Howzit
The battle for media freedom is on. The gloves are off and the spit and snot is flying everywhere. It’s gotten ugly and not a moment too soon!
I have seen this coming for a while now. Since 2008 I have written numerous newsletters criticising the media for their negativity and unbalanced reporting. (These can all be found under the news tab on my website.)
Of course, nobody in the media took much notice. Now the mango has really klapped the fan and we are sitting at another critical point in the history of our young democracy.
Before I begin, I want to state the following upfront:
- I stand unequivocally and absolutely for complete media freedom in our country. The draconian, restrictive clauses in the Protection of Information Bill and the proposed Media Appeals Tribunal are a major threat to our democracy. They should be fought tooth and nail by everybody (including you) at every opportunity.
- I also stand unequivocally and absolutely for BALANCED reporting. I would like to be fed a balanced diet consisting of what is going wrong in our country (and the world) and what is going right. This is definitely not happening right now!
- When I speak of the media in this article, I speak mainly of the print press, radio and television news reports. I refer broadly to the world media at large, not just the South African Media.
- I also stand for balanced politics. I am therefore not aligned or loyal to any political party. I am loyal to my country and her citizens. I will therefore always vote for the opposition, regardless of which party it happens to be, until such time as we have a healthy balance of political power in SA. In the USA, they have only 2 parties, both with almost equal support. The one is more left wing and the other more right wing. This creates a healthy balance of power, and every few years the one ruling party is replaced by the other and the new broom has the opportunity to sweep clean. I long for the day when we can get to a similar position in our country.
- I do not subscribe to GLOP, or General Labelling Of People. I therefore do not believe that ALL politicians and ALL policemen are corrupt. I do not believe that ALL journalists and ALL editors have hidden agendas. I do not believe that ALL men are pigs and ALL blondes are dumb. My experience has shown me that ALL people are unique and different, with a capacity for good and evil in equal measure. The Yin and the Yan exists in all of us. It is the CHOICES we make in each moment of each day which will determine who we become.
- I am a serial optimist, in that I always look for the inherent good in people, situations and life. I acknowledge that there is a whole lot in the news right now which may make some people concerned, angry, ashamed or downright terrified. I simply do not allow this drama to affect my positive focus or drain my valuable energy. I choose rather to be part of the solution and therefore keep looking for ways to make things better for myself and my fellow South Africans. Life is what you make it my boet, and happiness is an inside job!
- I am privileged to meet hundreds of new people every month as part of my work. They are people of every age, sex, race and religion. I interact and motivate and communicate and connect with them at all levels. I find most of them to be kind, helpful, concerned, caring people who simply want a better life for themselves and their loved ones. Yet they find it increasingly difficult to stay positive about our country (or the planet) and its future. Their attitude is massively influenced by what they see, hear and read in the mainstream media.
- I have a tendency to look at the bigger picture of our country, planet, galaxy and universe as a way to stay positive by keeping it all in perspective. I also try to be open-minded and see things from many different viewpoints, in order to understand WHY things are the way they are.
Ok so lets get into the topic of media freeDOM. In my understanding, the word NEWS is an acronym for North, East, West and South. Therefore part of the job of the media is to tell us what is going ON. Yet they insist upon telling us mainly what is going WRONG. More than 75% of what we see, hear and read in the mainstream media is negative.This would appear to be a worldwide phenomenon, as evidenced by the following quotes:
Bestselling American author Deepak Chopra: “The current perception I get from the news is that the world is dominated by human failure, crime, catastrophe, corruption, and tragedy. We are all tuning in to see how the human mind is evolving, but the media keeps hammering home the opposite, that the human mind is mired in darkness and folly”.
Paul Conneally, Head of Media for the International Red Cross: “In 2008, more than 75 percent of the media stories in Africa were negative. This is despite the fact that there are many positive indications that the African economy is going from strength to strength, that governments are becoming more accountable.”
A verse from John Mayer’s hit song, Waiting for the world to change: “When you trust the television, what you get is what you got, cause when they own the information, they can bend it all they want.”
