QUALITY LIFE IS ALWAYS NOT WHERE THE HERDS LEAD YOU.

The first time I witnessed the wilde­beest migration. I was spellbound. Probably one of the most spectacular occurrences on the tourism calendar, hundreds of thousands of wildebeest in search of pasture stampede their way into Kenya's Maasai Mara game reserve from the Serengeti in Tanzania and then back again, four months later.

A wonder of the natural world, the yearly migra­tion sees more than 500.000 wildebeest stream across borders accompanied by zebras, gazelles, elands and a host of predators like lions and leopards. The huge bearded antelopes with their long, black faces are attracted by the scent of fresh grass following seasonal rains across the plains.

The sad fact is 'that a large number of them never make it across the river, dying from drowning and being eaten by crocodiles.

Perform ritual

Yet each year, they continue to perform this rit­ual. Watching  this phenomenon. it occurred to me how we tend to get caught up in similar exer­cise, all in our daily search for sustenance. Consider this: Day after day million of people around the  world,get up. get dressed and head out and keep running until they drop. In  their  search" to put food on the table they buy a house or better car, they head out to pasture. Many will confess that thev have no sense of

sat­isfaction only a pressing urgency. They do what they need to do in order to live yes. but also in order to afford their life. The sad truth of the matter is that we do this because we don't know what we want. We haven’t spent leaning who we are, Hence we opt to live a life of harm because it is safer and, easier to follow the herd. I thought about this recently when a couple of kilo­metres from where I live, an industrious young man opened a hardware shop. In under six months, at least six other hardware shops have been opened on the same street.

And since no-one is thinking of a grocery store, we have all the nails and paint we need but need to drive to town for vegetables. to remain up to date

The truth of the matter is that if you start some­thing and look like you are having some measure of success, soon enough, someone will copy you. Then another. And before you know it. there's a whole multitude behind you.

You  just need to look at all the mushrooming religious cults that believe in any­thing to cast away all doubts. Then there are those of us who follow our tribal herd. Daddy was a doctor, his son will be a doctor, his son's son will be a doctor.

Breaks tradition

The moment someone in the family breaks the tra­dition and refuses to follow the tribal herd, the clan treats him as an outcast. Many times, we even let the tribal herd dictate who we should marry, what race, tribe, village and hamlet they should come from.

_{Author and motivational coach Suzanne W. Zoglio says: "When you fashion a life where the decisions you make and the actions you take are considered, deliberate, and in harmony with what's important to you, you are living an authentic life.}

"It is not necessarily a life that others admire or think is right f or you. but a life that you know in your heart is right for you. It may not be a life that has been your habit, but it is a life that makes you greet each day with enthusiasm and sleep peacefully at night."

Knowing, respecting and expressing your true self is probability the single most important factor in attaining satisfaction with life. In our fast paced life, it is so easy to get caught up in the habit of doing what others expect instead of taking charge of our lives and doing what is meaningful.

And some times, it is living a life that goes against the herd. Following the herd can be a difficult habit to break but it is the only way to achieve greater meaning in life.