Francois Esterhuizen

Francois Esterhuizen Marriage counselling and life coaching. Skills, tips and training for better relationships.

16/02/2026

Some events are so impactful they force you to reevaluate your big dream entirely.

Maybe it's the advent of AI.
Maybe it's a tragic accident.
Maybe it's a relationship that ended.

Whatever the cause, sometimes you have to accept that your big dream is no longer an option.

You're not giving up. That's just your new reality.

You can fight it, or you can accept it and reevaluate it.

The goal of life isn’t to stay loyal to an old vision.
It’s to stay aligned with the person you’re becoming.

That person, who now lives in this world after that event, should still have a big dream.

What will that dream be?

Find out more: getclarity.co.za










13/02/2026

Disobedience is the engine of growth.

When you're stuck, the thing blocking you isn't your fears, or your doubts, or the challenges you face.

Those are indicators.

The thing blocking you is your obedience to the voices that tell you,
"You're not good enough."
"You don't have to do that, you're fine where you are."
"It's so hard, you'll never be able to accomplish that."
"This has worked for you up till now, why change?"

Those voices keep you safe and comfortable and so very stuck. It's scary saying no to what feels comfortable, to the solutions that you've defaulted to for so long.

But change is the only way you'll get unstuck and move toward your dreams.

And the only way to change is to be disobedient to those voices.

Find out more: getclarity.co.za














04/02/2026

All obstacles are internal.

Even external obstacles you have absolutely no control over show up as internal, because as the observer and giver of meaning, you are the only person who will decide how you respond:
- give in to the victim mindset and accept the obstacle as unmovable
- blame the world and anything else and refuse to take responsibility
- identify what you can control, take responsibility for that and move forward.

Showing up isn’t about feeling ready. It’s about moving while resistance is still there:
- You show up by asking, "what can I control in this situation?"
- You show up by lowering the bar from “do it perfectly” to “what is the next step I can take?”
- You show up by focusing on your behaviour, not the circumstances
- You show up by keeping promises to yourself, especially the small ones.

You'll see the external obstacles. But you need to overcome the internal ones to move forward.

Find out more: getclarity.co.za












03/02/2026

I've seen magic in real life.

A client discovers an unhealthy belief that has been holding them back, replaces it with a healthy one and BOOOM, their life changes radically.

This doesn't happen every time. Most unhealthy beliefs are rooted deep and take effort and repetition to dig up and replace with healthy ones. But it does happen, especially when you get good at identifying those unhealthy beliefs.

How?

Use your emotions as clues.

When you feel that self-doubt creeping in? When you suddenly get the urge to run? That's a clue that an unhealthy belief is steering the ship.

Find out more: getclarity.co.za














03/02/2026

Every healthy relationship should be polygamous.

WHAAAT?

When you're in a relationship, you're going to change. A lot.

And your partner is going to change too, whether by growing or simply by how you see them as you change.

If you stay stuck in love with the person you first met, you'll quickly become dissatisfied. So you need to fall in love with a new person over and over.

Staying healthy means accepting and recommitting to every you and every me.

Find out more: getclarity.co.za












03/02/2026

When considering purpose, asking "what am I supposed to do with my life" is the wrong question.

"Supposed", "ought", "should" all outsource responsibility. Who is going to define that for you?

Try instead, "What do I want to invest my life into?" "What do I want to give my life to?"

That way you're choosing what is important. Your big dream could be becoming the next South African in space, but you can still spend a whole guilt-free Saturday morning with your kids because you've decided they're worth investing in.

Your purpose is no longer a mystical goal to be uncovered. It's a practical outcome expressed wherever you choose to focus it.

Find out more: getclarity.co.za














02/02/2026

All obstacles are internal.

As you define your big dream, you will also create a long list of obstacles you have to overcome.
- not enough money
- not enough time
- don't have the skills
- don't have networks

And so on. But none of those obstacles are the real obstacle. Thousands of people have reached the same type of goal you're working towards, many from even worse positions than where you are now.

To get there, you need to become the person who is capable of reaching that dream. A person who:
- overcame the belief that he wasn't good enough to charge more
- took a risk and hired people
- was persistent enough to secure coaching from a leader in the industry
- shared her work with critics and learned from their feedback.

The tangible limitations of your dream are kept in place by the beliefs blocking you from finding out ways to overcome them.

Find out more: getclarity.co.za













02/02/2026

"Who do you think you are?"

The fear of hearing that is a common reason for us to stay safe and comfortable and unhappy and stuck.

If you want to achieve a big dream, you need to become the person who is capable of achieving it.

That person might need to be more confident, or stop drinking entirely, or not spend hours gossiping, or be someone who says "No, I'm better than this."

When you change and grow, people will judge you. When you realise you're in the muck and start getting out, one of the tried and true ways of dragging you back is the phrase "Do you think you're better than us?"

That question is about them, not you. What does better even mean? But are you being healthier than them? Yes. Are you doing better at becoming the person you want to be? Yes? Are you making better choices? Yes.

You'll probably lose some friends in this process. But you'll make new ones too.

Find out more: getclarity.co.za











02/02/2026

Having a clear, powerful goal won't magically transform your ability to achieve it.

As James Clear says, "we don't rise to the level of our goals, we fall to the level of our systems".

Structure is about creating an environment to succeed, from having a tidy desk to using your calendar effectively.
Systems are daily habits and processes that keep you moving forward, even on bad days.

For example, if you want to run a 21km race for the first time by the end of the year:
- find a place to run without distraction (structure)
- blocked, unmissable times during the week to train (structure)
- choose a time after a regular part of your day to use as a trigger (structure)
- make your running gear easy to find (system)
- get a running buddy who will force you to run even when you don't want to (system)
- stop saying, "I hate running." Say, "I'm a runner." (scripting)

Find out more: getclarity.co.za












02/02/2026

Confidence is not something you find. It is something you build.

You build it by making promises to yourself, and keeping them.

That is why your commitments matter. Overpromising feels inspiring in the moment, but it becomes expensive later.

Two rules:

1. Be careful what you promise. Keep it small, realistic, repeatable.

2. Once you promise it, follow through. Consistency creates evidence.

Every kept promise strengthens self-trust. Every broken promise quietly erodes it.

Free your potential, go to getclarity.co.za to get started.

01/02/2026

Gratitude might be what is stopping you from reaching your dreams.

Aren't we supposed to be grateful? Yes, absolutely. But we often use it as a hiding place, a way to get out of the discomfort and challenges we need to face to move forward.

"I could be working in a call centre; at least I have this job."

Yes, but staying in that job is the very thing blocking you from moving forward.

"I shouldn't complain, other people have it way worse that I have."

Yes, but you're also believing that you don't deserve to want more. So you're stopping yourself from ever trying.

Examine your gratitude. Is it helping you live the life you want, or acting as an excuse for you to avoid the challenge of moving in the direction you want to go?

Find out more: getclarity.co.za











01/02/2026

You can’t save time. You can't make it either.

Time moves at the same pace, relentless and uncaring, and there's nothing you can do about it. There's no hidden pocket that you can store an hour for later, or fabricator that'll give you a 25-hour day (sorry Bar-One).

But you can control your attention, and how you focus the time you have.

You can waste it on stuff that doesn't give you anything in return (where it doesn't make your life actively worse, like doomscrolling).

You can spend it on the necessary stuff, like working for a living.

Or you can invest it in things that will compound in value, like sleeping well, or quality time with your family, or personal development, or learning skills that are of immediate practical value.

But you're no Hermione. Once today's 24 hours are gone, they're gone for good.

Find out more: getclarity.co.za













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