In my May 2008 newsletter I sunk so low as to refer to journalists as uninspired, negative, disaster focused, sensation seeking, sad sorry scumbags. Since then I have repeatedly asked why they insist on shoving so much D down our throats – Death, Destruction, Disaster, Divorce, Disease, Doubt, Depression and Doom. I have pleaded for them to dish us up more palatable, balanced fare with lots more C – Compassion, Caring, Courage, Consciousness, Creativity, Community, Comedy, Chivalry and Capability.
Yet all we ever seem to see is Catastrophe after Catastrophe.
Have you ever considered the reasons why the media cannot give us more C? Here are some possible causes:
1. They are simply giving the public what they want. They understand that for some strange reason we are morbidly attracted to the horror and disaster and drama. I often ask my audiences why they continue to watch, read or listen to the news, when about 80% of it is negative. They usually tell me: “I need to know what is going on”, or “I have always watched it – it’s just a habit” or “it makes me feel good to know that the crap I see going on out there is not happening to me!” Well break the habit buddy – you may as well go and bang your head against a wall because it feels so good when the pain stops.
2. The media have their backs against the wall – they are under major threat and engaged in a desperate fight for survival. They face huge competition from each other, as well as from the Internet, YouTube, Blogs, Social Media, Gumtree and the likes. Advertising revenue is plunging and shareholders are complaining. So they are forced to find the most sensationalist, scary, shocking headlines and stories in order to try and sell more newspapers and advertising space. When it comes to choosing headlines: If it bleeds – it leads. Sies man!
3. It is damn difficult to write positive, uplifting, funny, motivational articles. Do you know that it literally takes me weeks to write these newsletters? It involves countless hours of preparation and researching and agonising and refining and adding and deleting and fretting and fussing. I’m serious – writing these things sometimes feels like giving birth to a porcupine – a true labour of love.
It just seems to be so much easier to dig up some muck, uncover an affair, gasp at the levels of greed and corruption or dish up another disaster According to the World Health Organisation, 150 000 people will die on this planet EVERY 24 HOURS and some of these deaths are bound to be horrific. So how hard do you have to look to find something tragic to report on?
By the way, I am all for investigative reporting – goodness knows we really do need these brave people. But what about the POSITIVE investigative reporting – who does that? Who is tasked to go and sniff out the diligent, hard working unsung heroes in our politics, police force, educational system, bureaucracies and municipalities ? Who writes about those hard-working human beings who fulfil the thankless role of being true public servants? Somebody out there is providing low cost homes, electrifying the townships, supplying clean running water, improving our roads, catching criminals and paying welfare. A whole lot of people worked their butts off to make the Soccer World Cup such a major success. Yet how many stories have you read about them?
Think about this – how would you feel if you were a quiet, diligent, hardworking, honest, uncorrupt public servant, going the extra mile for your constituents and earning a pretty small salary to boot. You never seek the limelight because you are not doing this for the glory – it is your patriotic call of duty. And all you ever get to read about is the scum and sleaze and the sickening greed and excess of your colleagues.
How would this make you feel? Proud perhaps, or patriotic and motivated to work harder? Shit scared that you might get caught if you behave the way they do? Or tempted to get on the gravy train yourself because nobody seems to get convicted if they are caught anyway?
Option 3 seems most likely to me!
Do you stubborn editors sincerely believe that fear is a deterrent any more? Get your arrogant heads out of your arses and wake up! Fear ceased to work years ago. We have moved into a new age, a time of awakening consciousness, a time for using positive praise to reinforce good behaviour. You have not moved with the times. Admittedly, you have become really good at catching people who screw up. Now however, it is time for you to also start catching them succeeding.
The media seem to believe that if they continually catch people doing things WRONG, eventually EVIL will be eradicated and GOOD will prevail. So they encourage whistle blowing and investigative reporting and exposés. This is all good and well, but is it achieving the result? No, because the theory is fatally flawed. We all know psychologically that telling somebody NOT to do something is like waving a red flag to a bull.
So they keep perpetuating the negative behaviour. They turn criminals into superstars. Why can’t they turn boring bureaucrats or brave policemen into heroes? Or is that too much like hard work and not really “newsworthy” either?
