nilichoandika

I’ll Start Again Tomorrow by Sonia Jhas: Book Review

February 14th, 2023

The title of this book drew me in and I did not expect a book to call me out on so many lies I’ve told myself regarding eating right, loving my body, taking good care of myself and appreciating the small wins instead of beating myself for not getting it right the first time.

In twelve key chapters, the author incorporates both personal and most common challenges in the wellness journey.

This book came at me hard. I needed the chapter 7, 8 and 12 talk because I have downloaded the 30 day fitness app every time and never gone beyond the one week exercises without uninstalling it to make room for music!
In chapter 7, she says this about perfectionism “The great irony of perfectionism is that while it’s characterized by an intense drive to succeed, it’s actually propelled by the total fear of failure.”

That phrase alone was enough for me to stop accepting or stating that I am one- and now I find myself reflecting on why I wanted to work out- and at the top of that list was to have flat abs, and just that. I love that she goes on to advocate and emphasize progress over perfection because it is the one thing most people overlook in any journey of growth and wellness.

This book grows on you, and it is true that the author shows you how to overcome the self-sabotaging beliefs and behaviors that are preventing you from conquering your wellness goals. However, she takes time to unpack it all, so that by the time you are in chapter 8 and after, you have been building up the guts to follow through on the suggestions she’s sharing.
The end of each chapter comes with two key things: reflect and remember- so it’s easier to take note of things to work on.

In chapter 12, towards the end of this book she had me again with the subtle yet not so subtle reminder that: “When you are committing to a workout plan, do it. Even if you’re (kind of) tired, even if it’s (sort of) cold outside, even if you’re not (really) in the mood. This is where we practice living our mindset shifts.”

A body you love isn’t worth a life you hate

I feel that this is the book I’d recommend as a personal companion to anyone on a wellness journey.

You can buy a copy on Amazon: Kindle $0.99 while Paperback $17.95

About the Author:

Sonia Jhas is a TEDx speaker and an award-winning mindset and wellness expert. She is fired up by her mission to help people marry healthy living with a life lived well. Her special brand of inspiration and wisdom involves tried-and-true techniques that help people unlock lasting momentum and unapologetic self-fulfillment. Sonia’s enthusiasm, sense of humour, and openness about her own journey have earned her a reputation as an unstoppable force in the wellness arena. Her website: https://soniajhas.com/
Horizons

February 13th, 2023

Thoughts assail me in the quiet,

When the world is asleep is how I welcomed them,

But lately, they surround me in the day,

On my way to work, while at work, seated in a matatu, eating a mango, drinking coffee.

Life is mist, when the wind blows it ceases,

So are my thoughts, but they persist, the living do not.

http://www.pexels.com

So, I am at that age when the giants whose shoulders I stood on take a bow,

C says it’s the age where we bury our parents, friends, and dreams,

But I refuse to acknowledge it as a loss,

For we all live for many days, take many breaths, create memories and to cease to celebrate that because of the one day we cease to be…is a great loss.

Now I am more in love with horizons because what I choose to focus on determines how close or far,

How vast or limited it is,

and just like that, horizons assail my thoughts.
Many Small Hungerings by William Bortz

January 26th, 2023

How do we grieve something we never had but longed for to the point of suffering?
LAMENT, 2AM

I added this book to my shelf from Netgalley this morning, and sometime after a mid-morning work meeting, I started reading it.

About the book: Many Small Hungerings is the newest collection of poignant poetry from writer and poet William Bortz. In his follow-up to 2021’s The Grief We Are Given, Bortz dives even deeper into the complexities of grief and loss, as well as the ever-elusive grip of nostalgia and memory. A warm embrace in a cold world.

Once in a while you come across a book that gets you excited about the present, about those little moments you experience and this collection by Mr. William Bortz does that. Well, it did just that for me.
For example, in CARRY, you experience and relate to what it means to move on, and also to hold onto a moment.

