BY DR MASIMBA MAVAZA
In November alone fifteen Zimbabweans have died in the Uk from stress related cases. The life in the UK has been moulded to a competition. It may not be The Hunger Games, but in this massive multi-player role-playing game called Life, we’re all competitors.But the most culprits are Zimbabweans who try to outsmart each other in the foreign land.
Visiting a Pentecostal church in UK you will be greeted by the top of the range cars parked outside the church. Zimbabweans have competed to an extend of getting stressed.
In November a Zimbabwean nurse committed suicide after she failed to cope with her Job. She had to try and put her life at par with her friends. As a result she has to work extra hours thus robbing her self of social time. She called it quits and shouted enough is enough before she gulped some substances before she died.
Let’s face it. There’s always someone who wants exactly the same things you want. That job the headhunter mentioned to you (and four other people). That hot guy or girl you want to ask for a date. Even that last slice of pepperoni pizza in the box. Someone else got their eye on them too. It is not necessary to work yourself to death just to be the same. The sense of belonging has created some fictitious standards which makes it difficult to achieve.
For many of us, competing hard is the only way to get what we want in life and work. Talent is always useful, but it’s not enough.
Zimbabweans have worked so hard such that they have lost families lost their children lost themselves in their work in their quest for being seen to be better than the other.
Mike Zvenyika from London said” people are no longer in touch with their children they work so hard to please those at home and make those around them see that they are rich. But those who matter the most their children are raised fatherless motherless and indeed cultureless” This is echoed by George Mpofu from Leeds who said “ in the place I work I have ten Zimbabwean children of which seven their parents are nurses. All the ten are suffering from drug related and stress related cases. “
“For almost two decades, I’ve worked in one of the world’s most competitive industries and have seen many talented Zimbabwean individuals fizzle out. Competing is hard work. They also happen to be some of the most determined and resilient people I know.
Nothing is entitled, everything is to be earned. A new actor has to go to countless auditions before getting his big break. A small-business owner must compete with the big boys one customer at a time. An corporate executive has to edge out dozens of candidates to land her dream job.
What is the best way to compete in this unforgiving game of life? But Zimbabweans in the UK only compete as a way of showing off. Its sad how many we are burying because of the competition”
Zimbabweans need to realise that life is like a sport you just win differently its not winning to prove that you have money. Said Peter Chihaka from Sheffield.
Unsurprisingly, the act of competing has its origins in sports. The best athletes take on world-class competition with a finely tuned combination of preparation, discipline, focus, and performing under pressure. It’s like they locked the blueprint of winning in their muscle memory. But Zimbabwean Nurses in the UK have taken the competition a not h higher. They work to please the onlookers.
While in many ways life is like a sport, there is one key difference: life doesn’t have a singular definition of winning. Having Range Rovers Free Landers beautiful outfits is not at all winning. Life should not be measured by wealth. This is called in Shona Ushewekunze.
It’s not as cut-and-dried as being the first to the finishing line, the one to knock out your opponent, or the team to score more goals.
In sports, there can only be one winner. It’s a zero-sum game: someone wins at the expense of others. In life, there are more ways to win. Your life is yours and care less what your neighbours say.
To reach the success and fulfillment that we seek, we must first understand the true spirit of competing. We do not compete to be the other. Our focus must never be another.
As this competition among Zimbabweans rages on the coffins going to Zimbabwe multiply. They die and leave thousands of pounds untouched. Most nurses have cruelly tore their marriages apart because of the competition. People must remove the myth that The best competitors have the most talent. But it is true that The best competitors have the most desire
“It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.” — Mark Twain
“Do your work with your whole heart, and you will succeed — there’s so little competition” — Elbert Hubbard
“The healthiest competition occurs when average people win by putting above average effort.” — Colin Powell
At the core of one’s competitiveness lies the desire of the individual. It’s not about strategies, techniques, or skills. It comes down to, as top athletes and entrepreneurs would say, a desire to win that refuses to be denied. The focus must always be you. If you look around you you can only reduce your speed.
Underdogs epitomize this desire. Others may have more talent, but underdogs use motivation, grit, and energy to their advantage.
These steely individuals are waiting patiently for their chance to shock the world. Don’t let their quiet demeanor fool you; they’re confident of their abilities, proud of the work they put in, and they don’t know how to give up. They make the toughest competitors.
Zimbabweans must learn that you do not have to beat your competition
You are your only competitor.
“The only competition worthy of a wise man is with himself.” Added John Dzekas from corby.
You must be not in competition with anybody but yourself your only goal is to beat your last performance.
If you keep looking over your shoulder, you not going to see where you’re going. When you constantly direct your competitive efforts in response to what your rivals are doing, you lose focus on yourself and your goals.
Be aware of your competition, but beware of the disease of being competitive simply to prove you’re better than others. That’s narcissistic and self-destructive.
Being in competition with yourself is the healthiest competition. Nobody needs to lose for you to win.
Set the bar for yourself. Channel your competitive fire to meet your own standards and expectations. Be the driver on your journey to success.
We look everyday as the children become victims they do not see their parents anymore. Parents are now lovers of their jobs. They have a selfish mind just to be seen as rich by their friends. They now go to church to show off their new designer dresses their cars and soon enough their new coffins. Zimbabweans are dying of stress of fatigue they are dying of diseases caused by this unreasonable working style.
The real people they are supposed to work for love and see them grow become their least on their mind. Zimbabweans in the UK have become addicted to work in the competition to show off. May God help us all.
