A few years ago, the word of the year was “enshittification.” It particularly pertained to social media platforms but it could be anything that starts out shiny and attractive. The sucker, err, user, is treated great at first, but over time the ads increase, the fees go up, the alternatives decrease and the experience degrades to, well, you know what. I’d like to offer the opposite meaning as a word to live by.
“Exshittification.” It means arising from a crappy beginning. To put it bluntly, shedding the shit. I give you its emblem: the volunteer sunflower. Let’s say you are one of these glorious flowers. You got your start in the belly of a hungry bird. Somewhere that bird feels the urge to go and, splat, you wind up dumped on the ground, abandoned to the whims of nature. Fortunately (for random luck always plays a role), you find yourself on fertile soil. A chance. You dig in your roots. Slowly at first. Then you rise, tentatively. Then you grow. You gain confidence and height. You reach for the sun. And one day, one glorious day, you burst on the scene and show your beauty to the world.
It doesn’t always happen. Exshittification depends on chance. But it also depends on hard work and singular focus. Because if your chance comes, you must be ready. And when it does, grow like you mean to reach the sky.