In PRAYER, 3AM- you experience what we speak of or have in mind when we talk about trauma and healing, and MINERAL WATER, had me crying my heart out because it is on the memory of a loved one lost.

Rating: 4 stars

Some poems have a line or two, some more than ten yet each tells a story, speaks of a feeling, of memory, of love, life and what it is to live

All I know of war is what never made it home.
MANY, from Many Small Hungerings by William Bortz
Discipline

January 8th, 2023

Discipline is the habit of taking consistent action until one can perform with unconscious competence. Discipline weighs ounces but regret weighs tons.
Jhoon Rhee, Martial Artist
Writing Goals: 2023

January 5th, 2023
Five days into another year and I find myself overwhelmed by all the things I’d love to experience. I would like to change the narrative of the title of this post and go more for things I would like to pursue and experience in 2023, and these are:
1. To write a book.
2. To publish the book I write in April.
3. To have a conversation with any Kenyan Writer, and explore their experience writing, some of the things they picked up along the way and things they’d love to share with fellow writers.
4. Post more often on this blog- at least 5 posts per month.
5. Read more books this year. I read 75 books of 34 for the 2022 Goodreads Challenge and this year, I thought why not read half the number of days in the year-and I settled for 183.
6. Take note of the phrases, details or prose that stand out for me in the books that I read and find out how best to improve on my writing. (I got stickers for this purpose alone)
7. Write daily.
8. To pitch a story or article idea to at least 3 publications.
December: Updates on life during this holiday season

December 26th, 2022

December is what I’d call my ‘awareness’ and ‘acceptance’ month. It started out with the promise of an awesome time, and as the days drew in, I found myself learning to accept most of the things I haven’t been able to change this year.

Like the fact that I am not consistently working out as I had intended. Or even the fact that I consumed more coffee, milk, sugar this year-when I truly started cutting down on them.

On writing: Looking back, I would say that this year I published one book- Laana: Daughter of the Middle World and though a lot of people in my circles kept pushing for another book, few of them followed through and bought copies of it, and what I got instead were new readers- who are yet to fully embrace my writing style.

I bought eight new books this week and I would like to start reading them as soon as I can.

My elder sister truly knows what I love and she got me a book I have wanted to read ever since it was released but I could never get a copy. She bought me Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue for christmas and I love how she goes out of her way to let me know she cares about me.

I have sufficient stationery and very little inspiration and motivation to write a book as I post this. There is something within me that is calling for rest, for time away from the words that plague me until I can breathe life into them and weave them into a story. So, I am reading more books, listening to Kizz Daniel’s Cough (Odo) and dancing in my head.

Skin care is getting to be something that needs my attention and I am drawn to Luron products which I have been using the larger part of the year, so I got some products that I would love to try.

As 2022 comes to a close, I find myself more calm not because all is well, but because I feel like I am at the point in my life where I can choose which battles to fight, and which ones to walk away from. My friends say it is being old, and well, I am slowly veering off the age bracket that’s deemed as youth- and into the one that needs to have a retirement plan in action and that in itself has me grateful that I made it this far.

Happy holidays and I can’t wait to share what I write when I manage to.
Places

December 14th, 2022

I thought of all the places I want to visit, the memories of you and I linger at the gates of truce.

Yasemin Gunes : http://www.pexel.com
Updates on the writing life

December 3rd, 2022

December is here and she comes with the promise of family meetings, home cooked meals and getting to catch up with loved ones, those who’d been toiling in the city-coming home and getting to breathe for a week or so.

For me, it’s all about work, following up on projects, and reflecting on everything I did this year.

I managed to write 12,939 words out of 50,000 words for NanoWrimo- and though I did write every day, most of it were notes, comments, things that caught my eye that were not part of the story I had started, and so, this year, I didn’t get the 50k in.

