind you to shape up. What I love about the exercises is that they are freely posted on various platforms. If you are a fitness buff, you can easily follow your preferred fitness influencer to keep fit. Alternatively, you can join like-minded individuals in the various gyms.

I rely heavily on YouTube for my workouts because it offers an array of exercises. Most exercises are tailored to suit your fitness level or the stage you are in life. You may opt for beginner-friendly exercises and then gradually advance to pro exercises. However, it is easier said than done. Workouts demand dedication and consistency. If you spend most of your time in the house, there is a high chance that you will be discouraged from working out. You might even give up. Few have the discipline to stay on course because you are causing pain. It's wise to join others. Being part of a group helps with motivation since you are not alone.

The results are what sometimes keep me going strong. After the pandemic, most jobs that did not involve meeting clients directly could be done from home. I have been working from home since. I have never looked back because it has offered me a chance to engage in what I love doing beyond the job I am paid for monthly. 

A self-employed chap once told me he cannot imagine being paid only 12 times in a year. Which is what I go through yearly. As a salaried employee, when you are financially stretched, you have to wait till the end of the month for your next paycheck. Meanwhile, depending on how his business operates, someone like him likely earns money more frequently—sometimes even hourly. Not forgetting that he charges depending on the customer. Sometimes I envy him. Take an Uber driver, for instance, turning up at the right location guarantees income, a privilege I don't have.

During the pandemic, I can recall I gained weight in all the wrong areas. I had massive adipose deposits around the belly, which made it hard to walk the way I once did. Even 5000 steps would leave me sweating as if I had been trapped up in a sudden downpour. That was the turning point that spurred my erratic fitness journey.

Along the way, my body regained its former shape. Like every journey, life is full of ups and downs. I have to work very hard because I have a pot belly. I used to do exercises that involved cutting down weight. Presently, I am fit judging by my body shape. However, when it comes to yoga-like exercises, that is where I draw the line.

Hasta La Vista, Baby.

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The Time Waster's Giddy

Is it true that those who keep time and effectively manage it succeed? Sometimes, I yearn to be occupied in an activity with a deeper sense of engagement so that the time invested has meaningful returns as opposed to feeling like what I undertook offers little to no substantial value. 

Unfortunately, we have been programmed to believe that it is only worth pursuing if it has a monetary reward. It's a common misconception which borders on being realistic. Nonetheless, an activity should not come with overwhelming fatigue to the extent you start feeling like burnout is a badge of honour. You end up with dour expression, and become a humourless fanatic. Weariness can sometimes be misconstrued as a sign of dedication, yet it deprives you of certain tenets. 

It may be at your own volition or external forces given the circumstances you are in. When you are personally motivated, you don't feel used because it is purposeful, but when it's external, you may question why you are into what you are doing if at all it does not align with your expected outcome. What's usually the consolation at the end of the day is "Anything for money."

At times, you may engage in very challenging and debilitating endeavours that have no ready answers or results. The ones that occupy your mind and push you to find a solution. You consume a considerable amount of time doing research and getting to the bottom of an issue. 

In such a case, there are two things involved. You can either give up and stop or be relentless and successful. When you give up, like a wounded lion you tap out. The converse is that when you solve the problem at hand after struggle, you get excited and like the Greek legend Archimedes start jumping up and down as if in a "Eureka" moment. It's a fleeting rush of victory, one to be cherished, though short-lived.

One of the drawbacks I normally have is that of being a timekeeper. No matter how hard I try to keep time and be nudged on what I have planned for the day, I always seem to fall short. The difference between success and mediocrity is the effective use of time on tasks that are going to help you grow and shape the kind of future you envision. The unfortunate bit in life is that there is an avalanche and flurry of constantly evolving details that bombard us daily because the world is constantly transitioning with new needs. 

Why don't I seem to get it right? I normally ask myself. If one day I get my acts in order I will be jubilant like a defender who has just scored the winning goal to help the team lift the coveted trophy that is at stake. The kind of abundant joy and exhilaration, so immense. 

It is usually an emotional moment for the team and those involved in the game including the fans who also shed tears of pure happiness because they have secured another silverware addition to their gleaming cabinets to represent their successful streak in the sport. By the way, why are trophies called silverware? Yet the boots and gloves given to players have the moniker "golden"?

Sportsmen spend a huge chunk of their time training to be physically fit for the various games they engage in. They engage in star-encumbered preparations. The number of hours that one takes to hone a skill is usually not commensurate with the brief time one takes to display that you are a professional who deserves all the flowers. 

The point where you go to the Colosseum and the audience is roaring your name and waiting with bated breath for you to race, grapple or showcase the numerous talents that can be witnessed. The anticipation is usually palpable, and every eye is on you waiting for the spectacle to unfold. Other than turning up to grace an occasion, you also need to be mentally prepared to win. Because those you are competing with are also equally good. The strategy you will put in place will be the one that assists you in becoming the best among the rest.

Sometimes, I wish I was as prepared as an athlete on the track ready to face a race at the Olympic finals. Where notable contenders have been sieved out and only the best are given a chance to showcase to the world what material they are made up of. They have withered all the tribulations and finally, they get to show their prowess. 