The media seriously needs to redefine this term “newsworthy” if they want to retain their worth and relevance. Because even if government succeeds in forcing through restrictive legislation, modern technology will ensure that there is always a free flow of relevant information. And for this to happen we don’t really NEED the mainstream media. This is the awesome power of the internet!
Right now I can imagine the editors and journalists thinking: “Piss off you privileged little prick – it’s easy for you to sit in your ivory tower and take pot shots at us. You have no idea of the challenges we face every day in doing our jobs.”
You are right. I have never worked within the media. And I can imagine that you work under extreme deadlines and huge pressure, sometimes for relatively little pay. And right now, your very survival is being challenged. I imagine that it must be an extremely challenging time for all of you. That is why I say it is time to adapt or die my friends.
In my line of work, I speak to hundreds of people each month, literally thousands per year, with the objective of motivating and inspiring them and giving them hope and self belief. And I have realised that they believe what you feed them and that your narrative shapes their attitudes dramatically. And they have become so numbed and shell shocked that they have lost their passion, their hope, their optimism and compassion. They are wandering in the terrifying wilderness looking for guidance and you are giving them very little, if any, scraps of hope. Yet you expect them to support you now, in your time of need?
The question is simply as follows: Do you believe that seeing is believing or BELIEVING IS SEEING? Think about that deeply. Are you merely reporting on what is happening or are you actually CAUSING some of it to happen? Have you ever considered that some of your reporting on criminal behavoiur might actually encourage others to commit crimes?
Alternatively, do you understand the power of an optimistic nation filled with belief in itself?
Yet you continue to report mainly on what is going wrong, assuming that the public will find out for themselves what is really going on, what is going right. Well too many of them do not, they cannot, they will not. They need you to tell them, because they trust you and they believe you and they pay your salaries. You wield great power, and with great power comes great responsibility. I believe that it is the irresponsible use of this power which is partly to blame for the current media freedom debacle.
As I said earlier, I am all for media freedom. I am all for democracy and choice. But if you cannot make the shift to balanced, responsible reporting, you will cease to exist my friends. You are busy digging your own graves.
The negative news depresses me. It always has. It creates the perception that there is more going wrong on the planet than is going right. It fans the flames of fear in our hearts. And yet, there is so much good happening, in many of our communities, our workplaces, our corporations, our NGO’s, our places of worship, our conservation activities, our charities and our informal business sector.
I think that half of the hoo-ha going on right now actually boils down to the fact that the media rarely highlights any of the good work being done by our ruling party. They rarely champion any of the positive achievements of the ANC. They paint them (as they did the Nats before them) as corrupt, incompetent, bumbling buffoons, driven by greed and ego and nepotism. And as I said before, not ALL of them are like that. If they were, our country would be a lot worse off than it is right now. Perhaps it’s because the media are afraid of being seen as too patriotic or selling out to the government if they did show some balance by also reporting on their positive achievements?
Well I am not afraid. As I said earlier, I will support the opposition until we have a balance of power. But this does not mean that I cannot acknowledge the great work done by Trevor Manuel, Gill Marcus, Pravin Gordhan, Tito Mboweni, Cheryl Carolus, Tokyo Sexwale and Cyril Ramaphosa. And these are the high profile people. How many more are there to be found out there, doing good, selfless, honest work to help make this place better? Let’s find them and praise them and report on them so that they can become highly visible, high profile shining examples of what is going right.
In the profession of selling we sometimes split our sales team into hunters and farmers. Hunters are tasked with seeking out new business and prospects whilst farmers focus on building and nurturing the existing relationships. What if the media employed a similar approach – hunters were tasked to dig up the negative issues and farmers were instructed to focus on sniffing out and exposing the good stuff. Cause we all know there is a whole lot of really good stuff going on out there. But how will the “farmers” make the “ordinary stuff” NEWSWORTHY? And, more importantly, will it be bought by their customers? It takes hard work, effort, sweat and creativity to find the good stuff being done by Joe Public and more importantly – to write about it in a positive, uplifting and interesting way.
But there are glimmers of hope. Just google Lead SA or SA Goodnews or Awesome SA or Stop Crime Say Hello. Take a look at how much good news they have to offer. Then ask yourself why you still pay to get depressed when there is so much positive stuff available for free?
