During a conversation with some friends at the weekend, one of them pointed out how often South Africans speak negatively about our nation and our own futures.
As a result, our ability to dream and even to take risks in business and life is curtailed because we cannot see the possibilities on our own “stoep”.
We are in essence afraid to spread our wings and soar, because the sky might fall on our heads.
A folktale tells of a chick who is hit on the head by a falling acorn and mistakenly believes the sky is falling. The chick rushes off on a journey to tell the king of the impending calamity, gathering a number of followers (mostly fowls) on the way.
A fox meets the band of hysterical fowl, and discovering their idiocy invites them into his lair. Of course, he eats them, every single one.
So the imagined disaster leads Chicken Licken and her merry band to overlook a much worse and far more real danger, leading to a sticky end.
I wonder if we aren’t very much like Chicken Licken? I say this to myself as much as anyone else.
Now most of you are probably looking at me squif and asking whether I’m blind? No, I am not, and yes I was here during the riots and the floods and I have heard of Zuma, the Guptas and
Eskom (as I write the roar of a generator is almost deafening).
I’m not sticking my head in the sand and ignoring reality. I just wonder how much our negative mindset is affecting our here and now.
When we operate out of fear our choices are no longer our own. Some may emigrate, and that’s ok. But for those of us who choose to live here, we cannot let a perceived future threat dictate our lives.
Kwazilience is a great new word apparently coined by Ballito resident Lesley van Straaten after the floods.
This captures the essence of the ‘can do’ attitude we need to adopt. Its not just about surviving however, we were made to thrive.
To thrive we have to watch our language. If we are always bemoaning the very real negatives, instead of celebrating the positives (and there are so many), we will become blind to opportunity because our default is to expect disaster.
One snippet of good news came to me this morning from The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), which has revealed that South Africa’s travel and tourism’s GDP will drive the national economic recovery over the next decade.
The forecast from WTTC’s Economic Impact Report shows the sector is forecasted to grow at an average rate of 7.6% annually over the next decade, significantly outstripping the 1.8% growth rate of the country’s overall economy.
They predict that by 2032, the sector’s contribution to GDP could reach more than R554.6-billion (7.4% of the total economy), injecting nearly R287-billion into the national economy.
The sector is also expected to create more than 800 000 jobs over the next decade, to reach more than 1.9 million by 2032.
The good news is out there. You just have to be prepared to look for it.
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