On reading: I’ve been enjoying the books that are released on Netgalley and reading more which made me feel less awful about not winning this year’s NanoWrimo. I just added some new titles, check these out:

Have a great weekend.
Up Above

November 19th, 2022

I heard the phrase, ‘to kill a person with a borrowed knife,’ and it reminded me of how fluid language is. Of the worlds we create with the stories we tell ourselves and choose to listen to.

An acquaintance was disappointed by her father’s actions and decision to sit back while she expected the opposite of him. So, on and on she went speaking of how weak and insecure he was and I listened, not because she demanded me to but because like most of the people I know, it’s easier to make use of your friend who has that Counseling experience and training for free. Sometimes, they are kind enough to buy me my favorite- coffee and chocolate fudge cake.

Aaron Jacob Pilatoe: http://www.pexels.com

And when she did breathe, she looked at me and asked, ‘do you think I am being unreasonable?’ I was unprepared for her sudden pause and thought it through, then asked ‘is your father a god or deity that he’s beyond flaw?’

‘No, I didn’t say that. You know he’s not.’

‘But do you know and accept that he is not a god and does not reside up above on that pedestal you put him on?’

‘What are you saying?’

‘I am saying that we treat our parents as gods. Yes, they nurture and provide for us and even protect us up until we can fend for ourselves, and when we see them struggle and falter we believe they have lost it? Isn’t it funny then? Our parents also have scars, they also fail and until we stop treating them as gods, as above reproach, then we too can take a step back and forgive ourselves.’

She laughed at this after a while and said, ‘You assume that I treat my father like he is above failure. I do not.’

And like every conversation that somehow hits a wall, I found myself looking around the cafe and sipping my coffee as she changed the story to something else.

These days, and especially during and post COVID-19 I find myself forgiving the elders in my family for the times they fell short, and I can’t help but be amused by Greek mythology, in reading about how the gods and goddesses would punish each other over trivial matters they could easily resolve. How we put people on pedestals without consulting them and judging them when they fall off the cloud we placed them.
Mid-month November Review

November 15th, 2022
It’s the fifteenth day of November and at the very beginning I laid out some thirty things I would love to do this month. It’s ambitious of me, given how easy it is to consider a thing done just by talking about it ( that’s why I haven’t been consistent with working out and fitness).

Here’s what I have done and loved doing every day :
- Tune into more podcasts (Speaking of Psychology, On Purpose with Jay Shetty, TED Talks Daily, Huberman Lab are some of my favorites). I also discovered some new podcasts (shared here)
- Participating in Nanowrimo 2022. I have written 12392 words so far.
- Design a logo
- Read more books from my Netgalley shelf
- Stretch in the morning
- Wake up at 6am
- Go to bed by 10pm
- Finished watching the Chinese Drama Ashes of Love- on Netflix. This was a roller-coaster of emotions for me and the only relief was that unlike The Untamed, it had a good ending.
- Wear more brass earrings
- Drink more water and often
- Speak my mind
- Read more blogs by Kenyans ( if you know any that you’d love me to follow let me know)
- Reward myself for what I did achieve this year. Yes, bought four pairs of shoes.
- Review my retirement and savings plan.
- Cook for myself more often- instant noodles is not the only thing to eat.
- Call and talk to my family often
Here’s what I haven’t been able to do:
- Eat more vegetables
- Dance more
- Eat out
- Cut down on processed sugar
- Take evening walks because it rains almost every evening!
- Cut down on noodles ( you can miss a host of things in my house but never a pack of chicken noodles)
- Forgive myself for not fulfilling some of the dreams I wanted to achieve
- Throw down- best explained as the act of cooking and serving a buffet of meals for the people you love
- De-clutter
- Donate some of my books
I got to work on a simple logo design using Canva and learned that there is a lot to colors and fonts that I know nothing about, and in the end- I resorted to black and white.

I am still working on:
- Praying often
- Completing Nanowrimo
- Forgiving myself for not fulfilling some of the dreams I wanted to achieve