So much is changing and yet so much is still the same...

Unbelievably, another week has come to an end, another month is over and it is also our company's financial year end. 

So much is changing and yet so much is still the same. 

I don't know if I am just becoming less naive or just more aware or if there is truly a growth in the number of despicable people in this world. Around me, I see so many people being hurt by self-absorbed individuals with little or no regard for the other's emotions. There are so many people who believe their importance is paramount and nobody else's needs are considered in their pursuit of their goals.
Similarly, our country is in turmoil over the government with a constant barrage of abuse from opposition parties and disillusioned supporters. How will this chapter of South African history pan out? 
Internationally I read of extremist parties beheading groups of people for their faith and the rest of the world does nothing. I still can't believe that a person can actually cut off another's head! What hatred must there be to be able to perform such deeds. This is meant to be the "modern times"; look at the knowledge and the technology we have all around and yet we seem to be regressing in so many areas. Surely what we have learned over the years of war and killing, that no one really wins in the end. The loss of life, broken families, devastation of cities and infrastructure. The cost is immeasurable. As a child, I often thought that disputes should be settled over a game of chess. A war on the chess board, where the only casualties are the chess pieces. Each dispute is tabled with agreed stakes for the "war's" outcome. Whoever's King remains, is the victor and claims the agreed prize. Simplistic, I know but why can't it be? Of course those with the best chess players would become greedy and use their advantage to take more than what is fair. A super-power based on chess prowess if you will. I guess when there is a human element involved, the basic needs of survival and equality are justifiable to "fight" for but when the intolerance of others and hunger for more permeates the ranks of the leaders, that is when the real trouble begins. 

My Christian belief says that we should love one another, with all our differences. Loving, however does not mean accepting the injustices imposed on others. I can't for one instance imagine myself sitting down with ISIS members to have a cup of tea and a group hug. Somewhere in their life they have been brainwashed and lost their way. Probably no fault of their own but radical leaders who are passing down the same distorted beliefs and objectives enforced in their lives. They were not born hating others who did not follow Islam, they were taught. No-one is born a natural hater. As children we are innocent and open to everything. It's as we get older, the people we surround ourselves with, mould our character and alter our beliefs. This can be moulded to such an extent that radicalists evolve.

All is not lost though. There is a greater plan in all this confusion and turmoil. Desperate times, pulls people together; develops a spirit of unity and that is exactly what we need as a community, a country and as global citizens.

No short-cuts to Mars!

This week I learned about a planned mission to mars called Mars-One (http://www.mars-one.com/). Interestingly, the crew will comprise "normal" people, not the NASA academy astronauts. These people have volunteered to go. The catch? It's a one way trip, they don't have a way to come back to earth. They have decided to give up everything and pursue an absurd challenge of living in a capsule on another planet. I think it is incredible, and turn back the clock a few years, before I was married, and I would have signed up. Maybe it's a mid-life crisis state of mind driving that opinion to take on such a crazy life change, but I still think that it is a fascinating project and will be watching the progress with keen interest over the next 10 years when they expect the first crew to settle. 

What changes are you currently facing and what are you willing to give-up to achieve them?

Change is inherently a process of something being displaced or replaced with something else. The former condition is no more. It has been transformed into something different. Sometimes this process is uncontrollable and we are simply passengers in the transformation. In other instances we get to choose to make the transformation. We have to weigh up the former condition against the desired outcome and then decide which we desire more. It almost always involves giving up something familiar to make the transformation. It's often the value we place on the familiar and the fear of not achieving the goal that keeps us exactly where we are far longer than we should be. Personalities are so varied that some thrive on change and are frustrated by the "familiar", but I think the generalisation holds true. Those volunteer astronauts are giving up everything they are familiar with to pursue an incredible expedition that could potentially change the way we live. The cost versus the outcome has been weighed up and they have decided to go where many of the chosen applicants opted the other way, believing the sacrifice was too great. How do your current possible changes and sacrifices weigh up in your life?
The actual trip to Mars is 210 days, which is a long time to be in close habitat and that's what they have to endure before they even get to their destination. Even before that, they have to go through vigorous training to be equipped for the mission. It is still 10 years before they reach Mars. Similarly, our changes will require time and equipping to get the desired outcome. No short-cuts to Mars! Once again, these efforts have to be considered when embarking on the mission of change. Whether you are an A-type personality, where every last detail is listed and categorised, or a free-spirited creative-type, some consideration of the effort required to make the transformation must be made. I'm all for comparative tables, to-do lists and schedules when it comes to making decisions as I need to visualise the entire situation to make my choice. Use the tools and means best suited to you and the level of change required. No need for a full desk-top study to decide to change your blue shirt for a white one! However, choosing to buy a house, change of job or career, relationships would all require some due consideration. Make sure you have considered the sacrifice, effort required and the outcome very carefully. 
Don't fly to Mars on an impulse decision.