The media must take some responsibility for the current media freedom debacle. I am not asking you to stop exposing the negatives. I am imploring you to find ways to balance what you feed us. We are hungry for good news boet, in fact we are starving .
Ultimately, it will require of us, the public, to shift beyond OUR conditioned, negative, fearful, victim based beliefs before we are ready to support such a massive shift in the mainstream media.
We urgently need to wake ourselves up, to become conscious, to increase our awareness. We need to start recycling and conserving and saving our planet. We need to stop fearing and hating each other. We need to finally learn to love and accept ourselves and others. The next 2 years are going to force us to do this. We are going to see more change and uncertainty in the next 2 years than we saw in the last 10. And our best method to cope with this challenge will be to dramatically accelerate our spiritual evolotion. We do this through growing our knowledge and experience of what it means to be a whole, humble human being.
To quote Gary Zukav, from his beautiful book The Seat of the Soul: “Our species is no longer humble. It has no reverence. It is arrogant and filled with its own technology. We take from the earth and from each other. We destroy forests and oceans and atmosphere. We enslave each other, and torture and beat and humiliate and murder each other.”
He goes on to suggest: “Your decision to evolve consciously through responsible choice contributes not only to your own evolution, but also to the evolution of all of those aspects of humanity in which you participate. It is not just you that is evolving through your decisions, but the entirety of humanity.
So there you have it. And now that you know it is ultimately all up to you, yes YOU, what on earth can you do?
It’s your time now to stand up and be counted. Join Lead SA. Write letters to your media of choice, encouraging them to balance their reporting. Sign all the petitions for media freedom. Read self help books and attend workshops to accelerate your evolution. Find a spiritual teacher or healer. Get a LIFE.
If you are unsure where to start with all of this, please email me and I will gladly point you to the multitude of books, courses, teachers and resources which are readily available to you right now. When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.
But, most importantly, do whatever it takes to drop your baggage, move from victim to victor and make the shift from pessimist to optimist. Start making a difference wherever you can RIGHT NOW instead of waiting for the world to change.
As Gandhi said: “Be the change you want to see in the world.”
You are the world. It is your time to shine. Do it NOW.
Ke Nako
Mark
Tags: Be Positive, Good News About South Africa, Proudly South African, South African Optimism
Did you hear the one about the optimist who accidentally fell from the roof of the 100 storey building? Someone down on the 50th floor heard them falling past an open window saying: “So Far So Good!”
On Saturday I witnessed an historic event – two South African Rugby teams playing in a Super 14 final at the Orlando Stadium in Soweto. It was amazing to see the stadium full of cheering Rugby Fans, the cacophony of droning Vuvuzelas, the colourful Makarapas and president Zuma pitching up on the pitch to greet the players before kick-off. For an optimist like me, this was a significant event, one which brought back powerful emotional memories of Rugby World Cup 1995. (Although back then my team won the game…)
Of course the pessimists will say it was a non event, a sham, nothing more than a short lived publicity stunt for political gain. The realists will say it was only a rugby game; South Africa has much more pressing (and depressing) issues to overcome.
Henry Ford once said: If you think you can or you think you can’t – you are right. I think the same applies to belief in the future success of our country – if you think we can or you think we can’t – you are right! It depends upon whether you are a pessimist, optimist or realist.
Right now, the pessimists are having a field day regarding South Africa. Like Karoo sheep they will bleat about Crime, Corruption, Malema, Zuma, The Erosion of Land Rights, Senseless Farm Murders, the Crumbling Justice System, Poor Service Delivery, Nationalisation of Mines, Unemployment and Cadre Deployment et al.
And they are absolutely RIGHT! Every one of these issues is evidence of their being right. We face massive challenges, challenges which the pessimists believe we as a nation will not be able to overcome. They insist that our country, like the optimist who fell off the building, is falling rapidly towards a major disaster. In their opinion it’s only a matter of time before the mango really hits the fan. They repeatedly tell the optimists to get out of denial and start facing the grim reality of what in their opinion is the inevitable decline of another African economy. Just look at the evidence from up north they say, from Mad Bob to Gaddafi and in between, to see where we are going to end up.
