Episodes

We like to favor actions over words. But words are still needed. Words sometimes speak louder than actions. Because not all actions are always clear. and not all actions can replace words. Words can be powerful - so lets use them to make a positive impact.

We value our possessions. We also spend a lot of time thinking about them. And when something happens to them, we worry about them. We should take good care of our things but we need to remember that they can be gone in an instant. Our thoughts about them are more important. they decide how we feel and act. They determine if we have a good day or a bad one. So we need to carefully watch them, more so than our things, which are replaceable.

The case of the serious car is my story of an attempted car purchase and the lessons I learned from this rather disappointing experience. Preparation is key for any major purchase. But even then, be ready to leave your desired object behind if you are not being treated properly. As a customer, I want to feel valued and appreciated but if I am only an object that brings potential revenue, I will take my business elsewhere. Its important to keep our dignity.

Why are we so afraid of being vulnerable? We all have this fear - of being exposed, hurt, seen. And yet, without risking all of it just a little, we don't live fully. We are standing on the banks of the river, afraid to jump, and never discover whats on the other side. Expectations increase our fear. When we are tied to a certain outcome, we are less likely to take a chance. If we can go into new situations with fewer expectations, we will notice our fear ebb a little and courage rise to the top...

I have always admired people who can be compassionate towards others, even strangers. And I finally realized - what stands in the way of my compassion is not that I am heartless and selfish. Its my agenda. I have expectations that are more important than anything. And when we only focus on our objective, we are not open to other possible outcomes - hence, a lack of compassion.

Lifting weights means discomfort for most of us. But with our cushy lives, we need to be uncomfortable more often. We need to push our limits from time to time to see what we are capable of. The benefits of lifting go beyond a strong and lean physique. Lifting heavy things teaches us who we are, how we handle difficulty and how we persevere. It builds our confidence and improves our self-esteem. In absence of regular physical challenges, we all need to push or pull heavy things now and then to t...

We already know that physical activity is important for our health. But there are other benefits to movement. When we are active, our body and our mind are in communication. We are focused, present and engaged, more so than when we just work with our mind. Physical activity is critical for getting our goals accomplished and moving us to the next level. It teaches us to ignore distractions, those that keep us from getting done what we set out to do.

We don't like conflict. We turn to all sorts of strategies just so we can avoid a confrontation. But conflicts are valuable. They offer an opportunity to learn more about ourselves and the relationship with the other person. In this episode I share 3 key steps I found that help me manage conflict more effectively. Allowing conflict to teach us requires some courage and letting go of fear and expectations. But the result will be a rewarding experience for our development as a better human citizen...

How can self-love equal self-discipline? These seem to be two opposing concepts. Discipline is rigid, maybe even punitive. Love is free, relaxing, joyful. But yet, how can we be our best self? By relaxing and giving in to every whim? Or by disciplining ourselves so we can reach long term goals that make us proud? When we truly love ourselves, we will look beyond the momentary pleasures and try to achieve our long-term dreams by being more intentional about our decisions.

We often complain about our circumstances. We say we don't want what we currently have and wish for other things and other people. But ultimately, we live the life we want. Everything we have in our life is there because we want it. We may not be conscious of the need that is being met, but there is usually one. When we become aware of our needs, we then have the power to change the circumstances that don't make us happy. And to live a life we really want, and not just say we want.

Our relationships with the people close to us are like contracts. When not signed by both parties, these relationships become one-sided and unfulfilling. When one person is not fully committed to the relationship, we cannot force them. We also don't need to analyze why that is, or wait around for it them to come around. We need to move on. Its time to look at the relationships in our life that may not be met by a mutual agreement.

We like to spend time with people that know us and get us. We feel comfortable with them - there are no surprises. But there is also no change. When we add color to our life in the form of colorful people, we grow. Colorful people - skin color, different ages and backgrounds - will broaden our horizon, will challenge our viewpoints, and will help us see new possibilities.

