Letter to the Editor Tuesday July 29, 2014

Dripping with potential

An observation - we are living in an age where much of the Western world has access to some pretty amazing technology, health care services, public infrastructure, education and so on.

We live in a country not at war, breathe clean air, have welfare support, are dripping with potential, have access to a phenomenal environment and can enjoy many of the simple pleasures of life with our family and friends - for free or close to it.

And yet we are also in a time when, for many, there is struggle, under-performance and imbalance. Feelings of hopelessness, isolation and low self-worth are common.

It often appears that the general idea is someone else is going to fix it, 'I'm owed,' or that it is someone else's fault. If anything we seem to have lost the importance of individual responsibility and accountability, i.e. recognising that I am responsible for my life and the choices I make, which includes being a valuable part of my community.

Ultimately we choose how we think, and thus who we are. One can choose to listen to others and believe what they say and do what they do, or we can choose to follow our own intuition and learn to trust in ourselves (which may include doing what others do). I have found that when one does this it doesn't tend to lead one astray. The fact is we have everything we need to succeed already inside us.

Without a doubt, central and local governments, community leaders, not-for-profits etc impact on the way we live our lives. And not taking away from the issue that collectively we can do a hell of a lot better, we do need to be mindful that ultimately, we are responsible for self. And this is something we need to put a lot more emphasis on teaching our children and reminding ourselves.

There is plenty more discussion here ...

TANIA MCINNES

Paihia