Zaps are impermanent. Impact is forever1:
As I stride into life in my 40s, I grapple with an irony. I desperately want to connect the dots from my disparate experiences but have less bandwidth to do so.
Sieged by life’s pressures, I write to put beer and snacks on the table. But such writing is like bubblegum pop - easy come, easy go. Besides submitting to my hedonistic impulses, I must embody the low time preference mentality because writing that is fussed over and whipped into a unique shape blows people off their socks. A wasabi impact that electrifies their soul. A sparkler that ignites fireworks in their heart.
So, I intentionally take it slow with some pieces. The bar is set higher, for it should exemplify my life’s work. I want to lay my bones all over - this is what I have learnt; take what you need. These pieces mayn’t garner many zaps due to a host of reasons. It could be wrong timing, less crowd-friendly topic, writing that reeks of desperation. IDK, and there is no need to pinpoint.
For it makes my day when someone says s/he has bookmarked my article. It lends legitimacy to my ideas. Zaps are clout. Bookmarking is worming my way into the reader’s heart, being granted the grace to occupy his/her headspace.
I aspire to be bookmarked.
Footnotes
- I’m very uncomfortable with writing short pieces. It stems from my training as a General Paper tutor. Using the PEEL framework makes me think that the more something is fleshed out,the more persuasive it is. I deliberately kept it short today. 226 words. I wish I could keep it shorter, but I think every word counts here. ↩