"Dweet fi di LOVE, nuh dweet fi di LIKES!!!"
I remember back in college, there were many days when our lecturers would ask,
"Why are you here?"
"What do you hope to do or gain from being here?"
"What do you have to offer that warrants you being here?"
Mind you, as part-time students, we were paying our own school fees, be it through full-time jobs, student loans or mere sponsorships from friends, family or affiliated organizations. Yet, these were questions that would often plague our very being. Well, those of us who really cared.
In the back of our minds, we knew the importance of being handed the "country's future" on a silver platter. Our lecturers, likewise ourselves, were very aware that there are persons who only attend teachers' college because it is seen as an "easy escape" from a world of joblessness. For them, teaching is a walk-over and anyone can do it, so why not.
Considerably, until after a week of being inside a classroom filled with "firesticks" waiting to be ignited. It is at this point that "push comes to shove" and instead of walking away, they stick around even though they do not love what they do and simply because they are still being paid whether they do a good job or not.
"I always say to people: Do what you love, follow your bliss, listen to your heart and intuition, and know that by doing so, success will have no choice but to follow." Luminita D. Saviuc "By Doing What You Love, Success Will Follow."
In a time when social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have taken the world by storm, there is one thing that many of us have in common - we are doing things for the wrong reason(s); we are posting for the wrong reason(s). We are doing things all in the name of LIKES.
In light of this, a very popular Jamaican artiste, Chronixx, thought it necessary to write this song:
“Mi dweet fi di love mi nuh dweet fi di likes
(Dweet fi di love we nuh dweet fi di likes)
Mek dem kno success don't come ovanight
Mek dem kno a substance over hype
Dweet fi di love mi nuh dweet fi di likes”
"I do it for the love, I don’t do it for the likes
(Do it for the love, we don't do it for the likes)
Let them know, success doesn't come overnight
Let them know, it is substance over hype
Do it for the love, I don't do it for the likes"
In this song, the roots reggae artiste speaks about persons within the dancehall fraternity who are posting on social media platforms simply to gain "likes" and to "hype" instead of putting in the much-needed work as well as having the music as top priority.
This song quickly gained popularity among persons who were able to comprehend its vernacular as this was happening even outside of the realms of dancehall. Everyone has been willing to do and post anything just to get some "likes" and social affirmation from persons watching from behind a screen.
So, what am I getting at?
Here on Steemit, our LIKES are what we call UPVOTES. I have only been on Steemit for a few days but I can say that I have already seen numerous complaints being made about persons buying voting-bots, persons not making the amount of money that they were hoping to make, persons producing poor content with the hopes that it will gain popularity and blah blah blah. This, in all honesty, can be a bit of a turn off for persons who are trying to enjoy their time here on Steemit.
At this point, I must highlight @beggars who, in my opinion, did a pretty good job of analyzing a recent post of such caliber in his post titled The Digital Equivalent of Pissing Into The Ocean. I applaud him for his act of loyalty to Steemit and his honesty. All of this now leaves me to wonder though, am I in the line of fire where persons will attack me for creating and posting good "enough" content and being deservedly rewarded for such? Hahaha, I crack myself up.
On a more serious note though, persons may say,
"You're a newbie so what the heck do you know? Pretty soon your chirpy and positive attitude will change and you will be just as miserable as we are."
To that I say, I may be new to Steemit but I am definitely not new to LIFE. Throughout the three decades that I have been on this Earth, I have learned that attitude is everything. The same way our attitude can affect what happens and what doesn't happen in our lives is the same way our attitude towards Steemit and cryptocurrency can determine whether we are successful or not.
Besides, who said that success is just the presence of likes, upvotes and cryptocurrency? There isn't any greater feeling of success than knowing that you have put your best foot forward and that you are being rewarded for it, as a bonus. It is good and well that we have such a great opportunity at our disposal, but it is what we do with it that will truly matter; it is our attitude that will determine whether Steemit will make us or break us.
"Most of us live with this impression that we don’t really have control over what we do, over what happens to us, over our happiness and our unhappiness, and that we are victims, and of course, as victims, all we know how to do, is defend ourselves. Because we spend so much time in the defending mode, we forget who we really are, we forget that we do have a choice and that we do have the ability to shift our lives in the right direction." Luminita D. Saviuc "By Doing What You Love, Success Will Follow."
From the get-go, it is recommended that one should aim to build a good reputation on Steemit. Unfortunately, some of us are just too impatient and aren't able to see the bigger picture. I do believe, however, that it is never too late to hit that restart button; never too late to change your attitude. But then again, it may just be too late for some of us. Still, to you my fellow Steemians, I say, “dweet fi di love, nuh dweet fi di likes” (do it for the love, don't do it for the likes).
Here is the official music video for the song mentioned above - Chronixx - Likes (Official Music Video) | Chronology by ChronixxMusic
