THE IP MAG

Hi, I'm Sam ,  I took my time to sit down and I tried to figure out the natural state of humans and I honestly think that humility should be our default mode if you consider how often we recycle different things in our lives and I'm not referring to plastics or those kind of recyclables. We recycle feelings, opinions, materials, humans, love, hatred, positions, cars and so on. At every point in our lives, somethings that we will consider new, with all the happiness, appreciation and love has probably been used by someone else and we will place so much value on something or someone another person discarded and wants nothing to do with. And this realization has absolutely nothing to do with how I receive or appreciate anything that's comes to me, it doesn't help me decide how much value to place on it or the sentimental value. I have the absolutely freedom to attach as much or as little as I want to it depending on how I feel about it and not about who had it ...

Hi, I'm Sam,  I know that you know that I know that you know that I know that you know exactly how you feel when you have any sort of interaction with certain people in your life. There are people in our lives that we actually do not have much of a choice when it comes to interacting with them and all we can really do is to reduce how often we interact with them and there are exhausting people who we do not really need to interact with but for some reason we will interact with them, complain about the interaction, do nothing about cutting them off or removing ourselves from it, rinse repeat. It's possible that we took so much time trying to figure our exactly how we feel about the interaction but we have decided not to see it for exactly what it is because after the identification comes the thought to carry out an action if you eventually decide on what action to take in any of the scenarios.  Certain emotional situations require more strength than we would ever gi...

Hi, I'm Sam ,  I know everyone says this "I am my own competition " and everyone really should say it even when they don't believe it, say it as often as you can till you believe it. I wake up everyone morning and strive to make little decisions that will lead to the person and life I aspire to live in the nearest future. Sometimes the future is vivid enough to picture and sometimes I get greedy and try to belittle the imagination by telling myself that whatever it is that I can imagine is not scary enough because they say that our dreams should scare us but no one talks about how the scary dream can feel so far away and out of reach that I start to think that I'm not doing enough because the little things that I'm doing in the moment is no where close to what will help me achieve the scary ambitions. I've conditioned my mind to appreciate the ambitions that I can actually fit into my imaginations but also have it at the back of my mind they ar...

Hi, I'm Sam,  The year was 2021 and the month was January, right after everything that came with 2020 and with everything that happened that year, I like to focus on the fact that I got two Taylor Swift albums and no, it's not my way to downplay how terrible that year was or the irreplaceable loss people experienced but we get to choose what to focus on in any moment in time and I want to focus on that for now. Just like any other company, the company I worked for then made plans for the new year and making plans was one thing and taking action was a different ball game but my company decided that we needed to open a branch in another city which meant that some of us were going to have to move to this new city. I was pleased with this plan because it felt like a fresh start and it was a fresh start and it couldn't have come at a better time with the heaviness of the year before. I somehow convinced myself that things would be better and different because of the ...

Hi, I'm Sam,  I really do think that love has to be the warmest feeling to experience, especially because humans are the most selfish creatures and as such we tend to do things that make us feel good and caters to our likes, wants and needs that when someone decides to put their extremely loved self at a place and not only think of you but back it up with actions that probably has nothing to do with them but so much if not everything to do with you, yeah, that warm feeling is such a good feeling. Naturally, the easiest place to find love is at home, it's like a follow-come necessity that it is naturally expected but it's quite unfortunate that not everyone gets to experience love at home. For me when I think of home, I immediately feel loved, understood and backed up that I don't feel alone.  I asked one of my best friends what jazz I did to have and keep my friends so close and the way they come through for me makes me wonder if I truly deserve it and if I ...

Hi, I'm Sam,  One of my most celebrated skill by everyone around me is being a very good driver. I thought the joy I experienced when I started driving was going to be short lived but over 10 years later, I still get excited whenever I have to drive. My joy and pride in driving has made me the designated driver even when alcohol is not involved. People just get comfortable letting me drive because they get to completely relax and not try to step on the imaginary brake and turn the steering a little bit from the passenger's seat. I am very proud to say that I taught my two sisters how to drive and they can both attest to the fact that I not just a very good driver but also a very good teacher in that aspect. When I started teaching my immediate elder sister how to drive, I realized how much of a challenge it can be to learn something new. I encouraged her everyday but what she didn't know was I was equally challenging and encouraging myself because I started to l...

