Soldiering on is not productive I thought I had been processing everything that had happened, trusted my ability to manage stress. I hadn’t realised how depleted I was. I hadn’t given my mind and body the time and space, the opportunity to heal or at least recharge the multiple physical, mental and emotional stressors and traumata that had challenged me on every level over an extended period of time. Although I had taken an occasional isolated day off from work, I rarely had two days in a row to rest.  And like too many people, my idea of  ‘not…

The past weeks have been tough as well as enlightening. I would love to say that my insights happened at the same time as the challenges I faced, but it wasn’t like that. Clear thinking was impossible when I was wrapped up in physical pain as well as mental and emotional exhaustion. And that’s the point of this blog. While I was initially baffled about how everything could have fallen apart so quickly when I thought I was doing so well, it all started to make sense after I took time for a reset, when my brain fully came back…

A few weeks ago, I spoke with 26 people in one day: I ran an online workshop; attended a group meeting; had three one-on-one chats; joined a networking meeting involving speed-driven conversations with eight people; and finished the day after another long one-on-one conversation. When I turned off the computer that night, I could barely think. My brain was completely fried.   While talking with 26 people seemed a lot, if I were to transfer the number into realtime encounters, it would have actually not been such a tiring day.  It was only when I woke up the next morning…

In uncertain times, it can be hard to stay courageous and keep moving forward on a rocky path with unforeseen twists and turns. Sometimes, we need help to muster up the courage to keep going and facing the unknown. While I always recommend asking someone you trust for support, a role model can also encourage and inspire you. When someone has achieved something you admire, it allows you to say to yourself: “If they were able to do it, so can I!” — For example, whenever I feel lonely in my lockdown for one, sad that I have only had…

As you may already know, I have lived in nine countries, worked in sixteen and traveled in over fifty. One thing I have learned: A tourist wants to see. A traveller wants to learn. A typical tourist visits a foreign country to sightsee and compares what they don’t know with what they know: “This is not how we do it at home. Why aren’t they doing it like us?” — A tourist strongly identifies with a single culture and measures other cultures with the same yardstick. They expect that their everyday habits are catered to even in a country that…

Arthur C. Brooks, author of “Love Your Enemies: How Decent People Can Save America from the Culture of Contempt” says: “There’s an important psychological difference between anger and contempt. When you get angry at someone — maybe a friend, a spouse, or a colleague — what that says is, ‘I care about this, and I’m mad because I see that something is wrong and want to fix it.’ Contempt, on the other hand, says, ‘You are beneath caring about.’ Anger ultimately helps us reconcile, but contempt makes permanent enemies.”

I was a strong-willed child. When I wasn’t allowed to do something or told that I didn’t have the ability to do it, I would do my best to prove the opposite. And while I no longer break a glass door with my fist or read books I was supposedly too young for, I am still stubborn. For example, when it comes to pursuing goals; when someone tells me they are not worthwhile, especially if this opinion is based on a slap-dash assessment.

Have you ever wondered about the phrase ‘you make me feel’?

It’s an expression that pops up wherever people talk about emotions. In one word: everywhere. When I, for example, went to lyrics(dot)com and typed in “you make me feel”, the website spat out 11,801 results. Allowing for multiple interpretations of the same song that’s still a pretty long list!

Unless you are someone who was obliged to work over the weekend or who simply cannot let go of work, chances are you have had some time over the weekend to relax and recharge. Taking aside household chores and other related tasks, you will have done something that has nothing to do with work: hung out with friends and family, pursued a hobby, exercised, watched a movie, read a book, had some alone time and did nothing (hopefully). On Sunday afternoon you will have felt refreshed and may have had some insights and ideas into things you were too busy to contemplate during…

The weekend is almost here. What have you got planned? Taking care of household chores? Socialising with friends and family? Catching up on work you didn’t get done during the week? All of these are important. The week only has seven days and each day only has 24 hours. You probably would like to add a couple of hours to each day to have time for yourself. Chances are, if you had these extra hours, you’d fill them with something ‘productive’. I remember a study that came out in the late 1980s, which concluded that then, we achieved in a…

The definition of a leader, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is straightforward: ‘A person who has commanding authority and influence’. The Business Dictionary is more specific, it includes establishing and realising a clear vision, coordinating conflicting interests and thinking and acting creatively in difficult situations. Nowhere does it say exactly how a leader is supposed to influence and direct. Historically, leaders have relied on established hierarchical structures. Simply put, the higher up they were, the more authority they had, the more they could do what they wanted.  Yes, there were advisors, but if they displeased their leader, they ran the risk of…