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I can’t say how many years it’s been, but for the better part of a more than a decade, I usually don’t answer the phone in the morning. Weekday or weekend, it doesn’t matter. That is my creative time, and I don’t want to be disturbed. It’s sacred. And it’s that moment when I acknowledge the ‘self’ in selfishness. [Read more…] about Recognize the ‘Self’ in Selfishness
The past couple of weeks have been challenging on the work front, and it’s taken up a lot of mental headspace. That left me, at times, not able to fully focus and drained—both mentally and physically. But it also had me thinking [again] about a song by the late singer-songwriter Laura Smith, “Clean Up Your Own Backyard.” That translates, for me, like this: dig deep and figure out what is my next right move. [Read more…] about The Mind Battle
In life, whether I’m at work or not, I try to maintain a calm demeanour. It takes a lot to rile me, to get me to react. Most of the time, I shrug things off because it’s either out of my control or it simply doesn’t warrant a response. But there are other times when you must stand up for yourself, when you must be the voice that breaks the conforming silence.
In 2010, I left Ottawa for Quebec, leaving behind the traditional office work environment. When I started my current job in August 2023, there was a ‘new’ reality that I had to deal with: Slack and Teams.
When I am trying to focus, I find the notifications to be a distraction. I’ve muted them and turned off the sound. I’ve also done the same with e-mail, which is less important in terms of my role. I get that they are communication tools to assist in our workflow, but there needs to be best practices for workplace chat apps—and consequences when they’re not adhered to.
Just over a week ago, one of my coworkers posted a GIF in our work chat that, as a Black man, I found offensive because it propagated a stereotype. And in the chat—in a very diverse workforce—there was nothing but silence. So, I decided to stand up for myself and others and called it out. Because, as Maya Angelou advised, you must “Develop enough courage so that you can stand up for yourself and then stand up for somebody else.”
Don’t be afraid to stand up for yourself. Don’t be afraid to stand alone.
With an established writing routine—writing every day no matter what—I don’t wait for inspiration to put words down on the page. It’s a luxury I don’t have, especially as I’m getting older and time seems to be passing by quickly. Plus the fact that I have a day job and try to make the most of my mornings at home. Yet there are things that do inspire me to write, and that help fill my creative stores. Today, I want to share a few. [Read more…] about Finding Inspiration
What do you want to do? It was a question that was asked a lot when I was growing, and a lot more so as I neared the end of high school. What would I do next? There were a lot of things that interested me—music, politics, cooking, policing (notice that writing didn’t make the list then)—yet I really had no clue what I wanted to do. But like my older sister, I’d follow ‘the plan’ and go to university because our parents never had that opportunity. So, for five years I went and wandered aimlessly through academia. [Read more…] about On Purpose