OPINION: I spent close to 20 days on 'Celebrity Treasure Island'…I was eliminated after making the top six.
I learned so much about myself and others after being on the island for so long.
I'm proud I got sixth - I fought hard to stay.
But I made a bad mistake. I got sent to elimination for making the mistake of picking up the wrong coloured snake from the water. That’s accountability for making a mistake isn't it?!
Goneburger. Maybe we need that for politicians who make massive mistakes. You're fired!
Here are the six most crucial things I learned about myself and others:
1. I was wrong about reality TV
I have never been a huge fan of reality TV, but after being involved it's clear to me I got that wrong.
They work so hard to bring it to you - night and day for 9 months on this show
Don't underestimate how hard it is to manage 18 delicate egos and make TV.
2. Put your phone down
We don't need our phones to live full lives. We had no phone for 20 days.
It meant we had to talk to others, and in doing so, you find out and learn so much more. You remain in the now. Old school, really.
Relationships and friendships develop and blossom without the constant need to check your phone and be interrupted.
It’s the world’s worst human distraction and it’s now doing more harm than good.
They dominate every waking moment.
And it’s killing us and robbing us of living full and real meaningful lives. After 20 days, we missed nothing, the world carried on. I can't recall one thing that happened that I needed to know.
3. We have far too many food options
We have far too many options when it comes to food, and we eat too much.
We lived on rice and beans and whatever we won or caught. We have so much food and we throw much of it out.
On the island, we treasured food and we sat around eating, no devices, and conversation flowed.
Back to basics, the food and the cost of it has gone to the next level and the truth is our bodies are better off without the options and the cost.
We are cavemen, we don't need much.
4. Teach a man to fish...
Teach a man to fish and he can provide for his tribe forever.
I was gobsmacked. Only three of us out of 18 knew how to catch our food.
It’s a basic human survival skill, but 90 percent of those on the island didn't know where to start.
We are surrounded by water. Why have we got so complacent, lazy and useless - did no one ever teach you?
5. Don't judge people from afar
I feel people had the wrong view of me. I was booed when I arrived and people were wary of me.
I have done work taking on politicians that some people might not have appreciated, so I may have been seen as a stirrer and divisive.
The Herald reported that many contestants thought I would be first to go.
They largely saw me as no threat, old and a bit grumpy.
Wrong, wrong, wrong.
Some contestants who had put the boot into me on day one returned to the journalist the next day asking for their comments to be removed, saying I was a good guy - their words not mine.
6. The four must-have skills to survive life
Folks, we need empathy, understanding, mental toughness and good hunter-gatherer skills in life.
We can do without the pressure to have fancy houses and cars. It means jack to me.
All we need is shelter, warmth and some tucker… it’s how our forefathers lived.
I loved living like that for a short time. I could do it for longer. The rush of the city and traffic jams and diesel and petrol fumes with people living in shoe boxes on every corner does nothing for me.
A cabin, some fishing gear and fewer bills is me. Life has become way too complex and we are melting down. Stick to the basics, unwind the complex, turn your phone off and start living.
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