Creating Hope

Last night I watched a documentary on one of my childhood heroes , Joost van der Westhuizen. As a young boy I wanted to be like Joost.  Everyone knows how the story of Joost unfolded. He was a rugby icon and national hero. Life has a funny way of sometimes being cruel. Joost went from hero to zero in the eye of so many people because of mistakes he made in life. I think it is very sad that people sometimes forget that even our heroes are human and make mistakes. Joost was ridiculed and persecuted wherever he went. I am not saying that he was innocent and for every action there is a reaction.  After facing his battles he got news of the biggest battle he would ever face. He was diagnosed with a rare incurable disease.  Whatching the documentary and all the interviews with him I realised something. He received a death sentence and even then he decided to stay positive. He changed his whole attitude towards life. He decided to stand up and fight. Not just for himself but also for those ar...

What is success? How do we measure success?  In the dictionary success is described as follows : " The accomplishment of an aim or purpose " This brings me to the question ........ what is your aim or purpose? Is your aim and purpose to chase wealth , social status or fame? For me success cannot be described in one sentence. I believe that success is measured by the difference you make in other peoples lives.  It is also true that success is a very personal thing. The way you see success and how you measure it will be different for everyone. We are all seeking success and regardless of what we see as success , it will drive us and motivate us in everything we do. This could sometimes cloud the journey to our ultimate goal. Success is not just about building your reputation. It's about doing your best to change someone  else's life. If you aim to offer value instead of just taking it , people will be drawn to you. You will find that you attract more people if you provi...

We all have days where we do not feel okay. We sometimes feel sad , hurt , angry or just unhappy. If you feel like this , there is nothing wrong with you. You are not weak. You are human! These feelings are almost always triggered by something. It could be as trivial as a song that triggers some kind of memory. It could be something someone says or does. For everyone this will be different. The one thing we all have in common though is the presence of normal human emotions. Some of us will try and suppress these feelings. We do this because of mistaken beliefs. These include that showing emotion is a sign of weakness. Another is that you always have to be strong for those around you. How many times do we tell ourselves that it's not that bad and that others have it worse?  This last statement might be true but even sadness , disappointment , hurt and anger are important feelings. Suppressing these feelings not only invalidates your emotions , it also harms your self - esteem and co...

In a recent survey I did I asked people what aspect of life they had the most problems with. Although the answer was mostly finances , it was also not surprising that balancing work and life came in close second. This is one of the biggest reasons of stress related illnesses today. So what is work / life balance ? This is a term used for the idea that you need time for both work and other aspects of life , whether those are family related or personal interests.   We live in chaotic times made up of deadlines and profit. Achieving that perfect balance between work and life almost seems unreachable. Work as we know it has changed over the years. Advancements in technology has created a whole different scenario when it comes to work. No longer is a job only during normal office hours. We use to go to work , leave at a normal time and then get home and spend time with our families. Now the scenario has changed. We can access our work via laptops , cellphones , etc , irrespective of where w...

Miles Munroe is one of my favourite authors. In his books he talks a lot about unfulfilled potential. This to me is such a sad topic. So many people never reach their full potential. I also see so many people not reach the goals they set for themselves. This is due to a lot of factors of which I want to discuss just a couple today. Over the years I have seen so many unhappy people. Unhappy in life , careers , relationships and not sure about what their purpose in life is. If you were to talk to some of these people you will find that somewhere they all had goals and dreams. Goals and dreams for their careers , relationships and life in general. Somewhere these people had passion and a vision for their lives. So why do we end up unhappy and not realising these goals and dreams? You see, we start getting into a habit of forming mistaken beliefs about ourselves. A mistaken belief is a belief or an assumption we have about ourselves. These mistaken beliefs usually stem from society's o...

 Hallo everyone Welcome to my new blog where i will be sharing thoughts, ideas and opinions.  I want you all to feel free and also do the same. This will not be a one sided blog. I really want to hear from you and if you have anything you want me to chat about please let me know. This blog is not about having all the answers but rather about having healthy conversations about everyday life issues. Also feel free to share this blog with all your friends. Have a blessed day and stay safe Donovan