We used to have three hangers on the wall of our hallway, mainly to hang the kids' outdoor clothes. We soon realized they were not enough, as some of the clothes inevitably ended up on the floor. We added two, and yet a jacket or some outdoor trousers were still continuosly out of place. We … Continue reading Leave some empty space
Category: self-help
The practice of empathy
A while back, I have written about empathy and about how it is not something that comes natural to most people (me included). But what does empathy look like in practice? It is certainly not to feel sorrow for someone's issues. When we do, we tend to approach the relationship from a position of strength, … Continue reading The practice of empathy
100 days of blogging
Today marks my 100th day of blogging. 100 consecutive days. It's just been a bit more than three months, and already I can identify some pretty good benefits from my practice. First of all, I am getting better at fighting resistance. Resistance is with me basically every day I open the WordPress app on my … Continue reading 100 days of blogging
Labelling
Labels stick. This is why we get defensive when we are assigned one we do not like, as well as why we should be careful when assigning one to others. It happens a lot when we deliver feedback. Things like "it does not seem you are committed enough" (label = "indifferent"), or "you could do … Continue reading Labelling
The narrative killer
A good way to stop being busy is to avoid saying that you are. "How are you?" "Busy." I did this many times myself, and it's not really a nice way to move the conversation forward. Even more, busy is the narrative killer: if you repeat it long enough, that's the the only story you … Continue reading The narrative killer
I still go “ouch!”
When things go bad, I still go "ouch!". When my daughter (rarely) or my son (more often) throw a tantrum, I still go "ouch!". When my work gets rejected, the neighbour does not say "hi!", a stranger cuts my way, the weather is not the way I had planned it to be, a bee flies … Continue reading I still go “ouch!”
Multimessing
You can do different things at the same time, yet chances are none of them will turn out to be done particularly well. Sure you can do the dishes while talking to the kids, or prepare food while talking on the phone, or drive while listening to a podcast. You'll be a lot more tired … Continue reading Multimessing