The optimists, on the other hand, have to range far and wide (just like Karoo sheep) to find meagre pickings of hope. After some reflection they might mention our Rapidly Improving Infrastructure, Major Intersections Being Rebuilt, Awesome New Airports, The Gautrain, Bus Rapid Transit System, Tax Collection Efficiency, Our Stable Currency, Declining Inflation, Solid Banking System and Our Free Press. Not to mention that we are about to host the biggest sporting event in the world right now. They will ask if you have noticed the side mirror socks and SA flags on so many cars, showing a growing groundswell of support for Bafana Bafana to play their hearts out and make ALL OF US proud.
The optimists may also remind you to take a good look at the overall state of our economy today, compared to 1994, as evidence of how far we have come as a nation.
And THEY too, are absolutely RIGHT. Every one of these points is a real reason to believe, a reason to feel positive that we as a nation can survive, thrive and succeed. Each one of these are real achievements, concrete evidence that we can get things done and make significant progress, despite our many challenges.
And what of the realists? They will most likely take another perspective, a look at the bigger picture and ask 3 vital questions:
- How is S.A. REALLY doing?
- How is the REST OF THE WORLD doing in comparison?
- What sort of shape is our whole PLANET in right now?
Some answers they may give us would be:
- How are we really doing? Realistically, we are doing OK, with lots to be proud of and lots to be concerned about, in equal measure. It really comes down to a question of what you choose to focus on. More importantly, it comes down to what each of us is actually doing to make things better. Worrying achieves nothing; it simply creates stress, fear and negativity. Waiting for a political solution is a waste of valuable time. Taking action to make a difference breeds real change, positivity and optimism.
- How is the rest of the world doing? Thailand just had 88 deaths due to Political infighting in Bangkok. Europe is facing a major Euro currency crisis. Greece and Spain (and probably more to come) are in deep financial trouble. So deep that France is threatening to pull out of the Eurozone. Britain has lost faith in their politicians. Every sixth child in Germany is on welfare. Volcanic ash is causing regular mayhem over parts of Europe. A friend recently returned from a 2 week driving holiday in Italy. He tells me that they have numerous, massive potholes which make ours seem tiny by comparison. The USA is facing its biggest oil spill disaster ever. They also found a large, (malfunctioning) car bomb in Times Square on 1st May. And they still owe around US $ 400 trillion to somebody – the world’s largest budget deficit? Australia faces issues like refugee boats, teen pregnancy and major drug abuse among their youth. A recent survey found that the Aussie population feels that their government is interfering way too much in all aspects of their lives. Sound familiar?
- What about our planet? Right now, she is struggling with a nett population growth of some 200 000 new humans per day – that’s an extra 1 million every five days. We are literally swarming like ants and the impact is showing. So we are seeing global warming, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes and other planetary disruptions. Some even say that the melting ice caps could affect the delicate weight balance and cause earth to shift on her axis – then we will see some major SHI(F)T happen – in our lifetime!
And as I write all of this, I can hear the pessimists bleating again: SO WHAT Mark, two wrongs don’t make a right, get with the program, who cares about the rest of the world when our country is going to the dogs?
Listen ouens, I am only going to say this once: The world is your oyster and you can choose to go and live anywhere you like. The choices are vast. The truth is that WHEREVER YOU GO, YOU TAKE YOURSELF WITH YOU! You will still wake up every day and have to look in the mirror at your optimistic, pessimistic or realistic face. And if you have reason to complain about SA, you will most likely find as many reasons to complain about your new country, your neighbours, politicians, the weather, rising prices, bureaucracy, traffic, systems, language and food et al. Granted you will probably feel safer and more secure regarding violent crime, but will you feel HAPPY? Happiness comes from within and everywhere you go you will still face challenges. Different challenges maybe, but no less difficult to overcome.
And what of feeling secure? Helen Keller said: “Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.”
