Nelson Mandela

We can do better

How does racism evolve?
I think racism is a learned behaviour. As children we learn that there is a hierarchical system based on gender, skin colour, religion, social class, and all of the messages convey an idea of superiority for certain societal groups. For example, Black people have been portrayed as inferior, as subhuman, as criminals, as stupid, etc. We are presented with all these narratives on a daily basis in the media, in literature, and in advertisements. This is how we learn from a very young age to internalise the view that being Black is something negative.

““No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.””
— Nelson Mandela

Invictus poem

“Invictus” by William Ernest Henley is one of the best motivational poems of the Victorian era.

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.

This poem contains invaluable advice to those who blame others for their failures. The poem also talks about a person’s battle with mental and physical impediments, and the mindset that makes one surrender while faced with challenges. I think challenges make one stronger but mentally submitting oneself to those impediments extinguishes the inner light that one carries inside the heart from infancy. Through these lines, Henley tried to say that it’s not about how difficult the path is, it’s about one’s attitude to keep persisting without submitting oneself to fate’s recourse.

Yes you can

The first and most important thing is the courage to begin and step out in faith. You develop courage by acting courageously wherever courage is called for. The courage to start something new and move out of your comfort zone with no guarantee of success is extremely important, as the future belongs to the risk takers not the security seekers. I think life is perverse in the sense that the more you seek security the less of it you will have, but the more you seek opportunity, the more likely it is you will achieve the security you desire.

““I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.””
— Nelson Mandela
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Look Inside

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Just imagine if we changed our opinion on suffering and from now on we think that suffering is awesome. Some of the greatest people on earth have suffered the most, for example, Nelson Mandela. Difficult times, pain, failure and loss can be looked upon as learnings, perhaps even as purification in preparation for personal heroism.

How would your life be if you were given the tools to use disappointment, difficulty and heartbreak as a crutch to strengthen yourself? If everything that hurts you, you used to make yourself a better person. The inner work is how you move through the blocks of your shadows that are covering your primal genius. ”The more you sweat in training, the less you will bleed in war.” - Navy Seals

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As children, we live through our heart as we grow older we move out of our hearts and into our heads, we are taught to numb our feelings and live in our heads. In my opinion, great art, great architecture, great business, great lives don't just come from our heads, they come from our hearts, our passion, our feelings and our gratitude. I can resonate with Jay Shetty when he says, ”We are wired for generosity but educated for greed.”

I recently asked a medical doctor, “What is in charge - your head or your heart?” He answered, “the head” and I disagreed and bravely challenged him. I said, “You can find people in your profession, who are hospitalised, still alive but clinically brain dead. I am sure that you would agree with me that when your heart stops it’s over and out!”

Succeeding in life and battle is all about training, preparation and putting in the work needed to rise above the adversities that each one of us will face during our lifetimes. Contact me here to book a 1:1 session…

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