Photo by ABBXSTUDIOS. Photo illustration by Crystal Simone for Okayplayer.
Pursuit of Happiness: BNXN on the Importance of Inspiring Yourself
For this week’s Pursuit of Happiness, BNXN gets real on the importance of self-inspiration and tuning out the internet.
BNXN understands the value of time management — especially when it comes to how much of it he should or shouldn’t allocate to internet nonsense. “I have decided not to dwell on negativity,” he tells OKP. “I like to believe in the nature of order and time.”
Since emerging six years ago, the 27-year-old has sifted through emotions and impulses to become one of the most dynamic Afrofusion vocalists in the world. But with that success comes an increase in trolls, workday stress and a little bit of everything else. “Besides being happy, I am expectant,” he says of his current mood. “I'm a little anxious for the future.”
For the latest edition of Pursuit of Happiness, BNXN breaks down just how he handles that anxiety, internet trolling and more.
BNXN: Music has always been my distraction from a lot of things, and the internet is one of them. I've fallen into the trap of getting into that space where I've wanted to have a back-and-forth with a troll, and it just never ends. It's a loop — it's a spiral. With the help of my manager, I started to see online comments, online accounts and people as binaries; zeros, the ones that count and the ones that don't. So when you start to see things in that perspective, a lot of things don't necessarily matter, because you are getting this comment from somebody that doesn't have anything going on for them, and you can't let your judgment be moved by that.
It’s easier when your livelihood isn’t stuck on the internet — when you don't have to come online to make a certain amount of money. I've been paying attention to what I watch and what I listen to in my day-to-day life. Positivity is something that has to come from within. That's how I feel. Sometimes you can definitely be inspired by external forces, but sometimes you need to be happy from the inside; you’ve got to get your positivity from there. Every day, life throws certain things at you where, if you are not strong enough, you could break. As I've grown older, I've been changing my thoughts and my thought scheme. The younger me used to be very afraid to try stuff, but these days, I'm not. I'm just going with the flow and going with how I feel.
I like to dream big. I was living on the outskirts of Lagos, Nigeria, where it was tough to dream from your environment because there's nothing going on around you. Those kinds of things have ways of crushing your dreams and your beliefs. The inspiration to get out of that space always has to come from within. If you ever watch a baby when they want to try to stand up, the effort is always there — and it always comes from within. Sometimes, you just have to inspire yourself.
Because my music is filled with my emotions, I’m able to write music on my bad days. When I have a problem, I like to communicate. I like to talk to people that care about me so I'm not alone. At the same time, I try to fade out as much as possible, play some music, go to the studio and try to create happy music. I'm very happy right now. Besides being happy, I am expectant. I’m a little anxious for the future. I have decided not to dwell on negativity. I like to believe in the nature of order and time. Everything passes, everything comes back afresh. Everything comes back anew.
