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Food for Living: Distance Yourself from Negativity
By Henry Ukazu
Greetings Destiny Friends,
It is a well established fact that in life, there’s time for everything. A time to sow, and a time to reap; a time to cry and a time to be joyful; a time to be born and a time to die; and a time to succeed and a time to fail. The list is literally endless. Amongst all these, the gateway of overcoming this challenge is having a positive mindset. When you diffuse your mind from negative thoughts, you give yourself the positive energy to live again.
In the journey of life, sometimes we are too complacent. We sometimes hold onto sentimental attachment with our fellow human beings due to vested interest. Most of us kind of play along or flow when it comes to who we surround ourselves with.
Having a positive mindset is priceless. A positive mindset tells you that despite all the bullets that is thrown at you, it shall fade away if it’s definitely not for you. A positive energy tells you that regardless of what is said about you, they don’t decide your fate. A positive mindset tells you that when they go low, you go high. A positive attitude empowers you to raise the price so that detractors will find it hard to rent a space from your mind.
You cannot underestimate the power of positive mindset. However, before you are able to appreciate the strength of positivity in your life, you must keep negative people out of your life. The question now becomes, how do I kick off negativity from my life? Kicking out negativity does not only involve distancing yourself from friends and associations, it also entails distancing yourself from negative thoughts. This is because that is where all negative thoughts arise.
Just like how success and failure arise first from the mind, distancing yourself from the world starts from the mind as well. You’ll have to conceive the idea first before acting on it. It should be noted that if you don’t weed out negative thoughts and people from your mind, they’ll hunt you. Let’s take a case study of a farmer who plants a crop. He has to constantly weed the farm in order to allow the crop grow and mature very well before he/she can harvest. In the same way, we need to separate our self from the chaff.
As human beings, we all have one form of chaff living in us. It’s up to us to weed out all the chaff in our life. This chaff can be friends, family, insecurity, associations, habits or even blind spots which you are not aware of. It’s high time you shook off any chaff of disappointments preventing you from possessing your passion. You are in charge of your life. Has it ever occurred to you that you are the landlord of your life? If yes, then it’s imperative for you to raise the bar so that cheap people can’t rent a spot in your mind. Don’t allow people with no value to occupy a space in your brain which you can use to create ideas and solutions.
As human beings, sometimes, we always think human beings are the cause of our failures, but in reality, the reason is simply because we are still hanging out with negativity, free yourself by separating yourself from the crowd.
How to distance yourself from negativity
There are several ways to distance yourself from negativity: Avoid negative people because they literally have no value except envy and doubt. Set boundaries from strangers and people you are not comfortable with in order to keep your sanity of mind. Look out for solutions and not problems; and finally, don’t take things personally and always practice self-love.
When you distance yourself from negative people, your thoughts become positive. When you’re surrounded by other people’s negativity, you may find it harder to regulate your own positive and negative reactions and emotions. When you are surrounded by negativity, it will hard to find reasons to feel happy or positive. However, once you distance yourself from negativity, your positive emotions will start to show themselves again.
According to a Life coach and author, Tandee A. Victor, “Complaining can completely ruin your life by taking all the happiness out of it. When you constantly complain, you develop a negative mentality about everything. That leads to discontent and inner turmoil.” This is simply what negative thought brings to the mind. It’s easier to think, feel and stay positive when you’re surrounded by such happy, good and positive energy. You’ll be surrounded by good people and good things, rather than an endless feedback loop of negative energy.
Sometimes, a lot of people don’t notice that they’re surrounded by negativity until they start to distance themselves from it. Therefore, in order to separate or distance yourself, you must detach yourself from the crowd. And finally, ask yourself why? Ask yourself why now? Ask yourself what? Ask yourself how? Ask yourself when? You can do this by finding the root cause and start looking at how it affects you, the people around you. Look around you, look at yourself. Food for thought: The one thing that happens immediately after distancing yourself from negativity is a shift in the way that you’re thinking.
Release
You can distance yourself from the crowd by releasing yourself and your mind from any distraction. You need to let it out whatever has been disturbing you. It would greatly help if you release feelings. The longer you keep it in, the harder it will get.
Forgive
Pride can make you do things you’ll regret. Pride will make you say words that can leave wounds deeper than any blade can ever do. Forgive them and forgive yourself. This will help you have peace of mind. And wouldn’t it be calming to think that nothing else is holding you back from moving on, from detaching yourself from the things that aren’t good for you. Forgive. One word, six letters, and a lifetime worth of work, forgiveness takes time..
Be grateful.
Be grateful for the pain and sorrow. Be grateful for the joy and hope. Be grateful for the memories. Be grateful for the smiles and scars, and the wounds and tears. Be grateful for realizing the reason you’re detaching. There are so much other things, and many other people that you can be grateful for.
