What's Change Got to Do With it?

"Mumbi, are you really okay?"   

"Like really really?"   

"Yo bro, have you talked to Mumbi lately? ~Yeah bro, why?~ Is she okay?"   

"Lakini Mumbi uko sawa? Umechange! Uko sure hakuna stress? ~Aih, mi niko sawa. Si nimekuwa nikiwork out. Na hii mwili was my adult body before kids."   

Not less than ten people have asked me over the last six months, directly and indirectly,   

I over-explain myself after yet another concern about a gradual transformation that people only notice when they see the peak of it.   

The irony is, the people who've been closest to me over the last year don't really care for my overweight past and the 25-kilo drop that I won't stop bragging about 😏💪.   

Change is as good as rest.   

Yet people don't always perceive it as a good thing.   

Change means the death of an old, commonly known identity and the birth of another 🦋.   

While you celebrate your new look, not everybody sees it as a pro-move.   

"Mumbi niwe! (Is that you Mumbi!)" One of my Urban Thrift Store- Ke Gikomba vendors recently asked.   

"I hope it's not sickness or stress. Are you okay?" she pressed.   

That’s many people's perception of change—especially when they only witness the results 🎯.   

Huyo ni illuminati ama wash wash ~ You hear them whisper, when they see the results of working in silence.   

Hiyo amefiat! they’ll say, when your mindset shifts from what’s expected and 'normal' 🤨.   

Sometimes—no, most times—change is brewed within conflict 🔥.   

And most people will magnify your storm and create a stressed-up loonie from you. 

We exist in a multi-dimensional universe, where different aspects of our lives journey on linear timelines.   

In the process of growth, other processes—like deaths and detachments—must happen.   

Decays happen too, if you do not uproot what no longer serves you 🌳🚫.   

A growing rot will ruin the whole tree unless it’s uprooted.   

Change is inevitable.   

But rarely is anyone prepared for it.   

And since we don't live on isolated islands, you’ll hear various theories, versions, and opinions concerning your change.  

The many questions—"Are you okay, Mumbi?"—made me start questioning my own state of mind and physical health.   (Yet, I am that over-35 mother of two confused for a twenty-two-year-old 😄✨)   

 Many times, it's self-inflicted because I'm an over-sharer, so responses can't be blocked.   

But I can choose how to perceive them.   

Because we've been taught that "where there's smoke, there's fire," I started thinking:   

Are the patterns of these statements suggesting I might be fi'ating? 😆 

Then I remember all those women and men who started their own weight loss and fitness journeys because of my change 🙌.   

I remember the messages asking,   

"What is your fitness regime?"   

I remember the people who see me speak and pull up a chair.   

Then I remember—   

Judgement of another is often a reflection of self-judgment 🪞.   

The Stoic philosophy is centered on Perception, Action, and Will.   

We aren't in control of what's perceived, actioned, or expected outside of us.   

But we are in control of how we perceive change—our own or others'.   

We are in control of how we respond to change.   

If a situation no longer works for you—CHANGE!   

Just brace yourself: perceptions, opinions, and actions will come at you in all forms. Even some that you won’t like.   

Hi,   

I am Mumbi 👋   

I advocate for growth by aligning yourself with your purpose 💫.   

You’ll unstuck yourself from “here” and rise into your highest potential 🚀.   

I tell stories—from my experience and others.   

Some clingy, some dirty-lineny, some hilarious 🤭   

But all educating and aimed at influencing the growth mindset.   

 TransformYourLife #GrowthMindset #EmbraceChange #PersonalEvolution #PurposeDriven #SilentTransformation #ChangeNarrative #AlignedLiving #HealingJourney #MindsetShift