Pause and Play
Life will life, but how you DJ your soundtrack...is on you.
First things first…wow. The Fashi Mindset Whatsapp channel is taking off. Ah, I thank una. I am glad it is resonating, and I appreciate the love. We keep rolling.
The past few weeks. Transitions were plenty. Eish. Dropped off two—not one o, two—humans off to university earlier this month. The House of Afulezi lost 40% of its occupants, we’re suddenly undermanned and understaffed, and watching the tumbleweeds roll down the stairs is quite…disquieting. Also, had to make a gut-wrenching call on the work side, a move that I never thought would ever happen but seemed inevitable in hindsight. It is quite sad, but necessary. I am being vague by design, that movie will play another time. And then, my wonderful time with the CRA Public Sector Fellows ended with serious pomp, and it was a bitter-sweet week last July in Kigali.
Na wa o. My heart.
Speaking of transitions.
I was browsing my notes from about five years ago, and saw this un-completed piece I had on deck for a talk I was going to give, but chose to pivot away from. You know how you read your stuff and you say, “Wait, you came up with that, Chidi?”. Yes o, Chidi. That was you.
Pause and Play.
I’ve always been an audio and video guy, although my sound creds are more tangible than video. Worked at one of the major recording studios in NYC when I was at NYU, had aspirations as a big-time producer (did a demo with DMX way before he barked his way to superstardom). And so it made sense that this piece was about using audio/video controls as a framework to do this life wahala that we have to live. There is value in seeing your life as a track being played out on an iPod or Walkman (for the real OGs here, I still have a couple in the vault, don’t let the Zs see yours as they’ll try to make them trendy again), and of course these days on your phone. And we can extend that viewpoint to the media controls on the player as levers to make sure you play your life like your favorite track or video. Work with me here:
Play—live, love, like, push forward, stay alive, enjoy. This is your momentum. Keep rolling. Engage fully and experience life richly. Keep the rhythm going.
Pause—chill out, reflect, refract, take a time out. Use this as a moment to breathe. Step back from the hustle and the flow, catch your breath, do a pre-mortem, gather your freaking thoughts before you jump back in. Notice I didn’t say take a vacation. You don’t need a vacay to pause. Argue with yourself.
Fast Forward—plan, explore, discover, forecast, anticipate. Your mission…should you choose to accept it. Look ahead, lay out the vision, and strategize your next moves. Get that North Star locked in and set your course. Let’s go!
Rewind—reflect (again), journal, analyze, do the post-mortem. Go back over your steps, learn from the wins and losses, catch the patterns. See and view things with different lenses.
Stop—end, finalize, close the chapter, move on. No pause here…I am talking full stop. C’est finis. Party don end. Bring the stuff that needs to end to a definitive end. End it. Close the door, shut it down. Drop the relationship, walk away. Make room for next. Let go.
Swipe Right (for the digital natives)—embrace, pursue, choose. Say yes. Choose to engage. Go after it, get yours, commit, grab that opportunity. Get it.
Wait, you want more? Are you NOT ENTERTAINED!!
Calm down, this man.
Just to finish, let’s roll in the three-slider equalizer into the mix (see what I did there? Mix? And you wonder why my book is number one…on the imaginary best sellers list in my head, and my head only).
So, three sliders—bass, mid, treble. Your bass is the steady, the foundational, the core: your health, relationships, and principles. Nothing like a thumping bass to keep the track banging. Jumping. Mid-range—your daily routines, subroutines, work, interactions—adjust as needed for clarity and balance. Treble…ah, the good old treble. You have to treble just right. Too much and your ears bleed. Just like your aspirations, your creativity, and ambitions, slide up to stand out but not too high where you burn out.
As with any equalizer, adjust these sliders as life comes at you. We all have different flavors for the tracks playing on our current playlist.
Lifelist.
Ok, let me come and be going. Writing this has me wanting to put on my Bowens and Wilkins super headset and listen to some tracks…ah, damn it, Twin 1A requisitioned them for her college odyssey. No wahala, backup dey. Come on now, an audiophile will never not have his/her stash of hi-fi headphones.
Enjoy.
(Part 2 of this is in the oven. I’ll get into fidelity, playlists, and other stuff).