Nozibele Mayaba
Photo Credit: Nozibele Mayaba via Facebook

Life’s new chapters, whether it’s parenthood, a new job, or university, can feel incredibly overwhelming. Podcaster Nozibele Mayaba reminds us that sometimes, taking a moment to block out the outside noise can make all the world of difference in finding our feet and unlocking our true potential.

 

Johannesburg, South Africa (05 June 2025) – Life can get pretty overwhelming, especially when entering a new phase of your life, trying something new or stepping into unfamiliar territory.

This could look like becoming a parent for the first time, starting a new job, getting into a new relationship, or even competing at a higher level in your chosen career.

For Nozibele Mayaba, an HIV activist and podcaster, adjusting to university life straight out of high school was a daunting challenge.

She shared an insightful video on her social media where she touched on the memory of being a first-year university student who was often caught in the drama and confusion caused by her fellow peers in the lecture room.

 

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A post shared by Nozi Qamngana-Mayaba (@noziqamngana)

Every day, students would cause a ruckus, expressing their confusion and constant complaints about the information being presented to them.

“The first three months were definitely hard because of the transition from high school. I was doing modules that I’d never done before. That, in particular I had a really tough time with.

“The first lesson I got out of there and in the words of Tyla, ‘What the heck?’. I was confused, and the rest of the class was confused. It was just a mess, “ Nozibele recalls.

She shared that the environment became unbearable and it started affecting her attitude to the lecturer, her chosen course and overall experience as a first-year student.

“Everyone was confused. But if you asked me in particular what I was confused about, I wouldn’t be able to tell you. All I knew was that because everyone was confused, for that reason, I was confused too.”

However, it took one day in which she had been experiencing really bad period pains that she sat through a lesson, not causing or being a part of the chaos, that she actually, for the first time, heard the lesson being delivered by the lecturer and took notes.

When she went through her notes back at home, it was then that she realised she could make sense of the information. The first test she wrote after actually engaging in the lessons and not the chaos was a distinction!

“Where am I going with this? Sometimes I wonder if the confusion we think we have about certain things is not because of the noise that we have accepted around us.

“You walk into a new job and meet someone disgruntled about their own role, talking about how toxic the environment is. Then you start thinking the environment is toxic, yet you’ve only been there for a couple of weeks. What are you talking about?”

In closing her “TED Talk”, Nozibele ultimately encourages her viewers to get their mindsets right and shut down the noise.

Sometimes, our perceived confusion and anxiety stem not from genuine misunderstanding but from the “noise” we absorb from our surroundings. By quieting the external noise (everybody else’s opinions, thoughts, expectations), we can truly hear our own thoughts, understand our own path, and ultimately, unlock our full potential.


Sources: Nozibele Mayaba
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