TwoCents | THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

The Pursuit of Happiness is one of those movies that will get you serious about your life. Relax, this is not a movie review. Have you ever paused to question the reason we're all so busy on this not-so-green earth? Sincerely, there are days when I'm super pumped because I know my hard work will make my parents proud or my resilience will ensure my parents leave healthy in old age. It kind of makes me feel good. On other days, I feel like I'm chasing something ephemeral. People will tell you to trust the journey, but no one prepared you for the traffic on the way. I'm still stuck on the happiness dilemma. Is happiness static, or is it subject to change, like the Nigerian National Anthem? The pursuit of happiness often leads to loneliness. It's quite a mirage, to say the least. It's probably that way because it's heavily dependent on factors that are beyond our control. Hold up! Can we consciously make ourselves happy? Can I decide to shut the world off and rejoice even when I look like what I'm going through? The cost of happiness is in the pursuit of happiness.<img src="/media/inline_insight_image/images (38).jpeg">Maybe we should have stayed as children, or better yet, we should still live as children. Well, that's not realistic. Sometimes I feel pity for children on the streets because their plight stems from the actions of their parents. I used to think 100 thousand naira was a lot of money until I started going through a lot! I mean, my needs expanded, and it became clear that my vision is quite expensive. In fact, living is expensive. One crazy yet requisite hurdle in life is working either as a business owner or as an employee. We tend to give in much energy to our jobs with the view of growing and thinking it will give us the happiness we dearly desire. Some people are lucky or insane enough to follow their dreams despite the loneliness it may come with.<img src="/media/inline_insight_image/images (39).jpeg">I think we need to have conversations with ourselves. I know you have to work so you can eat and afford the basic things of life, but can you at least occasionally choose to be happy? If your job doesn't make you happy, then you must find a way to be happy after work. No go kill yourself o. I've seen cases where employees commit suicide because of depression and stress from their job. I'm all for hard work, but equally add fun work. We are not stones, so we should guard against elements that can sink us. Please don't kill yourself because of your job. Someone else will replace you with a higher salary!I'm a Christian, and I believe strongly that joy resides on my inside. Joy is my post code, and I choose to be joyful. This is what I tell myself. Whether or not you are a Christian, you can still give yourself reasons to be joyful. No let hustle whine you o. Choose to make yourself happy. Happiness is worth pursuing but not at the cost of ourselves or our life.

Other insights from Samuel Ibok