I used to be scared of life, of tomorrow, and all the unknowns. And every time something didn't go as I had hoped, I fell apart. I thought that the unpleasant surprises life brought were misfortune, bad luck and a failure on my part. When life is just life, with all its ups and downs. And this life becomes less good vs bad, when we accept it as it is. Then, suddenly, we begin to see doors where there were only walls before. We are able to make do with the little we have and turn it into somethin...

We hide behind who we are. Instead of allowing our uniqueness to shine, we hide and follow what everyone else does. We already have enough sameness in this world. We need more different. We need more original ideas, new ways of thinking and creative perspectives. We need more of you - just like you are. So lets not hide and be proud of who we are. Someone in this world needs us to be that person - so lets find out how we can shine for them.

When given a choice between new projects and goals to take on, we usually go for the easier ones, the quick wins. But we already have a lot of those in our life - email, errands, small projects that come easy to us. The harder tasks take us further because they are more challenging. We shy away from them because they take more time, but in the end they are more rewarding.

We consume, but we hardly do anything with all the information we consume. We don't create. We don't apply the information we browse, surf, listen to and read every day. Thankfully, we have access to every piece of knowledge we ever wanted to know. But what are we doing with it? There is magic in creation. In applying what we know. In helping others with what we learned. The key is to start. To find out why a particular interests us and then DO something with this passion. And as we turn acquire...

Success. Failure. Two extremes we don't experience regularly. Because we like our comfort zone. and from there we admire those that achieve noteworthy success and we wonder how we can do the same. When we know how to. Because we have done it before. In the critical moments in our life - we have stepped up. We achieved greatness and worked through hardship. We did it - step by step. The same formula applies when we want to take our life to the next level.

We need a reason for getting up. We need a purpose and a vision that drive us. Instead of falling into each day, into events that are already taking place, without our doing, and that carry us along, shake us around and leave us sometimes high, sometimes dry - we need to drive. And we can only drive when we have a purpose - a reason for getting up.

“Imagination is more important than knowledge." Einstein famously said. Why? Because our knowledge is known. Its safe. Its what is. What we don't yet know is on the other side of knowledge. And imagination is the bridge between the two. Imagination can get us to what we don't yet know. By opening our minds, we become curious. And once we are curious, we begin searching. And soon we are on the other side - with new skills, new knowledge and closer to our purpose.

Our identity is part of us but rarely do we think about it. When we get defensive, however, it can be a sign that our identity feels threatened. And when we then argue based on our emotions, our identity gets in the way of a healthy dialogue that should be based on logic instead of feelings. If we leave our identity out more, I believe it will serve us better in our human interactions. Especially, since our identity cannot be trusted as a source of truth.

Why the Quest For You? After over 400 episodes I figured we should talk about my purpose with my vision. The quest for you is the return to yourself. Instead of looking to the outside to give you direction for your life, you look within. You listen to yourself and what you like and then you go out into the world and play, experiment and discover. I lost myself in all the distractions this world has to offer. But I found myself when I tuned it all out and instead follow my inner guidance system, ...

When it comes to procrastination, we don't need more motivation. We need strategies that help us bridge the gap between idea and action, when willpower fails us. I have 3 of those strategies for you in this episode and I use them all the time when I struggle following through.

I came across the concept of Akrasia, which means "weakness of will." It happens when we procrastinate, when we don't do what we say we will do, when we fail to follow through. Often we are good about following up with our promises to others. But what about the promises we make to ourselves? Our goals, our commitments and our dreams. We delay them, we push them off, and we don't give them the importance they deserve. Because we like the idea about a future goal, but we dislike the actual discomf...

Now that summer is here, at least in the Northern Hemisphere, we don't have an excuse anymore to not get out. Nature was always part of my life as a child, but then I was distracted by other things for many years. My quest for me has led me back to nature again as place of rest, healing and restoration. Nature just is, and teaches us to just be. We don't need to do anything special - nature is completely free and available for everyone. And yet, we so often forget about it because we are chasing...