Hi, I'm Sam,   Most days I realize that my life is actually simpler than I would like to admit because I've lived a simple life for so long that I actually do not know how else to live and I don't let myself or my mind wander past where it really needs to. It doesn't go too far for me to now try to justify why I should think about certain things. Some days I pat myself on the back because I live a simple life and some days I wish for more because the simple can easily become boring. When I don't focus on taking credit for my simple life, I realize that I am simply paying attention to my interests and doing the things that truly matter to me no matter how simple and unserious those things may seem. There was a period I tried to live my life based on things I thought I was supposed to pay attention to and I truly regretted that period. Not only did I find myself waking up everyday feeling terrible, I couldn't recognize myself anymore. I struggled to do...

Hi, I'm Sam , They say there is no point crying over spilt milk. It is possible to take the sentence as face value but as a known overthinker, I've always had to dive deep into phrases like that. No matter our age bracket, after getting to the age of being on our own, our lives will be full of choices to make. Some choices birth unimaginable rewards while some come with their fair share of consequences which in turn lead to lessons learnt, but the annoying constant is finding yourself with options to choose from and not choosing any of the options is also making a choice which will probably come with its own consequences. Sometimes I feel like none of the available options will produce anything I think I desire in the moment but what I need and in that moment I just have to deal with the feeling of picking an option with a less terrible outcome.  Its very easy to identify bad judgement when you're not the one making it. When I listen to someone tell me about a s...

Hi, I'm Sam ,  A book starts with an alphabet or a character, drops of water make an ocean, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a step. These are the few ways I try to remind myself to take is easy on myself that the life I live everyday is made of building blocks of experiences. These experiences have not only been bad or good because I try to have a solid stand on life, I've had to go through the different types, shapes and duration of those experiences. I can trace certain things in the present to things that have happened in the past and things I've had to either learn or unlearn at some point in my little, boring life. Despite the number of times I've heard the phrase "its well" , it still somehow holds so much weight to me that it feels as new and weighty as it did the first time I heard it. And the irony that I often use it when things aren't going well or about to scatter into several pieces makes me chuckle most times. I've ...

Hi, I'm Sam,  One of my favorite things to do in this life is road tripping especially if I have to drive for the most part of the trip but as much as I love the idea and actually going on a road trip, I know the people to embark on such with and I also know the people that I don't mind using the last money in my account to book a flight for them in order to get the trip over with in no time. I love when someone is as excited about a road trip as much as I am, putting thoughts into playlist, snacks/ food, outfits, route. The excitement going to fill up the fuel tank because we know how long the journey is, making stops to buy things, relieve ourselves, buy things in traffic etc is a feeling I do not complain about at all. But unlike road trips, I've come to the point in life to experience the unavoidable, that there are indeed things in life that i will have to do and experience alone. And thinking about it, there are so many things in life we will have to do an...

Hi, I'm Sam,  I have always enjoyed doing things on my own and for myself because there's just something that the direct connection between myself and whatever that is does for my spirit. It easily brings things up to memory for me, that there's little to no need to always put things in place to serve as a reminder to remember something or someone. Having direct connection to something or people gives me a sense of individuality that requires no appreciation or loyalty to anything or anyone who isn't connected directly to what's at hand. When you introduce me to someone you know, maybe in a social setting, I begin to debate within me what side of me to showcase and how familiar should we get before and after we leave here? I often ask myself how necessary it is to include the mutual friend in our future connection, if any. Does excluding the mutual friend show any sign of betrayal or is it a way for me to form a genuine connection with an individual irr...

Hi, I'm Sam ,  It is very possible to live life knowing that nobody thinks of me as much as I think about myself. I am living my life and as such I have to be more concerned about me than anyone else, with this realization, I am able to extend grace to others when I don't feel so much like a priority to them, because they are living their lives as well and they should be more concerned about themselves. Everyone is the main character in their story and have to have that main character energy one way or the other in some areas of their lives if not all. I light up whenever someone takes out time to reach out to me to find out how I am doing. Immediately I see the text or the call, I instantly forget the last time we spoke or was in contact with this person, what matters the most to me in that moment is not make the connection genuine and deep so much that with few sentences or seconds on the phone we are able to fill whatever gap we think was existing from the last t...