I am somewhat concerned about the future of our planet. I do not always feel 100% safe in my country right now. But I am 100% happy and confident it will improve. My life has always been a daring adventure. And, most importantly, I am doing something positive to make a difference instead of sitting around waiting for the world to change. Every month, I work with hundreds of my countrymen to improve their attitudes, productivity, optimism, efficiency, profitability, motivation and team work. At the workplace, I see people of all colours, religions and creeds, male and female, old and young, integrating and working together to make things better. I see the shift happening amongst leaders, staff and their customers. On Saturday, in Soweto, I saw that shift begin to happen socially, outside the workplace, in the townships, which is where the real work still needs to be done. I saw the birth of hope.
On selected weekends, I assist groups of brave individuals to take a profound journey deep inside and discover what distorted beliefs are running their lives. I witness “strangers” sharing their true feelings with other “strangers” and thereby becoming friends. I see people dropping their masks and prejudices, being completely authentic with others and thereby undergoing profound transformation, like caterpillars becoming butterflies. I see hope being restored and deep human bonds being formed, regardless of race or age or religious belief. I see the light begin to shine from within, as we strip away the darkness of depression, fear, self loathing and negative conditioning. I see extreme pessimists make a complete pendulum swing through realism to optimism. It is the most rewarding work I have ever done in my life.
All of the above gives me joy and makes my life meaningful. It gives me reason to believe, because I SEE IT HAPPEN. I do not read the newspapers, because they mostly tell me what is going wrong. I remain focused on what is REALLY GOING ON, and find that there is much to be optimistic about. I realise that it is up to each individual to first change themselves and then help others do the same, if we are to have a safer, kinder, more conscious and compassionate world.
Woodrow Wilson said: “You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand.”
Our own Johnny Clegg sang: It’s a CRUEL, CRAZY, BEAUTIFUL world. I believe the world appears to be Cruel to the Pessimists, Crazy to the Realists and Beautiful to the Optimists.
Which one are you?
Tags: Be Positive, Create Your Own Happiness, Make South Africa Better, South African Optimism
Hi Mark
My mum in SA forwarded me something you had written recently. The essence was – sod all the crap news I read, I’m going to create my own happiness! I felt compelled to write and say thank you. Thank you so much for writing that. I’m living in the UK, where the impetus from the press is much the same and I’ve been feeling exactly the same way of late. It’s now time that we all say – get lost Mr. Negative. Bring me smiles, happiness and laughter.
Thanks again.
Hilary
Hi Mark
This piece you wrote was forwarded to me.
Let me just say it is fantastic – FINALLY somebody agrees with me!
This world is a truly awe-inspiring place – if only more people could see it like that! – You are frank, honest and refreshing!
I believe that the more people that share a belief (petrol price hikes, interest rate, Eskom – blah, blah, blah) – the greater the feeling becomes that contributes to that belief. Be it a good or bad belief.
We cannot blame external factors for a “rough patch” in our lives simply because it’s easy. In almost all instances in our lives, work etc, ‘you are the problem, and therefore you are the solution.’
I practice an attitude of gratitude daily! It’s the best way to live man!
Inspired thought, inspired action a general shift in mindset, into a new positive attitude is the only way we will see a genuine change in the world
Anyway – Just a thought.
Thanks for brightening my day!
Have a fantastic week.
Monique
Hi there Mark
I am of the same opinion.
I am reading A Short History of the World and Nearly Everything at the moment.
I do not buy newspapers or watch on TV news negativity – I refuse.
I focus on the positive and enjoy my life.
I was at the Apartheid museum and saw footage that showed me how much of a worse situation we have been in during our history and how much better off we are now.
So thank you for the reminder and a morning ritual I started today was press-ups and weights, I am going to add a short run too.
A Blessing:
May your winter be warm,
May your family be loving
May you appreciate every moment in your life
Please realize that our lives are a miracle and we are lucky to exist
We are the same as everyone and everything at an atomic level
So let us be damn grateful and go out with the intention of adding value
May you be able to look back and say heck I did my best for SA and the world.
And I damn well enjoyed my life!
Regards
Mark
Dear Mark
I read your email about SA which a friend sent me – what a brilliant article, Thank You! I thought that you might be interested in the following very positive action that my sister-in-law is taking at her school. We would like to start a positivity promise throughout the whole of South Africa, and let it start with you and your children.
