In our latest column The Game Changer by Durban’s own Oscar Anderson he delivers his weekly editions of love, life and everything in between. Check out this week’s feature entitled The Path Less Travelled…

I was chatting to a friend of mine lately who also happens to write and is working his way through writing a book. Now we were at a pre-drinks and didn’t really get the chance to go in depth, but he is quite a funny guy so I’m almost certain that it will be fictional with many drunken recollections, more fiction. But what I did get from our conversation is that he is having difficulty putting it all together and finishing it, in short, he has writers block.

Now I’m not going to claim that I do not get stuck sometimes when it comes to content or how to wrap up a column, I’m sure it happens to everyone who writes. It’s not as if a lightning bolt strikes my head and suddenly there are words on the page. But it did get me thinking, if writers experience a so called block in their road of thinking, then columnists surely are exposed to a lesser form of obstacle, a detour if you would like.

There are so many examples that we can apply road blocks and detours to within our lives, the important thing to remember is that we continue along the new course until we reach our destination.  Road blocks are often an opportunity to recollect your thoughts and catch up with yourself, unless you are the road rage type as in last week’s article, but with the state of roads in our beloved rainbow nation we should be familiar with the road works. Road blocks in life are often there for a reason and it’s always a good idea to stand back and find an alternative route to your destination. Re-assess. If there is no other way around your personal obstacle then I suggest that you get out of your comfort zone and walk around or over. It is usually basic steps that we need to revert to when we are used to a fast paced society, there is no use waiting for someone else to clear your blockage. Bear in mind it may be a longer journey, but with the right determination even twenty seven years wasn’t long enough for Mandela to walk to freedom.

When you are lucky enough to have the option of an alternative route, take it. No matter how much longer it would have taken you, you are bound to discover places you would never have experienced had you not have said yes. Many years ago my dad and I took the road through Golden Gate National Park on our way to Bloem, personally I think we were just lost but I don’t think that asking for directions even crossed his mind. What a beautiful place. Sure, the thought of being inconvenienced initially by the increased travel time and now all time high petrol prices can be quite frustrating, but once we had finally arrived I was all the more thankful that not only were we home but I will never forget the sight of the sun setting over the golden boulders scattered along our path. Something which would have been lost to me had we not have taken that route, whether planned or not. People often find little spots nestled away along detours which are lost to the rest of the traffic flow, I think it is in these little spots that we are able to learn about ourselves, find adventures, test and build our characters.

Personal detours are often better to be done when accompanied by someone who can motivate you throughout the way and to stay focussed on the end goal. In the case of my dad and me, it was a great bonding experienced, and four hours’ worth of eye-spy made the “detour” go by swiftly, well for me anyways. If you are faced with a road in which you need to take by yourself, do not be intimidated by the silence but rather break it by the sound of your own voice when you rejoice in breaking through your barrier.