A luta Continua
Nothing will ever come easy…
There is this term I have bumped on severally in the last couple of weeks. It states, “If it was easy, everyone would be doing it.” I agree with it 100%. There is a reason why everyone does what they do and that we are not all in the same profession.
I do a bit of writing here and there. It’s a difficult craft. However, I try to come up with relevant articles each and every day even though only a few get to publication. Nonetheless, there are writers that write each and every day consistently for the full 365 days — and the bonus quarter — of a year. Yet, it does not make the craft any easier. It only means that these writing gurus have spent countless hours perfecting the art, and eventually got to a point where we can read their works and proclaim, “This is a writing natural.”
Suffice to say, if writing was simple, all of us would be churning manuscript after another. And naturally, there wouldn’t be any reader left because we would all be on the quest to out-perform each other. I would go down the rabbit hole with this but let me take a breather.
We have a myriad of professionals that are perfect at what they do. Take a random one aside and ask them how they became that good. It will be the same ol’ prologue of “It was not easy” before delving into the monologue of how they worked hard to get to the point they are at. Some will even take it a notch higher and down-play their current success. They will add that they are not at perfection yet. But, don’t be fooled. This is just a bit of the modesty that comes with success.
Personally, there are a few things that I need to perfect. Writing is one and fitness is another. I have a whole list of these things but writing and fitness are top of the list. I have been doing them for the past 5 years or so but I have not got to a point where I would call myself a prodigy, or whichever fancy term that comes with mastering an art to near perfection.
Writing itself is hard. Conceiving thoughts in your mind, researching the concepts, sitting in-front of the computer, making the decision to open word or notepad, cracking the word on the keyboard and making sensible sentences (or scribbling on a notebook like a Neanderthal — pun intended), then paragraphs, then a captivating story. Overcoming the imposter syndrome and publishing the story on a personal blog or a place like medium is another struggle. I have been trying to do this constantly and will say with certainty that it is not easy.
My fitness journey on the other hand is something that would require a full story to capture comprehensively. I am not unfit but I would not describe myself as “fit as a fiddle.” I have jogged at least once a week — Scratch that and make it a month! — for the past 7 years or so. Albeit, I am struggling to bring it to bi-weekly, and thereafter, weekly at ana average. It might see too much or too little for someone reading this but one thing is certain, it is not easy. I will still give myself a point here for consistency.
Most importantly, I have several hundreds of burpees tucked somewhere within my being. If all marvel characters were brought together, burpee would be the incredible built (Not because of his stature but because of how it nibs tears at someone’s energy and resilience. One of my favorite coaches has replaced the proverbial apple saying with “A burpee a day keeps the doctor away.” Anyways, burpee aside. And don’t worry, it won’t be offended because people have been putting the burpee aside for far too long for it to catch feelings now.
Achievements do not come easy — Aluta Continua
In light of the difficulty that comes with achievement, I have been mulling about the term A luta continua. It’s Portuguese for “The struggle continues,” and was popularized by the FRELIMO movement of Mozambique in the struggle for the country’s independence. The chanting of the slogan bore fruit as the quest was successful in amassing enough armed support for the movement to chase out the Portuguese. The nation of Mozambique gained their independence and FRELIMO’s leader Samora Machel became the first president of the Nation in 1975. A luta Continua’s euphoria was so strong that President Machel made it the nation’s unofficial Motto.
The slogan has since been used in various contexts especially by lobby groups that are pushing for a certain agenda. I have shouted A luta Continua quite a number of times in my college days especially during strikes where students were fighting for their rights, supposedly quashed by their respective institutions’ administrations. While most of the strikes had positive outcomes, the chants were just something. Myself and fellow students would have shouted the slogan just for the kicks and fierce charge it wielded. That and the infamous “Comrades Power!” which is a different story altogether.
Now, you will be amazed to learn that A luta continua is not a lone child. It’s a subject that has a predicate acting as the icing on the cake. In other words, it has a younger sibling. The complete term is A luta continua, vitória é certa which means that “The struggle continues, victory is certain.” That makes a complete two-edged sword that can cut the meat clean off the bone. There would be no need to fight if there was no course or desired achievement at the end, would there?
A struggle must not exist to perpetuity. There must be an end game or what one would call victory. Thinking of the slogan in this context helps put the problems or issues each one of us is going through in perspective.
With this realization, the correct question to ask whenever we have a struggle is “To what end?” What do we hope to achieve after going through it. Is there a certain victory in the end or what is driving us towards the end point. Once we have the answer to the question, we can now sieve the struggles and choose which battles we are willing to fight. The outcome should be commensurate or greater than the struggle.
My struggles are never easy regardless of how other people perceive them. I am certain that yours are never easy too. Nonetheless, we have the revelation that if its worth it, then the achievement that comes after the victory brings great joy or at the very least, has a cathartic effect.
Hunter S. Thornson, an American journalist and author sums the argument with his famous quote,
“Anything worth doing, is worth doing right”
And thus, if we are willing to suffer for something, we must follow through until we claim the ultimate prize.
That said, my jogging time is nigh. Let me pen off and ‘step one out’ — wink-wink!