Leverage the Potential

How can I not start off by commenting on our country's state of the nation address proceedings last night? I think the way in which the event rolled out, painted a better picture of the actual state of the nation, than did the words used in the president's speech. Not a very inspiring affair at all. I must admit I did not get to watch the speech through to the end as my recording was cut short just after the land repatriation delivery, so I may have missed out on the uplifting gems...

After what I watched, I realise we have a long hard road ahead of us in South Africa. It will take a few men and women with Mandela-like attitudes, who want to serve the country rather than being served, to bring out the best in what our country and people have to offer. Until then, only a minority will actually benefit and the division and segregation we see today will continue to escalate. Not a very positive outlook I know, but a reality snapshot. I immediately had thoughts of my friends in Australia, and wonder if they have felt a bit torn about renouncing their South African citizenship to become Australian citizens or if watching last night's address reinforced that they had done the right thing and perhaps it is something I should be considering for the sake of my children? I love South Africa and its wonderful potential it has to offer. I love the lifestyle I have and the freedom to do the things I enjoy doing. I wish every citizen could enjoy the standard of living I have available but with almost a quarter of the population unemployed, that is a huge gap to close. Only by pulling the people of our nation together, not driving them apart, can we achieve common goals for the betterment of all. How then can we turn things around? Firstly the leadership of the country is what we have at the moment because they have been chosen by the people. When the people are educated and their eyes are opened to the corruption and misappropriation that is now the norm, leaders of suitable character can be elected. There are already those people in the ranks trying to make the difference we so desperately need. That is no quick process and I believe we have to pray for acceleration of that change in the leadership. We also need to stand together as communities for what is right. Bemoaning conditions and spreading negativity does not help any situation but only breads hopelessness. Do something to start making the difference you desire. Come alongside other like-minded people and as a group with aligned voices, surely your message will be clearer than a group of individuals all shouting differently. Once a group with a clear direction of positive change is heard, others will join until the message cannot be ignored and change will be brought about. The choice is yours to continue complaining in small groups or halt the negativity and turn it into an catalyst for change. As a country and as a people we have everything we need to be a very successful nation. We just need to leverage the potential that is already there. Here's to road ahead and strength to all who will join me on that road.

Your Flight Plan Has Been Rerouted

A good few years ago, my wife and I decided it was time to pack up and see what there was in the rest of the world. It wasn't because we had had any traumatic violent crime experience in South Africa, nor were we expecting the imminent outbreak of civil war, we purely desired change in our lives. Incredibly, change was provided, not in the format we were anticipating, but change nonetheless. After a long 24hr trip we found ourselves back in South Africa, feeling a bit like naughty children who had been caught out by our parents and had been sent to our rooms.

Why am I sharing this with you? Well, I believe at some point or other we all desire and even need change in our lives. The change we desire isn't always the change we receive. What you do in that circumstance is purely up to you. You can be miserable about your outcome, fight it and try and force the change you so desired to come about or accept where you have landed and make the best of your circumstances. I am not for a moment implying that we be complacent and accepting in all that happens to us, but just to recognise those situations that are beyond our control and work within them to extract the best possible outcome. Our relocation journey, took me out of a comfort zone and enabled me to enter the consulting world, where I have been for 13 years now. Do I regret what happened to us back then? Not for an instant. Do I wonder how different our lives would be now? Of course, but then I also wonder if  yesterday I had toast rather than muesli for breakfast, how different my day could have been...

Change is inevitable. Sometimes we initiate it and sometimes it is imposed on us. We are fortunate enough to be so versatile that we can adapt to our environment. It is the attitude with which we adopt that can determine the level of happiness through that change. Look for the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel, it is always there, you just have to keep on moving forward and looking. You may be only a few steps from the turning point, if you give-up now all the effort would have been in vain.

My journey is far from over and I am still expecting so much still to change. No matter how much I plan and map out this journey, there will still be those unexpected changes that have to be dealt with. I hope I am always able to see the positive in all the changes.