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Emilia's Pen Nigeria
Virtual Financial Operations Virtual Assistant (In Training) @ University of Abuja
In Literature, Writing and Blogging 3 min read
How I come Up With My Two Cents.
<p><strong>Two Cents: How an Insight Actually Comes Together</strong></p><p><br/></p><p>This is not a manifesto. It’s a walkthrough.</p><p>An insight for Two Cents doesn’t arrive fully formed. It usually starts messy, half-clear, and slightly annoying. What follows is the actual thinking process — what’s happening in my head before anything becomes an insight.</p><p><br/></p><p> 1. <strong>Something Feels Off (Before I Can Name It)</strong></p><p>Most insights start as irritation, not inspiration.</p><p>I notice a sentence that keeps repeating online. A behaviour people defend too quickly. A trend everyone applauds but no one examines. At this stage, I don’t know my position yet. I just know something about it feels thin, rushed, or dishonest.</p><p>I don’t write immediately. I let the discomfort sit. If it disappears after a day, it wasn’t real. If it keeps resurfacing in different contexts, I pay attention.</p><p><br/></p><p>2. <strong>I Track the Pattern, Not the People</strong></p><p>When the feeling sticks, I start mentally collecting examples — conversations, tweets, habits, stories. Not to judge individuals, but to see the pattern underneath.</p><p>This is where the question shifts from <em>“Why do people do this?”</em> to <em>“What does this behaviour protect?”</em></p><p>I’m looking for repetition, not outliers. One example is noise. Five similar ones is signal.</p><p><br/></p><p> 3.<strong> I Argue With Myself First</strong></p><p>Before I form an insight, I test the opposite view.</p><p>I ask:</p><p>* What’s the most generous explanation for this behaviour?</p><p>* In what situations would this actually make sense?</p><p>* Am I reacting emotionally, or is there a structural issue here?</p><p>If my idea can’t survive that internal argument, it doesn’t deserve airtime.</p><p><br/></p><p> 4.<strong> The Real Question Emerges Late</strong></p><p>The insight doesn’t start with a question — the question shows up after the thinking.</p><p>It’s usually sharper and less dramatic than the original irritation. It often sounds like:</p><p><em>“When did this become acceptable?”</em></p><p><em>“What are we avoiding by calling this growth?”</em></p><p><em>“Who is being inconvenienced if this belief is challenged?”</em></p><p>Once I have that question, the direction becomes clearer.</p><p><br/></p><p>5. <strong>I Strip Away the Internet Language</strong></p><p>At this point, I deliberately remove buzzwords.</p><p>I rewrite the idea without terms like <em>healing, soft life, alignment, productivity era</em>. If the thought collapses without those words, it wasn’t an insight — it was aesthetic agreement.</p><p>What remains is usually plainer, slightly uncomfortable, and harder to romanticise.</p><p><br/></p><p>6. <strong>I Decide What I’m Actually Saying (and What I’m Not)</strong></p><p>This is a narrowing stage.</p><p>I decide:</p><p>* What I am directly addressing</p><p>* What I am deliberately leaving out</p><p>* What responsibility stays with the listener</p><p>I’m not trying to cover every angle. I’m trying to be precise. Over-explaining weakens the insight.</p><p><strong><br/></strong></p><p>7.<strong> Writing Sounds Nothing Like the Final Audio</strong></p><p>The first draft is blunt and inelegant. That’s intentional.</p><p>I write as if explaining the thought to myself, not to an audience. Only after the idea is clear do I refine language, pacing, and tone.</p><p>The audio version is shaped by pauses and emphasis, not by dramatic delivery. Silence is part of the thinking, so it stays in.</p><p><br/></p><p>8. <strong>The Final Check</strong></p><p>Before releasing an insight, I ask:</p><p>* Does this sound like I’m trying to convince, or trying to clarify?</p><p>* Am I offering relief, or responsibility?</p><p>* Would this still stand if it didn’t feel validating?</p><p>If it leans toward comfort over clarity, it goes back to the draft.</p><p><br/></p><p>This is the process. It’s slow, internal, and sometimes inconvenient. Two Cents isn’t about arriving loudly — it’s about thinking honestly, then speaking only when the thought has earned its shape.</p><p><br/></p><p>If anything remains unclear, please let me know.</p><p style="text-align: center; ">♡˖꒰ᵕ༚ᵕ⑅꒱</p><p><br/></p>

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Thank you for reading and showing support.♡˖꒰ᵕ༚ᵕ⑅꒱

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