What Version of You Have You Been Postponing for Someday?

"I am right on time for this version of my life."

There Is No Better Life Waiting

Your everyday routine is your life.

Not the life you fantasize about, not the one you keep pushing into some distant future where all conditions are ideal—no. The one you live now. The one with packed matatus, deadlines, Nairobi traffic, laughter in the kitchen, and evenings where nothing goes as planned. That’s the real one.

The lie we are sold—on billboards, in pulpits, by motivational speakers, and even in well-meaning family advice—is that there is a better version of you that you will arrive at someday. That you must endure now so you can enjoy later. That you must hustle, sacrifice, dim yourself, and delay joy until you’ve earned it.

But what if there is no shiny, perfect version waiting at the end of your journey? What if you are not here to become someone else—but to become more of yourself?

Who Is This "Better Version" of You Anyway?

This version we keep postponing—who defined them? Was it your parents’ unspoken hopes? Your church? Your peers? Your social media algorithm that keeps showing you people who seem to have figured it out?

Maybe this ideal self—the richer, thinner, married, healed, successful you—is a collage made up of every pressure you’ve absorbed but never questioned. Maybe that person doesn't exist.

In Kenya, we glorify perseverance. We postpone joy because we’re always preparing for disaster. We learn early that rest must be earned. That dreams must be shelved for duty. That if you choose yourself too loudly, you're selfish or unserious.

Here’s how we do it:

We stay in soul-crushing jobs because “hii ni kazi ya serikali.”
We ignore mental health because “ni stress tu, itaisha.”
We raise children while forgetting to raise ourselves.
We shrink in marriages, workplaces, churches—places where we’re meant to expand.
We convince ourselves that our passions can wait. That our soft selves can wait. That our true selves can wait.

But for how long?

This Is It. This Is Your Life.

You will not wake up one day and become someone else. You will not magically find more time, more energy, more certainty.

Your life is happening now—in your choices, your conversations, your silences, your routines. And because that’s true, how you go about your routine matters.

Do you wake up with dread or with intention? Do you allow joy to visit your day, even briefly? Do you notice beauty, even in ordinary things? Do you ask questions of your spirit, not just your salary?

Because your life isn't waiting for you. It's unfolding with or without your permission.

Maybe It’s Not About Becoming Better

Maybe it’s about becoming more honest. More present. More you.

Maybe this life isn’t about self-improvement as much as it is about soul-remembering. Maybe every heartbreak, illness, rejection, slow day and moment of joy is shaping the version of you that’s meant to live beyond this world.

Because one day, the body will die. But your spirit? That goes on.

What if all this—this traffic, this routine, this joy, this pain—is practice for the next life? What if you’re already building the next version of yourself right here?

Are you spiritually rich—or are you broke but looking successful? Are you nurturing your soul—or only your CV?

Because the spirit doesn’t care for your accolades, your degrees, your awards. It remembers how you loved, how you showed up, how you healed, how you forgave, how you listened to its quiet voice while the world screamed at you to hustle harder.

Questions Worth Asking

What version of myself have I been putting off for “someday”?
Who told me who I need to become—and do I still agree with them?
What would it look like to live as though my spirit mattered more than my status?
Am I spiritually bankrupt—or have I been slowly building a quiet wealth no one can see?
What would happen if I gave myself permission to begin again—here, now, as I am?

Final Thoughts

This is your one wild, beautiful, complicated life. Stop waiting for conditions to be perfect. Stop postponing yourself. Stop outsourcing your becoming.

You are not behind. You are not too old. You are not too late.

You are right on time for this version of your life.

Know Thyself: The Quiet Power of Naming Your Nature

“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” — Carl Jung We live in a culture that equates good intentions with goodness, and ambition with ability. But very few people in Kenya—or anywhere—truly know what they are made of. We can name our qualifications and our dreams. But ask someone their vices or virtues, and they hesitate. Worse, they lie. The Danger of Self-Unawareness In Kenya today, many of us are wandering through life making choices—big, small, and irreversible—without truly understanding who we are. We end up in jobs we despise, relationships we shouldn’t be in, or positions of influence we aren’t emotionally or ethically equipped for. And at the root of this dysfunction is a simple truth: we don’t know ourselves. This is not a spiritual or abstract dilemma. It’s a deeply practical one. To know oneself is to understand your vices, your virtues, your weaknesses, and your strengths—not in a vague sense, but in detail. Let’s ge...

The Great Kenyan Home Ownership Madness: Dreams vs. Reality

Owning a home is a big dream for many Kenyans, but somewhere along the way, practicality has been thrown out the window. Too many people, driven by childhood aspirations or societal expectations, are constructing massive houses only to end up living like misers within them. Let’s break down why this trend makes little sense and what smarter, more sustainable homeownership looks like. The Harsh Reality of Owning a Big House in Kenya Many Kenyans, especially those who grew up in humble backgrounds, grew up being told to “dream big.” Unfortunately, this has translated into building unnecessarily large houses, often with rooms that remain unused, multiple verandahs gathering dust, and massive balconies that no one actually sits on. These houses cost millions to build, yet within a few years, the owners are struggling to maintain them, regretting their choices as they pour more money into renovations. If you need proof, just look at how many old houses in Nairobi remain unsold. No one wants...

Entrepreneurship Myth In Kenya

Have you ever walked through different parts of Kenya and wondered how some of these tiny, almost hidden businesses survive? You pass by a cramped shop selling second-hand clothes, plastic buckets, hangers, and random jewelry. You pause for a second and ask yourself—who is actually buying all this? How is this business making money? Is it money laundering, or are these genuine businesses barely getting by in ways we don’t understand? I ask myself these same questions all the time. Earlier this year, I got an inside look. I was part of a project that involved collecting data on small businesses across Kenya—kiosks, market stalls, tailors, salons, fruit vendors, milk sellers, repair shops, cybers… all the businesses that make up the backbone of our economy. What I found was both eye-opening and brutally honest. The Reality Behind the Business Dream We love to romanticize entrepreneurship. Motivational speakers will tell you that employment is slavery and that starting your own business i...

KenyaOnAShoeString: Real Advice for Real Kenyans

Search This Blog