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By Henry Akubuiro
Living by the Script, Deji Ajibade, The Roaring Lion Newcastle, pp. 105, 2021
“When you worry, you tend to dwell in the negative energy of a problem, a behaviour that prevents you from seeing light in anything else, which then makes you sad, melancholic and withdrawn,” writes Deji Ajibade in Living by the Script, a motivational offering.
Ajibade doesn’t claim to know it all, but the author is convinced he has some answers to some existential challenges faced by many of us. This affirmation derives from his many years of experience in finding solutions to some of the issues we face in life.
Comparing yourself to others is the greatest disservice you can do to yourself, says the author, for it puts you “in a state of consistent discontent”. Lack of gratitude, exercise, unhealthy living pursuit of materialism, mixing up with the wrong crowd, fear, being stuck in the past and seeking unnecessary validation all contribute to making you unhappy, says the author.
Ajibade writes in a free-flowing style like a writer whose audience cuts across all ages. He educates the reader on how the ‘more’ trap segues into a narrative that pushes us to see the satisfaction of our numerous insatiable wants as a basis for happiness, thereby propelling us towards filling that gaping hole that is our desire in a bid to achieve fulfillment. But the ‘more’ trap is a lie — a capitalist construct designed to keep people perpetually focused on consumption as the means to achieve true happiness and fulfillment. He, in the second chapter, elaborates on the multiple myths robbing us of happiness.
Ajibade’s Living by the Script enlightens us on the things that matter, which occupy the third page. The best we can do, he hints, is to give people our time. You have to give time to what you prioritise. And closely related to time is attention, he offers. Another is commitment.
The titular chapter comes up next, “Living by the Script”. Without a reason and purpose for existence, without an intrinsic knowledge of who one is and why he or she is here on earth, the author says, and why he or she is here on earth, “life is haphazard and living becomes meaningless”. The book guides you on how to answer the question. For example, “… when you find a place where you can be of service to people, where you can add value to people, then you can create purpose there.”
How do you draw from the spring? Ajibade offers the reader a great deal of intrinsic motivation in the fifth chapter, which is defined as “the elements responsible for the actions we take without any obvious rewards.” He emphasises that “when your decisions are fueled by internal desires, away from any reward system or incentives, you will move beyond happiness into fulfillment.
The author wraps up his lifesaving treatise with chapters treating decision making, taming your foxes, swimming through the currents, climbing the giant’s shoulder, and staying true to yourself. Originality matters.