Children are amazing – they can lift your spirits when you are feeling down; they can fill a room with sunshine just from their laughter. It’s time for us as South Africans, to channel this beautiful positive energy from our children, and use it to create a new feeling of positivity for our country, and our future.
So, let’s turn parent modeling on its head just for a moment – let’s let the children start teaching us to be positive again. It would be the MOST unbelievable wonderful gift to South Africa, to get a POSITIVITY PROMISE going in all of our schools. All it will take is a few minutes a day from each teacher and his / her class in each and every school in the country. It will start in the classroom, but it needs to be carried over into the home. This is what I have been doing – I hope it will inspire as many caregivers and teachers as possible
The Positivity Promise, which is a promise to yourself to be positive, involves 3 easy steps
Step 1) We start off the day by saying the following mantra; our oath of allegiance – One sentence – that’s all. 3X every morning :
“I am a child of South Africa, and I can make a difference in my country today”.
Step 2) Cultivate “an attitude of gratitude” – A phrase coined by Dr John Demartini. Start a positivity journal. The children write 1 sentence about something they are grateful for each day.
eg. I am grateful that I have a warm bed to sleep in at night.
Step 3) How can I make a difference today?
Promise to do something nice (or positive) for someone each day, or say something positive to someone each day. Write this down in the Positivity journal, too. eg. Today, I am going to make a difference by including Johnny in our game at break
And do it!
This would start in the home, filter through to the school, and then on to the wider community (senior school and high school). If we can all just perform 1 new positive deed for someone each day, or say 1 positive phrase to someone each day, we can start making a positive difference in our homes, in our schools and in the wider community. It is a well-known fact that “positive attracts positive” – this is what goes out into the Universe. So lets start with our Youth in our schools; each child performs one positive deed and then instead of paying that person back, he / she PAYS IT FORWARD to the next person. Lets start a movement in our schools where one positive deed begets another one.
Imagine the ripple effect this could have if each one of our children in South Africa started making a difference. We CAN make South Africa into the greatest country – we have the potential! Please help us by making a positivity promise TODAY.
Thank you for making a difference in South Africa today.
Karen
Hi Mark
I read your e-mail about being gatvol with all the bad news in South Africa. I can really identify with your sentiments expressed in this e-mail. I do the following every day, and have never been happier in my whole life:
1. I do not watch the news on TV anymore
2. I do not listen to the news on the radio anymore
3. I read the newspapers with circumspection and filter out all the bad news articles and absorb all the good news articles
4. I read the financial press with greater interest and also only absorb the good news articles
5. I have 2 sons aged 15 and 9, when I wake them up in the morning for school, I sing them a song and make it funny with their names in the song
6. I always make sure that I am enjoying whatever I am doing, even if it is brushing my teeth in the morning and at night – I also tell my family to do the same
7. If something does not work during the day, I leave it for later on or the next day and it normally works better the second time around
8. I joke with people and tease them incessantly, both at work and at home, we all laugh and I feel better
9. We have 2 dogs and 1 cat at home, I always play with them and pat and stroke them at least once a day
10. I always laugh at the politicians and their shenanigans
11. I always say that everything in life is negotiable except death
12. I always do unto others as I would like them to do unto me
We have no intentions of leaving South Africa in spite of experiencing an armed robbery at our previous home. We were attacked in broad day light, at 06:45 approximately, by 4 armed robbers. They beat myself and my wife up badly, nearly raped my wife and generally terrorised us all, including our sons. This was all done for a wallet, purse and 2 cell phones.
I reckon that at least 90% of all South Africans want the same things ie:
a. A decent home and transport
b. A job or business of their own
c. Good schooling for their children
d. Good health care
e. To worship freely in their own House of G-d.
Please feel free to e-mail me if you wish
Regards
Stan
Dear Mark
Received an email in the “mail” – a funny down to earth honest and true email. Loved it and passing on. Thank you for taking the bull by the horns and sharing it with us.
Love & Light and all the other good things thrown in.
