Are You Going To Speak?

Or bury it down and try to forget

I highly recommend you chose the former, here's why...

You won't make any progress when you keep it buried inside you

What's even worse, you won't be able to remove it from your mind either

It will continue to creep back into your head and haunt you until you do something

I'm sure you've all experienced this at some point or another in your lifetime

You might even have something that comes to mind right this moment

Something you haven't addressed and spoke openly about yet

Something that continues to disrupt your happiness

Something you want to get off your chest

Well, I had something burning inside

But I spoke up about it recently

And everything changed...

Be Bold

I was nervous and scared

I was unsure of how they would react

But I wasn't going to keep ignoring the situation

Why? Because we only get so much time together these days

And I wasn't going to let this time go by without making some progress

It was that important to me, and I couldn't let fear or uncertainty hold me back

There was a moment where I almost said "f**k it", it's not even worth it

But then I remembered a message that I received earlier that day

A message that told me to "be bold and speak my mind"

So, that's exactly what I did, took action and spoke

And let me tell you, it didn't go over well

But it did start a conversation...

Dig Deep

Soon after, we sat for dinner

And agreed to discuss more the next day

It was an awkward dinner though, tons of odd energy

That being said, we all woke the next day with a new clean slate

Unfortunately, someone had to get the conversation started in the morning

And being the one that originally spoke up, I knew that it was my responsibility to start

But damnnnn....I was so nervous...I just wanted to go back to my room and sleep

That's when I had to "dig deep" and find the courage to move the needle

It was about getting better as a family, and becoming even closer

And then the first words started to come out of my mouth

Before you knew it, we were all engaged once again

And there was nowhere to hide anymore

Time to face the music everyone...

The Conversation

I told them it felt fake at times

That our family looked good on paper

But in reality, we didn't know each other that well

Yeah, this is what I told my family in the middle of the street

Because I've felt this way for years, and always knew we could do better

But I also knew the only way we could do better is by having a tough conversation

And that is exactly what we all did that next morning together in Lagos

We all went around and shared our thoughts with one another

This meant we also took the time to listen to each other

And learn not only how we can help one another

But also how we may have hurt one another

It was an incredible experience for us

Now we can build off of it...

The Lesson

F*ck it, often works

It's very similar to "just do it"

Because action is what it really takes

You can sit there and think about it for years

But until you speak up and take some deliberate action

Nothing will ever change, and you won't ever make any progress

You have to speak up and get things off your chest if you want to get better

If not, you will not only hold yourself back from growth, but possibly others as well

Look, when I first brought it up in the street, my family wasn't happy with me

But in the morning, after we talked and cried, we all felt better about it

We realized how important this communication was for the family

And agreed that we can do better and communicate more

In the end, it was a great experience for our family

And I suggest you do the same with yours

You might just learn something new

And all get a bit better together

Instead of suffering alone...

With Love,

Steven Arthur George