One of the problems I usually struggle with is the issue of distractions. They are a big deal and as much as I try to remain focused, I sometimes end up unable to achieve that which I intended to deliver on. As opposed to being the Olympian on the world stage whose only worry is how to win a medal, my worry stems from how I will make good use of the time on my sleeves to be able to achieve what I have always aspired to do. 

Like everyone else, I have 24 hours that should have been used to move from level one to two. They say it's the time you put into a task that matters. Some individuals are naturally gifted and they are in the outliers category. What they do does not require so much time in terms of preparation. They jump into the activity and deliver with so much finesse and effortless precision. They are the S I unit of reference. They easily attract the cameras and the lens glare. Their opinions are sort because of what they bring to the table. They add value and what they do is appreciated. Then there is us. The majority remain unfettered and unbridled.

As opposed to those who manage their time well, I don't manage mine the way I would have wanted to. I have a lot of time-wasters including but not limited to multitasking, interruptions and screen time. I can spend hours on end watching or reading content created by individuals online. 

The screen can be my phone or my laptop because they are the gadgets that I constantly interact with when am lonely. I think I spend a minimum of 12 a day behind a screen on a normal weekday. Being a work-from-home chap, I have to deliver 8 hours to the employer. Then there are another four hours that I spend intermittently on the phone and laptop. 

There are times that I wake up in the middle of the night and have lost sleep, instead of waiting for sleep to naturally come back by being at peace, I pick up my phone and start scrolling through online content to be abreast with what is happening in the world. I am not a fan of TikTok because I know its addictive nature. 

Most love it because it has content created to suit your pastime. On my part, I normally visit Google Chrome to read a variety of generalist stories because it is a sea that has attention-grabbing stories to read well curated for my personality. The thumbnails on Google Chrome are my first stop point for information. 

Damn, the way the headlines are creatively crafted means they are thirst traps and irresistible click baits and like a magnet they draw my attention to what Google thinks I need to read. The crawlers or algorithms on my timeline or social feed have been cleverly programmed to bring my way stories that easily grab my attention and provoke my curiosity to explore further. 

I hate the way the digital crawlers keep my cache and cookies and then determine the kind of content that resonates well with what I have been sifting through online. They spark interest in certain articles that am interested in and encourage me to click. The Internet has mind control in it, they ransact your brain and you have no control over it.  Before long, there is another link I need to click and once I am through, I look for another link that I can quickly skim through to find the kind of story that promises an intriguing read. 

The unfortunate bit about the stories is that I quickly forget about them after a short period. It's this kind of transient memory that I struggle with. The use-it-lose-it quality. I never seem to store information long enough in my mind. On the flip side, it helps with the issue of new information uptake because the brain does not have to store content long enough. Some parts of my brain end up forever locked. Content will be stored as a cache and then vanish over time even if I don't clear what's in my mind. 

While there are times I find juicy information that can be used to engage in banter with other individuals, most of the time they just benefit individuals who wrote them because they are interested in traffic to their website. As long as they can be able to use the platform as an avenue to attract folks, they can gain from endorsements, ads and sponsors who are interested in individuals because the target has always been humans.

Hasta La Vista, Baby.

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When you are uneasy

We usually underestimate the value that trust plays in life. It is based on trust that a system will work how it was supposed to deliver results. Unfortunately, the world is full of very many individuals who are not straightforward and they have hidden agendas at the back of their minds. I have been a victim of being conned by individuals I had trust in. 

I remember a few years ago when I had just joined the job market, I was inducted into what is called due diligence which one needs to do before trusting a party that you are dealing with. Sometimes we normally take for granted the issue of due diligence because we don't know about it or if we know, we probably assume or exercise it. Fortunately, the government has come up with many mechanisms aimed at safeguarding us against individuals who are after reaping from where they did not sow.

As much as there are measures have been put in place to rid the system of those trying to be deviant and engage in criminal behaviour, the fact remains that systems and measures put in place will still have faults. There are existential loopholes in virtually every other system that has been built and it is those who actively use it are the ones who can be able to detect the leakages that are in it.

A couple of weeks ago I was engaging a certain aunt of mine regarding the products that they used to supply and she told me about things that companies do to be in business that are against the moral and ethical principles as much as they may be lawful. For instance, when you go to a supermarket, there is a high likelihood you will pick the product that is on the shelf displayed on the front row. The product may have stayed longer in the stores and to avoid the inventory still having it in the records, it may even be given a discount to make a sale on it. As a customer, you will be excited to buy it yet the supermarket wants to get rid of the product because there is a need to bring in new products.

In such a case, as long as you do not check the expiry date of the product, you may end up buying what the supermarket wanted to get rid of. On your part, because you have no idea of what you are buying, you will assume that the product is legit.

We all trust that what we are buying is usually going to live up to the standards that we have accorded them. Yet, as much as we trust, others are having their fingers crossed that you will not find out what has taken place in terms of the behind-the-scenes machinations they might engage in. As much as we have individuals who check to ensure that products meet the minimum standard, the fact remains that compliance is usually done only on a subset or sample and not the whole population. 

The issue of trust brings in trustworthiness which has to do with reliability, credibility and the dependability that a certain individual will keep their end of the promise. I have met a sly individual, those who trick and exploit your kindness for weakness. They take advantage of your situation because they have superior information over you. 

Few of us can walk the talk when placed in a situation that requires that. Most of us are into talking the talk and when put to task, we fail to show cause when subjected to situations that require proof.

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