Why does Nobody want To Share Their Stories?

I started the year with a resolution, a promise to change the loop of destiny that I had basically resgned myself to. It has been quite a while since my experiments with life has always taken me to the same spot, no where. If you have ever been in this situation then you would understand that this is not really an ideal spot to be in and after some time things start to get a bit blurry. So here I was at the turn of 2023 armed with my daily journal and scribbled a few points and then decided to follow my passion.

The challenge was that I wasn't sure if my passion would lead me to an exit from this life of endless circles but I pushed ahead anyway. I decided to chase my dream of becoming a trainer who would focus on the subject of fear and would help individuals who have been stuck in the quicksand of time not knowing what's next for them. If I had lived and run scared all my life then there would be many others like me. If there has been none to help me that doesn't mean that I shouldn't become a bridge for others. 

Now how was I to start this process? Please stay with me if you've come this far as I would need your help further down, it's been 29 days to the decision and I’ve read tons of books, well not tons but a few kilograms would sound better on the subject. I am reading both fiction and nonfiction with recommendations from the authors whose books I am reading; at times it does sound like catch-22 because this is one of the best books that I am currently skimming with utmost pleasure. 

Anyway, I decided to speak to my good friend Taiyab Ghafoor MBA regarding my dilemma and we struck up a long conversation over a Hardee's meal and that's when the initial epiphany descended upon us; I would highly recommend anyone stuck in life to go and spend some quality time at Hardee's and somewhere towards the third hour an inspiration to either exit the place or to carry out the unthinkable would erupt within your innards. 

Anyhow we agreed that the world needs stories and every little bit of inspiration coming our way in this region i.e. Middle East, Africa and Asia is from the West. It's as if we just wait to see whether Jonathan in Memphis, Tennessee is going to do something worthwhile that our local motivational speakers would use in their full house talk sessions or TikTok videos. How come there aren't any good local stories, neither in textbooks nor online? And can you imagine having these thoughts while having a meal from an outlet that's still considered a western icon had been quite a coincidence? The little star man on the wendy logo wasn't just smiling but calling out to me and saying “you little third world, you couldn't even have a smart thought while eating Biryani and had to come to my throne to get ideas, its the American antibiotics and hormones in my meat patties that fired your dead brain cells”. I have to give it to him for these comments and just imagine where would I be if I and Taiyab had met at Mcdonald's or God forbid, Burger King.

Anyway, armed with this great idea we were ready to roll and imagined people falling over to share their life lessons. We would call our new book “Chicken Tikka Masala For The Soul” and it would outsell the western oldy “Chicken Soup For The Soul”. We published Taiyab’s story from his time working at Burberry in the US and then, then everything went quiet. Every time we spoke to friends and colleagues to share their stories, it was as if we had asked them for their recent pregnancy test. Nobody would respond and upon pressing they simply said that they don't really remember doing anything significant that's worth sharing with anyone. I still pressed and asked if they have literally wasted their entire lives as most people we spoke to were in their late to mid-fifties and they replied in the affirmative.

Most people we spoke to simply replied that they havent don anything significant their whole lives thats worth sharing        

I could see myself going back into my classical loop and ending in the all-familiar dead end but I pushed on. Rather than collecting and waiting for stories to come, I was reviewing books and even recorded audio for a satirical take on Pakistani politics of The Animal Farm. The stories did trickle in one at a time from some great people. Rais Khan , Ziad Shaltuni, Anaas Basha, Hend Moussa and Omar Ahmad came forward and shared their beautiful experiences. There are stories of hope and inspiration, some have been vulnerable and through their vulnerability have shown the beauty of life while others are clear about the benefits of superior customer service. With time I am sure that many other stories would come in but the people who have volunteered their journeys at the beginning of this project have all my gratitude for not just showing the way but also encouraging me that there is a road beyond the dead end.

As for the challenges of receiving stories, I have observed that individuals in this part of the world have somehow resigned to their fate of being followers. The western superiority of learning and education has been absorbed by our system and we have become robots with a soul. I am not lamenting and I am quite confident that my journey would get me to meet many interesting individuals. This region has a strong history and culture, in these times of uncertainty and chaos, we need to talk, discuss and share our stories that are relevant to our own regions. Yes, we will learn from others but there's first to fix our own home by learning something worthwhile from the man next door and this man must speak up.

Coming to the end of January 2023, it is my hope and wishes that you would help me bring you and your stories forth to the world and to inspire them that hope is possible!

Love 

Najib