A little while back I wrote a piece on the South African psyche of not having faith in our ourselves that we will get things right (see Greg’s View on Fun). We always look forward and assume that we will mess it up, which the media then laps up and spews out there.

The pendulum has now swung to the other extreme. Now no negative press is tolerated by South Africans regarding the Soccer World Cup. We are now in a panacea of perfection and efficiency, despite actual experience. My experience is an example. I am aware that my comments may be seen by some as “afro-pessimism” or negative but it is a factual account of what happened. I also must point out a feature of my personality where I get frustrated when I see that things designed to achieve something are not being utilised properly.

Here is my experience of the opening game. (continue reading…)

I was chatting to some friends the other day and they were commenting on how proud they are of Adam Lambert because of how he has been himself despite criticism from the public. He has been himself? It’s very telling of how few of us can honestly say that we are being ourselves. How many of us actually know anything about ourselves? We are so quick to follow what people say: we adjust our diets when scientists tell us something is unhealthy; we buy new clothes in order to follow fashions being put forth by “them” over there in some other country; we change jobs when a consultant tells us we are not well-suited to what we’re doing. We’re always quick to follow others but would we know who to follow if we were the only person around? Do you know what food you would eat because it makes you feel good and your body responds well to it? What would you wear if it were entirely up to you; what would make you feel good about yourself? Do you know what job you would do that would make you bounce out of bed every morning? Who would you be? (continue reading…)