WORK HARD AND PLAY HARDER

Good times: professionals having a drink after work. Pic: Goole images

 

 

Some people have this notion that in order for them to succeed in their careers, or in their studies they need to drop everything else and only focus on achieving that goal – whether is getting that highest qualification or being the best at what they do in their respective profession. Some go as far as not having a social life all together and focus on acquiring that degree. Some focus so much on their careers that it become their life and by the time they want to start having a social life or dating they realise it is too late for them because they old and everyone is taken or clueless about dating and relationships that they keep saying the wrong things. It doesn’t have to be that way, you can have both social life and focus on achieving whatever goal you have simultaneously. Being a party animal and a career person is no recipe for failure if you do it right.  There is a misconception that if you play hard and work hard you may lose focus and end up failing to achieve your goal, but the reality is you can balance, have a wild social life and still be the best at what you do.

The high levels of anxiety at work or school are attributed to focusing too much on what you doing that you think about it all the time to the point that you start doubting you can do it despite the hours you put in it. But, if you take time out once in a while to have fun with friends then go back to the assignment you were working on later, you may get the inspiration you needed to overcome that obstacle you had. Stressing and worrying about hitting a brick wall in what you were working on doesn’t help because you will be thinking about it but not coming up with solutions. As the saying goes “worrying is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do but it don’t get you anywhere,” going partying or on a date while you on a deadline might be what you need to stimulate your mind and inspire new ideas because while you out having fun, you wouldn’t be thinking about work. When you come back to what you were working on; your mind would be fresh and full of ideas.

Pic: Google images

Give it your 100% in every project you working on but don’t turn that into your life to the point that it ends up being the only thing you do. When feeling overwhelmed by it, take time out and hit the clubs – hence the title of this peace, ‘WORK HARD AND PLAY HARDER.’ When I was still in varsity and we had a hectic schedule of back to back assignments and tests that all of my classmates would be going around campus like headless chickens with more than five books in their hands that they borrowed from the library, worrying, stressing and school would be the only topic they talk about. My boys and I we would be calm, laughing, having fun, making plans for the weekend while doing our assignments, and when we feel like we tired or have done enough for the day we would walk to the liquor store and buy ourselves a nice bottle and drink up – true story. At that moment school would be the last thing on our minds, but later that night we sleep over at Nhlahla’s place and work the whole night.

We made a name for ourselves because our classmates would see us drinking while they were worrying about assignments, but when the results come back we passed; well it wasn’t distinctions but it was the right mark enough to get us to the next year. People started thinking that we geniuses but the truth was we not. We just never allowed ourselves to be stressed about school work because when the going was getting tough, we relaxed and had a good time, but when we get home we make sure we work hard to achieve our goal.

Pic: Google images

 Never allow your goal to control who you are because really if you give it your all in your work, put in the hours and effort, having wild nights in between will never derail you and prevent you from getting that promotion or graduating cum lauder in your qualification. Remember you are awesome and if you put your mind into something nothing can stop you to get it

WHO TO VOTE FOR IN THIS HIGHLY CONTESTED ELECTION?

Picture: Google images

With South African 2014 general elections weeks away, the ruling party and opposition parties are bombarding us with their communication messages trying to sell us their ideologies and get our votes. It is ultimately up to us, the citizens to make an informed decision as to whom we choose to run our government. No matter what the political parties say about one another in the media – like saying who is corrupt or this party is misleading the public – we as active citizens must be objective and critically accept all the messages from all the political parties before making our decision.

It is hard to know who is wrong and who is right as political parties constantly point fingers at each other, blaming one another on the social ills our nation is faced with forgetting the most critical element which is focusing on how they will bring about change in the country instead of attacking each other.

As voters we should be critical as to which party we choose to run our government – vote with our heads, not hearts by following the masses or close acquaintances. Your vote is your voice for transformation, no one needs to know which political organisation you going to vote for and no one has the right to tell you which party to vote for.

I for one have accepted and critically listened to all the policies and promises that each party promises and can say that some parties are just all talk and have no constructive plan in place to deliver on the promises they make. I have heard it all from political parties – no corruption, better health care, free education, combat crime, create jobs etc. I have yet to hear what I haven’t heard before from political parties; something that’s not cliché a message that conveys exactly how the political party is planning to deliver the promises they making.

All what some of these political parties promise are basic factors that every government around the world should provide for, in my opinion they shouldn’t even include them in their manifestos but rather communicate what makes them unique and what actions they intend on taking to make this country to be at the same level as western countries. We can’t be hearing similar promises from every political organisation about change is in our hands because we already know that. What we need to be hearing are plans in place to move forward as country, because yes we don’t need a corrupt government that is apparent, so parties need to stop pulling the corruption card all the time to try convincing us to vote for them. Give us the voters some credit, we smarter than that.    

Before making a decision as to which party you vote for, scrutinise all the messages from all the parties and go for the one that you see its promises best serve you as an individual and are attainable, contemplate on where you want this country to be and choose a party that shares the same vision as you.