Robyn
Hi Mark
I am just as GATVOL as you are. People complain almost every where you turn. I want to ask if any of them are doing anything to change what is going on. I know most are going to say, “well, what can I do, why aren’t the cops doing it or the government…..why must I do anything, I pay tax, I deserve …….and so on and so on”
Well there are many things we can all do.
Every year more then 20 000 people are killed on our roads. At robots, freeways, intersections, by reckless inconsiderate drivers, drunk drivers or unlicensed drivers.
Obeying simple laws such as the traffic laws is a start. Don’t be the person who races to get through the orange that is red, actually stop at a stop street…..don’t drink and drive no matter what. You not only put your life at risk, you risk that of countless people, young children, bread winners.
So don’t let anyone complain about crime if they cant obey the rules of the road.
Instead of sitting back and saying I cant, call the number of the truck company, or transport company to complain about the driver, demand action. You have the right to open a reckless and negligent driving case…as the witness to the incident.
Don’t just ignore something that is tearing the fabric of our society.
“Be the change you want to see in the world, don’t demand it”
As for the press, I don’t bother anymore, the newspaper, tv, radio….its all the same. I don’t think I could in any way add to what you have said… but you are dead on the money.
We are all aware of the problems, and that is what we as a nation are good at, identifying problems, but we are KAK at finding solutions. It is the responsibility of every South African to stand up and do something for his country, be it a act of kindness, charity or helping someone in need. Community service takes many forms. But we think cos we pay tax we are owed. Well we ARE OWED NOTHING BY NO ONE. If we want change we need to be part of the solution. Leaving to another country does not change anything, they are only going to other sets of problems. There are many examples, France- student riots, Australia- Race riots, South America – poverty and kidnappings. Iraq- war and so the list goes on.
We need to find solutions, put people in power who will make the difference.
I don’t have all the answers but together we can make change happen.
Leigh
Well said Mark!!
You’ve got guts!! I love it
Happy day
Careema
Dear Mark
Loved it and well done. Helped me a lot as I often do get this heavy ball of anxious dread KAK feeling, when more bad news comes my way
Anne-Lise
Thanx Mark – that was awesome !!!
I hope you don’t mind, but I forwarded this to a few people, including John Maytham on Cape Talk
PS:Thanx to you – I am sitting naked in my front garden, drinking herbal tea and listing to Radio Lotus 
Dion
Well done Mark – pleased you got that off your chest, and not via your poephol either!
Kind Regards
John
Hey Mark
Sounds like you are doing fine by getting that off your chest bru, but every word is true my bru!!! You have made my Monday already……and I haven’t even got around to the tea and joint bit yet!
Go well.
Regards,
Michael
Good Morning Mark,
Reading your letter is like having you on the phone, or chatting with you… I could even hear the tone of your voice as I read it!
As always, you bring positive energy and rays of hope.
I have been often chastised by some of our common friends for not reading the daily newspapers, but like you, over the last few years I felt that they only dragged me down.
Watching international news on TV while I do my morning gym, and listening to talk shows on SAFM while driving to work, keep me generally informed, but they are already pushing the limits of what I want to know… as you wrote, the more you hear and see, the more depressed you get!!!
However, to be fair to our reporters, without them bringing to the fore issues of abuse, misconduct, genocide, rigged elections, oil wars, corruption, global warming, etc… it would be difficult for ordinary people to take a stance and try and redress the wrongs committed daily, worldwide.
I agree that a news paper, or news bulletin, should try and even out the negative news with positive ones, and encourage people to look for beauty, joy and reason as much as making us aware of all our problems.
Maybe you should start a “positive news radio and publications”? I cannot think of a better person to do so…
Filon
Hi Mark
Great to hear from you and “good on you”…..
We have so much to be grateful for….maybe a “holiday” in Serbia, Iraq or Zimbabwe will put things in perspective !!
Regards
Conway
Thanks Mark.
Jislaaik bru….. but your words are somma powerful!! On a serious note, I could not agree more with your sentiments. I am also gatvol of reading and hearing about all the kak innie land. Enough! It is all about behavioural change. And we have the power to change the awesome future we are on the brink of……
Best Regards
Justin
Tags: Attitude of Gratitude, Be Positive, Create Your Own Happiness, Feedback, Gatvol, Optimism
