I will forever give voice to my desires
I am she who gets what she wants because she constantly declares and works toward them.
“Winnie stop sharing your good news with the public or even friends they don’t care and evil eyes would jinx it.”
“Who told you I share for them? I do things because IT HELPS ME TOO!”
“But I am free to share the bad ones?”
Crickets, crickets in the voice of my boss when nobody answers a question she asks on Zoom calls.
She didn’t say anything again. I can’t count how many people I’ve watched vehemently and passionately declare over their lives publicly and see how they got everything they declared for.
I am glad January is over, it went with all the series of advice people give for the new year, the whole goal setting, and the rush to get your life together in 31 days—baffles me. Coaches say if you do something for 30 days consistently it becomes a habit. Which is a lie.
According to Participation:
“Habits require time, effort, purposefulness, and persistence in order to become an automatic action or behaviour. There is no magic number of days or length of time that will make a behaviour a habit. In fact, depending on the behaviour you're trying to change, it can take as much as 200+ days to make a new habit stick.”
On everything
December and January do not determine the trajectory of your life. You can restart anytime and restart well. I enjoyed my December and I floated myself to safety in January. The problems that came did not kill me, they can’t even kill me. I thought hard, I questioned hard, and some truths were revealed to me.
I got to know how people put their best foot forward always on the gram and behind the shiny red apple you see, there’s a lot of rot behind. It saddened me when I knew of two women whose work ethics I admired were deep-necked into the rot of the government and were benefiting from it full-time. It broke my poor heart. To think the things I see come from sheer hard work. It’s a lie, a lot of people work hard but they’re privileged, heavily.
At this point, I shall just admire them because I connect with their works, not because I think they made it through hard work. People lie a lot even the ones who speak hard tongues and cry every time in church and give testimonies of how hard work brought them. It’s not true—the more the theatrics to seem honest, the more dubious the backend is.
However, hard work exists, smart work exists, and there are women like Korty, Alma, Blessing Abeng, Favour Ogazi, Oyin, Mara, Maria Britze, Ekwy, Mommy Gracie, me and numerous women who work hard and define our successes differently.
I’ve also seen and experienced the power that comes with knowing what you do well. Writing from your heart, designing from your passion, or running your business from your need to help, reaching from the wells of your experiences, and pulling out gold—taking from your hurt, dreams, or mistakes and turning them into educational gems.
For me, writing remains my miracle.
With all the whirlwinds of January, I paused and caught my breath. My passport issue is still there, I don’t think the man in charge of it is doing what he ought to but I have decided to declare positively about it and everything else.
On lessons
In light of everything January brought, one resolution I have is to amplify the voice of the good things in my life in the ways I can because there’s good in and around me.
I shall declare positively about things stressing me or worry about it long enough until I find a solution. Is it tough? I’m tougher lol.
Talk about your dreams positively with so much power that no negativity comes close. If you don’t have them yet, keep living life.
You may think your life now is predictable, you might have the urge to shake things up because every day is the same boring routine. But the truth is you never know which day will be the day that answers you’ve been praying for will come. So each day isn’t as predictable as you think it is.
Habits take time to build, just try to find reasons why you should remain consistent every day. If you find yourself doing too much to convince yourself then perhaps you’re not ready yet for that habit you seek.
For the umpteenth time Winifred, nobody’s life or relationship is goals, aside from the dresses on Pinterest of course—those are totally goals lol.
Recognize the time you used to just be and maybe rather than just be in those times try doing something for you.
I discovered that I love seeing women succeed because it shows me that I can too!
I am learning how to share just the right amount of vulnerability without being cringe or oversharing.
Find reasons why you chose to do what you do and fall in love with it all over again.
I don't believe in evil eyes. I believe that if I can share the bad I should also share the good when they come or else I am amplifying the bad in my life. Knowing the laws of attraction life would continuously give you that which you seek.
On goals/bucket list
Be beautiful, be helpful, be resourceful
Oh, I got my prescribed glasses and meds and almost everything on my previous goals list.
I want that I travel to fine places with my passport this year, specifically Cape Verde, Togo or Ivory Coast.
I shall eat fine pasta and read good books.
I want that I dress like the characters on Pinterest and be as fashionable as I can be in my own style.
I want that I get an hourly paying job in tech as a product designer paying me for 6-8 hours a day. I've been learning and learning.
I got a scholarship to a product design school to begin April. I got into another school for an associate degree in editing and creative writing.
I want to do very well and land a tech role by June/July.
I want that I be my best best best self this 2024 and my passport in my hands in the name of Winifred Msooter Liam.
P.S I studied a language and their manifestations go like this when translated: “I want that I be —.” and the English version of the Serbian language made sense to me and I wrote my goals and bucket list that way. So it is intentional. (Wink)
On exciting opportunities
Opportunities for creatives are on Prazzle Inc
Opportunities for artists on Amaka Studios
Go to matchly.work for remote roles open to Africans living in Africa. They were formerly known as Japaroles and true to their name they've helped a lot of my friends secure roles that have taken them to the UK, Netherlands, and the US.
On music
On movie
Marry My Husband: A revenge drama where a woman is given a second chance to live again and make different choices. It made me wonder if I had a second chance and what choices I would make. Haha, and I didn't need to think twice. I know the choice I definitely would not be making.
Concluding note
Consistency is hard, which is why we must never lose sight of why we are doing things. Celebrate the good as much as you share the hard times. If you wish not to overshare, seek a way to strike a balance. All will be well in due time and soon you'll sit by the beach sipping coconut water and listening to the crashing waves on some island country with your significant other and the world will be well—if that's what you want of course.
As for me, I'd rather be in a pastry shop somewhere in Lisbon tasting pastries that melt in your mouth and taste like dreams from the cosmos.
So take care, and don’t forget to make noise as you declare and work towards what you want. Say it, say it, say it, anybody who’s uncomfortable can go out the corner. Me I will say it like a mantra. If I don’t speak it is because the picture isn’t clear yet. But once it is clear I will say it.
Winifred.
Like you, I will forever give voice to my desires.
The fact that I read till I saw my name.