The Namibian

The NamibianThe WeekenderYouthPaperBack of the Book

Search Archive

Tue 13 Aug 2013
05:56Last update on: 12 Aug 2013

The Namibian
Mon 12 Aug 2013

News

Features

Sport

Help

Your Career

Dollars and Sense

Health and Relationships

News Features Sport Help Your Career Dollars and Sense Health and Relationships

SMS Of The Day * MINISTRY of Gender and Child Welfare, TEARS are rolling down as I write this SMS. The killing of women in Namibia is now like reciting a poem. Are we really getting the protection we deserve while women not being treated as part of this c
Food For Thought * SO the Zimbabwe elections were free and peaceful and not free and fair?
Bouquets And Brickbats * NURSES at Katutura Hospital must stop wearing those big plastic sandals at work because they are not the official working shoes. We want to see you looking smart and beautiful with your full uniform.
SMS Of The Day * THIS nation is in dire need of a massive conference on housing. When we experienced a crisis in the education sector a crisis-control brain-storming conference was organised which resulted in the best deal ever for the Namibian child, nam
Food For Thought * BOURGEOISIE has become a daily occupation if not the order of the day of the upper-echelons, President Hifikepunye Pohamba we urge you to revisit this unpatriotic geocentricism among your staff and the well-connected, for everybody to r
Bouquets And Brickbats * COMMISSIONER of Prisons, can you please explain the strategies you use to appoint officers to certain positions? It is my observation that you are being fed with wrong information then you just promote individuals without making p
SMS Of The Day * I THINK Paulus ‘The Rock’ Ambunda lost his belt because of this promoter and trainer. How can a world champion still be training at the Katutura Youth Complex where there is not enough equipment. I think they must follow the example of Ha
Food For Thought * NAMIBIA Dairies are unable to match low prices of imported milk and this ultimately means the consumer will have to pay more for local milk. Look at the prices of the local chicken. All these profits are going in the pockets of a few in
Bouquets And Brickbats * I AM pleased to hear that Cabinet has responded positively to the proposal of Namibia Dairies to support the industry. The restrictions which support the industry by reducing competition to ensure the survival of the industry is a
SMS Of The Day * CEO’s golden handshakes. Somewhere on our statute books there must be a provision that if a board of directors suspends/dismisses a CEO without due regard to legal provision (substantive/procedural law) such board must carry the costs for
Food For Thought * JACKY Asheeke was so right with her last column- why are the fathers of the dead children not being prosecuted? (Reference to the children who died in shack fires last week) Our justice system still protects men over women. In this cont
Bouquets And Brickbats * ALEXACTUS Kaure, your column in Friday’s newspaper opened my eyes. One hardly finds impartial case study analysers in Namibia. Let’s not destroy the Polytechnic’s strong foundation (Tjivikua) as yet. At least wait until the transf

POLL

What do you think of the renaming and addition of regions and constituencies?

Results so far:

Older Polls

HEALTH AND RELATIONSHIPS - | 2013-07-30

Guard Your Mouth

Words hurt

Once upon a time, there was a boy who used to accumulate very bad grades at school and when his mother found out, instead of yelling at him she told him that he could do anything if he believed in himself and that only he could do it better. From that time, he did better in school and learned to accustom himself with people who brought light to his life.

In another story however, a 16-year-old girl fell pregnant and this affected her school work severely. The principal called her parents in and they told her that she was nothing and was a failure and that she would always be a disgrace to them. They told her this in front of the principal and her friends because she also told them that same day that she was pregnant. She was sent home the same day and was only seen later in the evening. When her parents found her, she was already dead. She had committed suicide by hanging herself in her room.

These two stories say a lot about our mouths and the words that come out of them. In the first story, the boy became a better person by reacting positively to what his mother told him, because the message given to him was positive. If her words were negative he could have chosen another direction. The girl in the second story however had a bad influence and negative thoughts spread into her head from the people that were supposed to be there for her, instead of disheartening her. She was probably ashamed after being insulted in front of her friends and the principal. That is why we should always be careful of when we speak and the type of message we are sending out.

Most of the time we do not control what we say, how we say what we say and when we say it. Mostly when a person is discouraged, it’s because of something that someone said or how others treat him/her with their words. There will always come a time in a person’s life when there will be positive or negative people in their life, especially friends, but it is always the negative people who are more prominent than the ones who can build a person’s life. It’s therefore wise to choose your friends carefully whether it’s during good or bad times.

Being who you are and being determined to achieve more is determined by how you react towards certain situations, the people around you and the ones you choose to be around. It can also determine the effects you have on people and the words you say to them. Be careful of what you say to the people around you, because what you say today can have a positive or negative reaction tomorrow. Always remember: the tongue is a double-edged sword.

Toini Niikondo is 20 years old and is studying Pre-hospital Emergency Medical Care at the Polytechnic of Namibia.