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

  1. 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.
I aspire to spark conversation!
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Also a worthy goal!
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I think so!
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Do you get a notification when someone bookmarks one of your posts?
Nice use of "mayn't", btw.
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Why leh? As in mayn’t
No notification! Erm cos the Stacker wrote that he had bookmarked it in his comment haha
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'Hedonistic impulses' I must acknowledge that I'm so grateful to you for reminding me of the words that I have almost subdued in the bleakest corners of my unconsciousness.
Talking about the article, as always, agree 💯
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Cheeky ah, you
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I actually havent heard mayn't being used in a long time. wow
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I have an old soul
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Haha You should aspire higher. Dont just be a bookmark, be remembered forever!
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But I think many Stackers will remember me for life. I’m very memorable haha
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haha that is true. Your posts are nice to read, usually pretty well thought out. Oh Cryoto, have you ever used the chat?
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Definitely. I have had a lot of posts that got a lot of zaps but what I consider to be my most important post got precisely zero zaps and zero comments.
No one saw it but it was still important to me.
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Hits differently ain't it.
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haha I have some of those, too. You just have to keep trying and gauging interest. It is comical when you get a zap from a post way back though. Nice rereading your thread. haha
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