WEEKEND INSIGHTS — 22nd November 2025
GET LIBERATED FROM PUBLIC OPINION
Sabiiti Herbert
If you are reading this whether young or old please read with an open mind. I believe this message can set someone free. I write this not as a philosopher, but as a witness who has seen many destinies delayed because of public opinion.
Years ago, someone I knew came to borrow one million shillings from me. I didn’t have it at the moment, so he asked me to connect him to a money lender; a proper loan shark. I did. The interest was 20% per month.
To my shock, the loan he got was not to start a business, pay school fees, or solve a crisis. He used it to take friends out. He was busy buying rounds of drinks in Kabale, hoping to look like “the big man” of the evening.
Months later, the debt had grown to five million. He failed to pay, and auctioneers eventually took his car.
You may ask, “Why do you care?”
Because this story represents millions of Ugandans living under pressure from people who do not matter, people who will never help them rise, and people who vanish when life gets tough.
I always tell the youths I mentor: “It is extremely costly to want to impress the world.”
I have seen people go into debt to build houses they do not need simply to be seen.
I have seen people buy cars they can’t maintain to earn the approval of people who don’t even like them.
In Uganda, this virus is rampant, especially among the so-called elites. They call it “fake it till you make it.” But many fake until they break.
One day I asked my grandfather~Rev. Christopher Rushundaheire…why some highly educated people end up making decisions that have no long-term value.
He shocked me with one Scripture:
_“Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.”_ Romans 1:22.
Education without wisdom becomes pride. Pride without discipline becomes downfall.
I have seen people who worked their entire lives to impress others, only to retire broke. Retire into a mansion they cannot afford to furnish. Retire on ten acres of village land where no one passes to even say hello and no one is able to purchase the land. Retire from a “big man lifestyle” into a quiet, empty life. Why? Because they lived for public applause instead of personal purpose.
In Uganda today, you will find a retired man seated on a veranda of a posh house — with zero cash flow. The people he was impressing no longer come around. The friends he used to buy drinks for disappeared. The same world that clapped for him now asks, “What happened?”
Depression among young people is increasing.
Not because life is hard, _Ugandans are naturally resilient_ but because public opinion has become a new prison.
Young people are breaking under pressure to dress a certain way, spend a certain way, live a certain way, and post a certain way. Some are sinking into debt trying to keep up appearances on social media. Liberate yourself
You owe nobody an explanation for living within your means. You owe God and yourself the responsibility to live wisely.
✅If you cannot afford it, you don’t buy it.
✅If it doesn’t add value to your destiny, you don’t do it.
✅If God didn’t send you there, you don’t go.
As the saying goes:
“You cannot be everything to everyone and still remain true to yourself.”
Liberating yourself from public opinion does not mean becoming careless with your reputation.
There’s a difference between impressing people and maintaining credibility.
✅Credibility matters.
✅Reputation matters.
✅Character matters.
You cannot be trusted for business, employment, or leadership if your character is questionable.
Your name is still your greatest asset.
“A good name is better than riches.”
So live free, but live responsibly.
Live simply, but live honorably.