Amazing things happen when you distance yourself from negativity
The simple question I have for you today is what’s your own chaff?
Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He works with the New York City Department of Correction as the Legal Coordinator. He’s the author of the acclaimed book Design Your Destiny – Actualizing Your Birthright To Success and President of gloemi.com. He can be reached via henrous@gmail.com
The Rivers State House of Assembly has commenced impeachment proceedings against Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
The legislature kicked off the process at plenary on Thursday.
The lawmakers are accusing Fubara and his deputy of gross misconduct.
Speaker of the House, Martin Amaewhule, is presiding over the session.
The day’s proceedings bear the imprimatur of renewed hostilities between Fubara and his predecessor Nyesom Wike, minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
On December 5, 2025, a horde of the Rivers assembly lawmakers led by the speaker, announced their defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Days later, Fubara formalised his own switch from the PDP to the APC.
Most of the Rivers lawmakers have stayed loyal to Wike.
TheCable
The 2023 vice-presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Senator Datti Baba-Ahmed, has declared his intention to contest the 2027 presidential election, positioning himself as a stabilising figure within the party following the recent departure of its presidential flag-bearer, Peter Obi.
Baba-Ahmed announced his ambition on Wednesday at a rally held at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja, barely a week after Obi defected to the African Democratic Congress (ADC), a move that has intensified debates about the future of the opposition.
Addressing party members and supporters, Baba-Ahmed said his presidential aspiration was long-standing and not influenced by Obi’s political decisions. “I have made myself to contest for the office in 2027. I’m not following anybody’s trajectory or stepping into anybody’s shoes,” he said.
He recalled that his interest in the presidency predates the 2023 election.
“Can I please remind you that before His Excellency Governor Peter Obi filed for the presidency, I aspired for the presidency before him? The records are there for you to see,” he added.
The former lawmaker also reflected on his earlier political journey, noting that he once sought the presidential ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party before aligning with Obi in the Labour Party.
“In October 2018, I participated in the primaries of the then PDP in Port Harcourt and walked to Obi for his vote, and he smiled at me. What a gentleman he was,” he said.
Baba-Ahmed explained that his decision to serve as Obi’s running mate in 2023 was driven by a desire for national unity.
“I saw a rare opportunity for national unity to have elected Peter Obi in 2023. And that is why I decided to flow with it,” he stated.
Responding to questions around religion and ethnicity, Baba-Ahmed insisted that constitutional rights, not identity, should define leadership choices.
“Yes, I am a practising Muslim. But I’m a Nigerian, and the constitution allows me to contest. You asked about my ethnicity. Yes, I am a Hausa man, and the Nigerian constitution also allows me to contest. I’m doing this because Nigeria needs help,” he said.
While declaring his interest, Baba-Ahmed stressed that he would respect party and electoral processes. “As a law-abiding citizen and a loyal party member, until the timetable is released by INEC and the leadership of the Labour Party calls for interested aspirants, I will not say anything about it. But remember I told you that Nigerians know the truth,” he said.
Reacting to the declaration, Labour Party National Chairman, Julius Abure, praised Baba-Ahmed for remaining with the party despite speculation of possible defections following Obi’s exit. He said the move demonstrates the party’s resilience and continuity.
“On the night Peter Obi defected, I received a telephone call from our Vice-Presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Dr. Datti Baba-Ahmed. He said he is not leaving the party because it was the platform upon which he, along with the former candidate, received millions of votes from Nigerians,” Abure said.
Abure added that Baba-Ahmed proposed a gathering of party stakeholders to reaffirm unity. “He asked me to organise an event where members can come together. That is why we are having this gathering here today. The Labour Party is intact, we will not let Nigerians down,” he said.
Baba-Ahmed’s declaration has reshaped internal dynamics within the Labour Party and injected fresh momentum into early manoeuvring ahead of the 2027 presidential election, as opposition parties continue to adjust to shifting alliances.
Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja has granted the former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami and two others, bail in the sum of N500 million with two sureties.
The sureties, according to the judge, must have landed property in Asokoro, Maitama, Gwarinpa.
He added that they must submit their travelling documents to the court.
The documents of the properties are to be verified by the deputy chief registrar of the court while the sureties are also to depose to affidavit of means.
Malami was also ordered to deposit his travelling documents with the court and must not travel out of the country without the permission of the court.
The former AGF and his sureties were also ordered to deposit their two recent passport photograph with the court.
Meanwhile, Malami has been ordered to be remanded in Kuje prison pending his perfection of the bail conditions.
Justice Nwite subsequently fixed February 17 for commencement of trial of the corruption charges.
The same bail were extended to Malami, son Abdulaziz Malami, and an employee of Rahamaniyya Properties Limited, Hajia Asabe Bashir,.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) filed a 16-count alleged money laundering charge against Malami, his son and his wife.
