Stressed out? What we can learn from President Zuma
President Jacob Zuma says he is not at all stressed about delivering his state of the nation speech‚ although he’s guaranteed to face a militant reception by the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).
“Today we are looking forward to the state of the nation address‚” he calmly told SABC News on Thursday.
SONA 2016 saw chaotic scenes as the Red Berets’ leader Julius Malema disrupted the start of his speech and gave the speaker of Parliament a tongue-lashing.
“You are out of order because you cannot expel people for speaking in this house‚” he roared at the speaker.
“Zuma is no longer a president that deserves respect from anyone. He has stolen from us‚ he has collapsed the economy of South Africa. He has made this country a joke and after that he has laughed at us. We cannot allow Zuma to do as he wishes in the country… He is not our president!”
The EFF then burst into song‚ chanting “Zupta must fall”‚ and staged a walk-out. TimesLIVE captured the moment on video.
Zuma‚ however‚ appeared to be unfazed about a repeat of the debacle on Thursday. He authorised an unprecedented deployment of SANDF troops to be on standby in case of any drama‚ in addition to hundreds of police and traffic officials who will form a ring of steel around Parliament – which has made use of its own so-called “bouncers” to eject trouble-makers in the past.
“The time has come‚ the day has come wherein we are going to be talking to the nation and we are very happy that this moment has come‚” the president told SABC News.
He added that he was not feeling any pressure.
Excessive stress at work is bad for your health. It can have serious consequences for your physical and emotional health‚ according to helpguide.org – an online guide to mental‚ emotional and social health.
“Often‚ your ability to deal with stress can mean the difference between success and failure in any kind of work. You can’t control everything in your work environment‚ but that doesn’t mean you’re powerless — even when you’re stuck in a difficult situation‚” it says.
Among the suggestions offered by the site for reducing stress at work is to “look for the humour in what seems to be a bad situation”.
Perhaps that’s the secret to Zuma’s famous chuckle when he’s under pressure?