I used to be stuck up.
In med school, I was the privileged student whose parents gave him everything he needed. I was young, smart and a bit aloof. School was cool, but not really my thing. I was just exploring.
I was popular, but also had a massive blind spot. I didn’t realize I was a bit of a snob. People seemed to see my good heart, and figured I didn’t know what I was doing when I was being funny. It took maturity of yesteryears to understand this in retrospect.
I started taking music seriously after graduation. Increasingly so with each passing year. I started going out of my way to promote my music online.
One day, in 2020, some seven years after graduation, an old colleague wrote to me. He had seen a Whatsapp post from me where I was promoting my music. His message read “You are begging us. I like this. You used to be proud, but music is making you beg.”
Hilarious! I had a great chuckle from this. He’s a dear friend and I appreciated this feedback.
It’s been another six years since that message, and this same friend wrote to me today, again responding to a Whatsapp status. His message was more eloquent this time. He said:
Whenever I see your status, l am so impressed. It's the ability of humankind to pivot. You used to be so conservative and you wouldn't care for anybody who posted this kind of content in the past, but here you are now. It's really impressive. Well done.
It warmed my heart to no small degree. The growth. The love. The consistency.
Specifically, seeing him use the word ‘pivot’ in regards to me? Wow. My coaching offer is specifically about helping people pivot. The whole time, I didn’t recognize how deeply my own character had pivoted to afford my aspirations.
I’m thankful.
Cheers to us pivoting, intentionally, and gradually.
To growth 🥂
- Taiwo.