life hacks.

22 posts

Talk about it

One of the biggest obstacles to people getting treatment for depression is stigma. Because many people still feel ashamed of suffering from depression, they are reluctant to admit they have it. They don’t – or won’t – talk about it. Now, if you break your arm, your friends and family will sympathise with you and, […]

9 May 2026

The very real fear of public speaking

Making a speech is right up there with death, divorce and snakes as one of people’s absolutely worst nightmares. Just the thought of getting up in front of a room and having to say a few words can send the pulse racing. Actually doing it can cause palpitations, raised blood pressure, and severe perspiration even […]

30 April 2026

Revelling in a heart attack

For he who lives more lives than oneMore deaths than one must die.Oscar Wilde – The Ballad of Reading Jail At the Virgin Active Gym on the corner of Main and Nichol, at 5.30 pm on Monday, 9 March 2015, I died. Ironically, it happened while I was getting into shape – it was a […]

28 April 2026

Victims of everything

There’s a moment in almost every conversation – at work, over dinner, in a queue – when the tone shifts. Someone starts explaining why things aren’t working out. The boss, the economy, their upbringing, bad luck. It’s rarely dramatic. It’s familiar. And if you listen closely, it reveals something deeper: a quiet, pervasive habit of […]

23 April 2026

I discover a cure for loneliness

I had been in Mooi River in KwaZulu-Natal for two months when I moved into a cottage on Adam’s farm. My social life was completely non-existent. Apart from the odd lunch on a weekend with Adam and family, I spent all my time either at work or looking for somewhere to live or reading at […]

22 April 2026

Our ancient alarm system

There is a guard that walks beside every one of us. It has no name, no face, and yet it has saved your life more times than you will ever know. It is your ancient alarm system. Long before cities, before language shaped into poetry and law, before even the first fire was tamed, our […]

8 April 2026

Dale Carnegie and depression

One of my all-time favourite books is How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. It should arguably be required reading in every educational institution. In an increasingly crowded and interconnected world, the ability to relate well to others may be one of the most essential skills we can develop. “Yes,” I hear […]

1 April 2026

Improving your self-esteem by mimicking giving up smoking

The first book I wrote – published by a real publisher, not a vanity project – was about how to give up smoking. The method I outlined was simple, and it came to me during a year of studying psychology at university. Smoking is a revolting habit. It gives you bad breath, makes your clothes […]

30 March 2026

Why modern life is fertile ground for depression

Modern life has brought incredible convenience and connection. Yet at the same time, it has quietly created the perfect conditions for rising levels of depression. At the heart of the issue is a mismatch. We humans evolved for slower, more social, and more predictable environments, yet now live in a fast, digital, always-on world. The […]

26 March 2026

Live every day as if it were your last – one day you’ll be right

At 5:30 pm on Monday, 9 March 2015, at the Virgin Active gym on the corner of Main and Nicol, I died. I was on the step machine. The gym was alive with the usual after-work energy - a steady hum of movement and conversation. It was peak hour. Packed. Then, suddenly, I collapsed. As […]

20 March 2026

Six steps to supporting a loved one with depression

When someone you care about is living with depression, it’s natural to want to help. You might feel a strong urge to “fix” things, offer solutions, or cheer them up. But depression isn’t something that can be solved with quick advice or a pep talk. The most meaningful support often comes from patience, understanding, and […]

18 March 2026

My BackABuddy campaign

In 2015, I went to the gym like any ordinary day. I didn’t come home. I had a heart attack and died on the gym floor. By sheer chance, a doctor was training nearby. He used a portable defibrillator to restart my heart and saved my life. Two years later, that same man took his […]

11 March 2026

Why are we so hard on ourselves?

Low self-esteem is probably one of the stranger neuroses we inflict on ourselves. We all go through stages where we actively don’t like ourselves … often for some frivolous behaviour or some stupid remark we made, or something we forgot to do. But in a well-balanced individual, it doesn’t last, and they carry on living […]

2 March 2026

Which torture would you prefer?

I recently came across an interview I did back in 2008 for Business Day with Murphy Marobe, then CEO of Kagiso Media. As a young man, he was a political activist and became a target of the apartheid security police, who apprehended and tortured him. When the interview wrapped up and we were saying our […]

26 February 2026

Understanding depression: More than just feeling sad

Depression is one of the most misunderstood mental health conditions. Too often, it’s reduced to the idea of “feeling sad” or “going through a rough patch.” While sadness can be part of depression, the reality is far more complex - and far more important to understand. At its core, depression is a medical condition that […]

24 February 2026

Small changes – big results

I’m not sure why, but in the last few months, whenever I have been waiting for a result in something – anything – I have been negative. Like, will someone call about some proposal? Or will my quote be accepted? Is load shedding going to hit our suburb on the weekend? Is petrol going up […]

5 August 2025

When you can’t stop ruminating

Most people ‘ruminate’ during the normal process of thinking about things. That means they indulge in repetitive thinking. If you consider a problem from different angles or think about it a couple of times – that is normal. If. however, you find yourself thinking the same thought over and over, that’s not good for your […]

18 July 2025

‘Depression can only be cured by therapy’

“Therapy is great - but don’t rely on it alone. Don’t put the responsibility of overcoming depression on someone else. Taking responsibility doesn’t guarantee overcoming it - but not taking responsibility guarantees you won’t.” Dr Hussein Naji As a child, my mates and I created our own fun. We bought marbles, made catapults, rode bikes, […]

11 July 2025

Isn’t it odd that we focus on criticism rather than praise

7 July 2025

Never forget the power of hope

In 2000 I had a stroke that paralysed the left side of my body, and what I remember most vividly after the shock of it all subsided is how I developed a craving for hope, which dwarfed any junkie’s craving for his next fix. I was worse than obsessed. As nurses, doctors, cleaners, ambulance operators […]

5 June 2025

Pursue your own purpose

“If you are going to have a purpose, make sure it is yours.” – Anon. This does smack of common sense and may seem obvious, yet it is easy to get caught up trying to be and act the way others expect us to. Too often, without thinking, we try to achieve our parents’ or […]

21 May 2025

What does anxiety mean to you?

If you look up synonym for the word anxiety, depending on where you are looking up, the first word you get is worry. Worry is a common human emotion; everyone experiences worry at one time or another. Some of course more than others. It can be when faced with a problem at work; before taking […]

21 October 2024