There was a hole in the wall of my hotel in Nigeria. A very visible and easily repairable hole, but there it was. He sighed, “It’s because we don’t have a maintenance culture.” I would hear that same phrase in reference to various problems. The hotel, the roads, and the airport were all evidence of this posture. In their view point, there was a push to build and have nice things but not the same effort to keep them up. Be it an issue of time or resources, the result was still the same. Something once laudably beautiful was now in a state of disrepair.
I went searching for sources to support this and I found some. Civil engineers wrote academic papers. Casual observers submitted op-eds. Bloggers devised entire posts. There was all the information I needed to point this problem out to you. But then the mirror swiveled toward me, “But do you not think the same way?”
You do something, get great results, and then just let it fall off. Be it health, beauty, personal growth, or whatever, admit you’re not putting in the effort to keep it up after you reach that goal. “It’s too much work,” you say. Or, you claim “I don’t have the time.” Are you not worth more effort”
After a long hiatus, I am ready again to put in consistent work into working towards my goals. But I need to start thinking beyond those milestones. I want to devote time and resources not just in becoming the best version of myself, but staying the best version of myself. I want to approach my life design with my own maintenance mindset.
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A Wren Says 