Hi, I'm Sam ,  I drew the map of my life really early in life with zero understanding of what life really is. I had this eagerness to grow up so fast almost like i was desperate for it because I needed to start doing things contained in my map. While I was curious about doing these older things, I couldn't find the curiosity to map out my younger years, It didn't bother me what foundation the older me would build on, I didn’t bother to grasp how important the foundation was so I didn't care to map it out. Maybe I didn't feel my younger years were my responsibility as I was still under my parents and didn't have any choice but to do whatever they said so they should have the map, but thinking about it now, if I really thought they should have the map to how my teenage years should go,  why was I not curious enough to ask about it or desire to look at it because that should have some sort of influence on the map I was drawing up for my adult years. De...

Hi, I'm Sam ,  I have this desire to ensure that the contents of my brain see the light and to do this I've had to think it through, argue with myself about what content should come first, or as I move on or should never see the light no matter how much I desire it and tried my best to weigh the pros and cons. Some days I am able to list more cons than pros and some days the pros win. As I have the desire to flash a light on the contents, I also desire to keep some of the contents to myself. My creative fears started from answering some questions that no one else but me is going to care for the answer, I tried to scrutinize myself and the contents of my brain so much that when someone else questions it, I will have the correct response or not let it sting as much. While trying to scrutinize, ask and answer questions myself, I often walk the path of self sabotage by focusing on things that make the contents unique but I flip those things to mean weakness and the ulti...

Hi, I'm Sam,  As the resident overthinker, I am here to say that  someone who has zero business with overthinking can fall victim to overthinking when it comes to making the best first impression. The chances of falling victim to overthinking becomes a tad bit higher If you are someone who has knowledge of how you're perceived by people from afar, you can try to not prove those people right especially when the perception is completely wrong and negative but truly everyone gets only one chance at making a first impression but I do not think first impressions are as important as we tend to make them out to be because it turns non overthinkers to overthinkers amongst other things. First impressions will always go the way they're meant to no matter how much we try to weave it to be. Some can see through the act to see and love the real Indentity without help. The first impression will end up meaningless if the thought of curating the perfect person for the moment wa...

Hi, I'm Sam,  Very often I find myself standing on the lane between overthinking and what actually happens in real life. When I engage myself in overthinking, nine out of ten times It has everything to do with me, like what I'd say if I found myself in a particular situation, how I would react, or how I would cross a bridge if I had burned the bridge while crossing the first time. I always console myself and say that overthinking is something I do to get myself ready to confront situations that are probably not the most comfortable in a normal or less awkward manner but the truth is that overthinking for me is more graphic than I would like to admit, I exert so much energy when I overthink about a situation that I sometimes physically feel exhausted when I'm done. This has made me put so much consideration into what I use my energy to overthink on. Our realities vary and as such requires different reactions and action from us, to an extent, I do not have contro...

Hi, I'm Sam,  There's a piece of advice that we hear that is not our own but is also our own. It comes from within and we do have the creative freedom to call it whatever we want. Our spiritual inclination actually helps us decide what to or what not to call it but we all experience that advice or suggestion. Asides the creative naming, another thing we have is the ultimate decision to listen to it or not, act as we've heard or completely ignore it or act on the modified version. It is very possible to have this instant regret when we do not listen and act on the suggestion because we can not see the long term effect and it is also possible to see the consequences of ignoring that suggestion in the long run. My innate desire to always listen to that voice didn't just come over me suddenly because I felt like listening to something, but after I've had the experiences and seen the outcome of listening and not listening, I didn't think I needed anymore...

Hi, I'm Sam, The exciting feeling of butterflies often felt as a result of a new prospect or talking stage starts to fade earlier than anticipated. As a matter of fact, you don't expect the feeling to stop being exciting because with different persons but same expectations comes the feeling and because you never plan to feel that way, you expect it to always be there either with the same person or a completely different person. With some expectations comes the excitement of talking about yourself while realizing that you are not the same person you were few years ago, with each new person comes different likes and dislikes, hobbies, favorite colors and activities. Unknowingly, you respond and program yourself to seem compatible in the moment. No one has ever seen red flags so early when you still feel the excitement during talking stages or you see it but think its something you can tolerate or change until you get over that excitement and start living with a sense ...