I’m a pragmatist, so I’m not saying that people need to post every time something doesn’t work out, but it occurs to me that often we are mostly only viewing people through a lens of success. A big part of how people succeed is by working really hard, by trying and failing a LOT, and some of us have been grinding away for years within systems that are not designed to make us succeed. The other day I went to the book launch of @seyiakiwowo and something she said about how social media platforms manipulate us into over sharing or curating image, and more importantly the TYPE of things we share, and it kind of blew my mind. What the system has done is create two polarising sets of content - either super successful, flawless and high achieving or very often deep trauma or the kind of personal confession that mines so much from a person’s life. In many cases - this is done with good intent - either to share good news or to connect with community and show people they aren’t alone. But what about the middle? What about the many, many pitches and ideas that end up going nowhere? And I was thinking that today as I work on yet another pitch for a project I don’t know will succeed or go anywhere. Take for instance my fiction. All you’re seeing is the end product. Not the failed manuscripts of my 20s, the rejection letters, the people who said ‘I don’t quite get what this book is about’. Not the endless magical realism writing about a demon forest, or the godawful YA I dabbled in - none of it. I’ve been thinking a lot about this especially as I look at other people’s accounts. And here’s the thing - I’m happy for that success, and I hope that when people attain success they also bring others with them. People doing well and experiencing joy is a good thing. But I also wonder how we can change things to add context and nuance so that we can gather a more honest picture. So that we don’t think success is overnight but in the majority of cases very hard won. I’m not sure I have the answer - and given that so much of my work depends on the perception of success - but wouldn’t it be nice to have more balance on here sometimes? #wordsofwisdom #wordstoliveby