And more than popularity or recognition, it is for personal profit, clarity and sanity that I write. In that order. My three reasons to be on this forum:
To rant
There is a degree of activism in some of the things i post about. About Madras, living conditions, beaches, the sense of hopelessness in living here, the absolutely vapid cultural priorities and the corruption and delusion of us as a people. And i don’t write in the hope of finding more people that agree with me. It would drive me mad to think that there are many people who feel the same and that we are powerless to do any thing about the obvious dysfunction.
I rant to remind myself that how India is run is not normal or sane. The corruption, filth and chaos is not how people everywhere operate. When I run into someone like Hamsini, Haroon, Rachit, GK or others saying something sane, it is reassuring. But I know nothing will change at a societal level. I write to remind myself to hold on tight to my life vest and maintain the capacity to sprint to a lifeboat while i ride aboard the Titanic.
To clarify
The personal clarity that comes from writing is invaluable. I also realise the depth of my understanding, conviction and rationale for my coaching and design choices when i am forced to write about it and put it out there for public consumption. And often, i find myself going back to the drawing board, Pubmed or textbooks when i realise: Damn, i did not understand or think that through as much as I thought i had.
And when I find myself repeating the same points with no additional insight or information, it’s time to read more and deepen the knowledge base.
To profit
One of the most surprising things about LinkedIn is the number of clients i have acquired. It’s enough to make the endeavour worth it. And when new people reach out, there is an element of being anxious about living up to how I talk and sound on this forum. But people generally don’t walk away underwhelmed and that’s a relief.
It also reminds past clients that i am alive, kicking, doing the same thing in the same old space since 2014. If they would like to jump back in, they know where to find me ! More equipment, better exercise toolkit, more ‘refined’ cueing and same old dour, troll of a human.
And I do know of people have benefited from my writing in effecting some change to their eating habits or adopting strength training. I am happy I triggered this change. But I definitely do wonder, how I could have participated in the process to profit from it.
All this said, if I did become more popular or more recognised, I would gleefully accept it. Of course there needs to be more profit in it.
