What can politicians teach us about ourselves? To explore this question, I chose two South African politicians who, in my personal view, represent opposite ends of several important spectrums: Julius Malema and Dr Pieter Groenewald.
Why these two men, and why am I suggesting that we can learn from both of them?
If you cannot relate to these South African politicians, choose two politicians of your own: one you really dislike and one who inspires you. Once you have chosen them, you can follow the same exercise with me.
What follows is my personal and subjective impression of Malema and Groenewald. You may see them very differently. The politician I like might be the one you despise, and vice versa. That difference is part of the mirror exercise.
If this principle is new to you, first read Why Befriend the Mirror?
Would You Rather Watch or Listen?
You can read the full article below, or watch the video in which I explore what Julius Malema and Dr Pieter Groenewald can teach us about ourselves.
Prefer watching on YouTube? [Watch the video here, share your thoughts and subscribe to my channel
What Do They Have in Common?
First of all, they are both politicians. They both communicate a message. They both speak about equality. They both influence how public money is spent, and through all of this, they influence the future of South Africa.
However, as I see them, they stand at different ends of the same spectrums.
| Area | One end of the spectrum | The other end |
| Creating equality | Pulling others down so everybody has less | Building people through skills, opportunity and discipline so everybody has more |
| Sharing a message | Many words and promises with little action | Fewer words supported by actions and results |
| Giving service | Focusing on what we can get | Focusing on what we can give |
| Managing resources | Wasting money, time and mind space | Using our resources wisely to build a better future |
Neither man—or any human being—sits entirely at one end of every spectrum. The value of this comparison begins when we stop analysing them and ask: Where am I on that same scale?
Pulling People Down or Building Them Up?
When we pull others down, everybody has less. When we build people up through skills, opportunity and support, everybody has more.
Both men speak about equality, but they appear to approach it very differently.
Malema’s message, as I experience it, focuses on taking from the rich and giving to the poor. He often speaks badly about certain groups and uses rhetoric I experience as angry and divisive. The focus appears to be on what people can get and what they are entitled to. In the end, everybody is pulled down and everybody loses.
Groenewald appears to approach equality differently.
In an interview, I heard him explain that prisoners receive the same treatment, regardless of whether they were homeless or a president before entering prison.
They work, learn self-discipline and can receive certificates for skills acquired while serving their sentences. When they are released, they have a far better chance of integrating into society and changing their ways.
To me, he is giving people an opportunity to build themselves up—and with that, everybody can win.
Sometimes we think it is easier to give to people who have less than we do. If someone has more, we may wonder why we would give anything to them. Yet when we pull people down, we go down with them. When we lift people up, we go up with them.
Now look into the mirror.
Are you someone who pulls people down through gossip, for example? More importantly, do you pull yourself down with harsh comments, criticism and comparisons?
Perhaps you tell yourself:
I am useless.
I never get anything right.
Or are you learning to build yourself up, recognise your value and focus on what you can give? I explore this inner criticism more deeply in Why Are We So Hard on Ourselves?
If you dislike the qualities you associate with one politician and feel inspired by the other, that may mean you recognise something of both within yourself. You still have some qualities you want to leave behind, but you can also recognise the qualities you want to develop.
This is an invitation to shift from one end of the spectrum towards the other—without judgement. There is no value in hitting yourself over the head for what you did in the past. The question is what you will do with this information to change your future.
Do Your Actions Match Your Words?
Words may attract attention, but actions create results. Do your actions support the promises you make to others—and to yourself?
Malema is a powerful speaker who can fill a stadium, sing, dance and attract enormous attention. Yet I often hear many words and promises with little action.
Groenewald appears to speak less and act more. His results have encouraged other people to talk about what he is achieving. That is one reason many people, including me, admire him.
If you are tired of politicians who make empty promises, take an honest look at yourself.
Where do you make empty promises—especially to yourself?
Perhaps you say you are going to exercise, change the way you eat, finish a project or be kinder to yourself, but you do not follow through.
We want to reach a point where our words and actions give the same message.
Could you talk less and do more? Could you use your words to inspire people and then follow those words with your own actions?
How Do You Manage Your Resources?
We can spend our resources creating an impressive appearance, or use them wisely to build a better future.
The last comparison is about how they manage resources, especially public money.
Malema has faced longstanding controversy regarding his connections with government tenders and tenderpreneurs. A tenderpreneur pursues lucrative government contracts, often at inflated prices, while giving poor service—or sometimes hardly any service at all. The money can then fund a lavish lifestyle.
Groenewald, on the other hand, has developed a reputation for treating taxpayers’ money carefully and looking for ways to save public money. He also lives a simple lifestyle.
Once again, instead of only judging them, let us look in the mirror.
If politicians who waste public money irritate you, how do you manage your own money?
Are you wasteful? Do you buy expensive things to impress people or make yourself look successful? Or do you spend carefully so that you can create a better future for yourself and your children?
This comparison applies to more than money.
How do you spend your mind space? Do you allow your thoughts to wander into fear, anger and criticism until you feel miserable? Or do you use your mind to create something beneficial for yourself and others?
How do you spend your time? Do you lose hours scrolling and being entertained, or do you spend some of that time learning, creating and building something?
We can learn to manage our money, time and minds more wisely.
How Would Your Life Change?
What would happen if you realised that we are all equal—that you are neither less than nor more than anyone else?
What if you treated yourself with respect instead of pulling yourself down?
What if you focused more on what you can give than on what you can get? When we focus on what we can get, we probably come from lack. When we focus on what we can give, we come from abundance and create more for everyone, including ourselves.
What if you became more careful with your words and followed through with your actions?
What if you respected your money, time, mind space and other resources, and used them wisely to build a better future?
How would that change the quality of your life? How would it support you in creating the life you want?
That is what we gain when we look honestly into the mirror and say:
I recognise that I am a little like that, but I can change—and I want to change.
Four Possible Outcomes
In my experience, when we change what the mirror is showing us, one of four things tends to happen.
- The person disappears from our lives. A politician may leave office, but disappearing can simply mean that we give that person less airtime in our heads.
- The person stops irritating us. We may still notice what they do, but it no longer produces the same anger or emotional turmoil.
- The person changes. This may seem unlikely with a public figure, but people can change. We never know what the future holds.
- We become more effective in dealing with them. We respond more calmly, vote more thoughtfully and take actions that are more likely to create the result we want.
Instead of allowing the people who anger us to dominate our thoughts, we can focus more on those who inspire us. They show us which qualities and skills we want to develop. This connection between our beliefs and our experience is explored further in Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?
That is why even irritating politicians can become unexpected teachers.
Build Your Self-Esteem
Making this shift is not always easy. When our self-esteem is low, it is difficult to move away from lack, stop pulling ourselves down and focus on what we can give. We are also more sensitive to what others think of us.
That is why I have a gift for you: the free Confident-You iThrive.
Build your self-esteem and confidence with the free Confident You iThrive.
Sign up for your free Self-Esteem iThrive.
It contains affirmations and release statements that you can play very softly while sleeping or going about your day. No active listening is required.
If this message speaks to you, watch the video on YouTube, share it with others, leave your thoughts in the comments and subscribe to my YouTube channel.
My wish for you is that you live a healthy and happy life. You can move towards it by looking into the mirror and focusing on changing you.
Have fun and take some risks
Hanna Kok