Among Other Things: Overcoming barriers
Among Other Things is a new format for 2023 where I ramble about the many different facets of our lives, explored or otherwise without having any significant expertise in the subject matter, other than my perspective. This time, however, is an announcement.
I could only wish to overcome physical obstacles like the one shown in the picture because I excel at pushing past my limits (sometimes to the point of being unhealthy). Anyone who has exercised long enough knows their body in and out to push their limits when the situation calls for it. But this time, it’s different.
I have challenged myself multiple times, by running 1km for 30 days, performing several squats and push-ups a day for 30 days, and so on. However, an injury forced me to retire from my boxing practice and exercise in general, which has given rise to a new series of challenges.
With the rise of ChatGPT in my everyday life (curriculum design, Q&As), I feel like I have definitely lost my voice as a writer, which is the only form of expression I am good at. Anyone who’s had a conversation with me in real life knows that I struggle with speech.
Crucible
I was once watching a documentary about recruits who undergo training to become part of the USMC. The very intriguing part was at the end of their training, a 54-hour sleepless period of undergoing stressful tasks (physical and mental) called The Crucible. This isn’t different from most people’s lives because we have had to go through difficult phases of our own, maybe more or less stressful than The Crucible. But a difficult period nonetheless. And coming out of that situation is what makes a person resilient and equipped to deal with everyday life much better.
Coming back to one paragraph earlier, I now struggle heavily with my writing and aiming to find a voice. And I’ve found that I thrive under challenges, so I’ve designed my very own version of The Crucible - an article a day for 365 days before I can call myself a writer again. Maybe it’s unrealistic but embarking on any journey comes with its lessons. Worst case scenario - I’ll end up leaving halfway and document my failure for the internet to see. And it wouldn’t be the first time I failed, certainly not the last.
Writer’s block is something I look forward to within a month of writing. It will be an inevitable part of the process, and I look forward to finding out ways to mitigate that, along with other challenges that I could face as part of the process. But I look forward to this nonetheless.
Which means this piece will be the last in the ‘Among Other Things’ series because tomorrow will be Day 1. I don’t expect anyone to read this, but if you do hop on for the ride, then I hope to brighten your day for 5 minutes for the next year. So stay tuned and look forward to an informal view across topics that I would’ve only learned about on the day of publishing because there will be a lot of those.
