How to grow faster by focussing on behavior instead of on yourself.

How to grow faster by focussing on behavior instead of on yourself.

Can failing be positive? 

This mindset is about focussing on your actions instead of on yourself. By doing so, succeeding or failing become a result of what you did. Not of who you are.

It’s about judging whether you did well by focussing on effort instead of on ability. You focus on whether you tried. Whether you showed up. Being able to do it or having chosen the right solution is less relevant.

It’s about a switch from believing in the self to believing in behavior. From talent to practice. From “I am the way I am” to “I can grow and improve myself”.

Why acceptance doesn't lead to stagnation but unleashes you.

Why acceptance doesn't lead to stagnation but unleashes you.

As a competitive person, I want to achieve things. Set goals and reach them. And as someone who meditates, I want to be present and accept reality as is. But if I want to accept reality, why would I want to change it? Paradox-alert!

Mindfulness practice preaches the acceptance of the now. That seems to contradict wanting to compete and improve things. In itself, there is absolutely nothing wrong with having goals or wanting things. They can drive change to improve your life.

However, these goals need to come from a healthy foundation. So, acceptance becomes a prerequisite. It is a state from which you can start with improving. Let me explain what I mean.

Otto Scharmer - As systems collapse, citizens rise

Otto Scharmer - As systems collapse, citizens rise

A great articulation on the reaction of a system (regression or muddling through) to a crisis and the alternative response from the citizens (empathic-human response)

Mark Boyle - Living without money: what I learned

Mark Boyle - Living without money: what I learned

"I discovered that my security no longer lay in my bank account, but in the strength of my relationships with the people, plants and animals around me.”

Brainpicking - An Antidote to the Age of Anxiety: Alan Watts on Happiness and How to Live with Presence

Brainpicking - An Antidote to the Age of Anxiety: Alan Watts on Happiness and How to Live with Presence

"To be secure means to isolate and fortify the “I,” but it is just the feeling of being an isolated “I” which makes me feel lonely and afraid. In other words, the more security I can get, the more I shall want.”

Sara Goldstein - 30 questions to ask your kid instead of “How was your day"

Sara Goldstein - 30 questions to ask your kid instead of “How was your day"

Ah! My favorite hobby. Questions :). "How was your day”. Eeeh “fine” is about as far as you can get. It’s not a very powerful starter. It lacks context. Great alternatives in here. Like "What was the nicest thing you did for someone else?” Or of course: "Which one of your teachers would survive a zombie apocalypse? Why?” And the best part, this must work for grown-ups as well!

Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic (HBR) - Why do so many incompetent men become leaders?

Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic (HBR) - Why do so many incompetent men become leaders?

This article tries to explain why we have so many more men in management than women. It goes about it differently than the usual they’re incapable, they’re uninterested or glass ceiling reasons often given. And that is most welcome! It looks at the way we choose leaders. Turns out, the criteria that make candidates look good are exactly the ones that make bad leaders. We just seem to like self-centeredness, overconfidence and narcissism. And these ‘qualities’ are not equally present in men and women.

Veronique Greenwood (Wired) - How the body’s trillions of clocks keep time

Veronique Greenwood (Wired) - How the body’s trillions of clocks keep time

A bit technical, but so cool. Almost all your cells have clock mechanism in it. No Swiss radars of course. But proteins that regulate the behavior of the cell over the day. A biochemical horn blows from parts of the brain that react to light and darkness. A few proteins get together in the cell’s nucleus. They lead thousands of genes to transcribe to proteins. That wakes up the cell. And makes you feel hungry. Or open your eyes.

Guide: Finding your Life's Purpose

Guide: Finding your Life's Purpose

Finding you life's purpose. A lot is being written about it. Part of it portraits it as getting to this blissful state. That once you have it, all your troubles seem to lift. And it will be a glorious and smooth ride afterwards. Or they say that it leads you onto dangerous paths. Where a lot of blood, sweat and tears are involved. But mostly, and maybe the most ominous of all, that it is absolutely the first thing you should do before getting started on something.

So these are the extremes. I agree with some of it and disagree just as fully. So I decided to make my own guide to navigating the grey areas of this big project of Finding your Life's Purpose. It’s based on what I’ve experienced in the last few years. When I quit my job. Did loads of projects. Read everything about it I could get my hands on. All to find something resembling a purpose. I hope it brings you joy.

Margaret Atwood (for Matter) - It’s not climate change, it’s everything change

Margaret Atwood (for Matter) - It’s not climate change, it’s everything change

The second THE article of the year about climate change. It dives into the two extreme pictures on how our transition to new energy resources can go. And goes into how it will go down depending on where we are in transitioning. About how the conversation has shifted the last few years. But what struck me most is that this transition is about the human psyche. How when you just think about it as climate change, you miss the psychological change that is needed for this transition. How our values and the way we view ourselves are dependent on how we create energy. From "I am what I make", to "I am what I buy”, to “I am what I save and protect”. 

Tim Ferriss Show - Brené Brown on Vulnerability and Home Run TED Talks

Tim Ferriss Show - Brené Brown on Vulnerability and Home Run TED Talks

A great first dive into that balance between acceptance and improvement can be heard in the conversation between Brené Brown and Tim Ferriss. A great episode throughout. About her Ted talks, vulnerability and shame. But from minute 31 it really gets into that balance. How do you keep your drive to compete when you accept that you are enough? Her point is that you need to be centered in acceptance in order to have a healthy competitiveness. It unleashes her to strive for excellence. Not acting from that center results in a need for validation. And I couldn’t agree more.

Jon Westerberg - 10 Hard Truths About Making Things

Jon Westerberg - 10 Hard Truths About Making Things

Jon writes a lot of nice posts. But I decided to share this one. He shares 10 things about being a creator that are hard lessons to learn. So read this and be on the lookout! The 9th one spoke the loudest to me: Talent won’t mean anything if you don’t finish anything. “Nothing has to be perfect, just put it our there”. The funny thing is, the next point is to "make each creation count". I think that navigating that fine line between acceptance of the imperfection and striving for improvement is going to end up being another blog post soon.

Robyn Scott - The 30 second habit with a lifelong impact

Robyn Scott - The 30 second habit with a lifelong impact

Productivity hacks are all around on the internet. But just reading about them doesn’t make you more productive. So I’m going to experiment with a few. In these two articles there are 4 tips for productivity:
The 20/20/20 formula - Start your morning with 20 minute blocks of exercise, prioritizing and learning.
The 90/90/1 rule - For 90 days, spend the first 90 minutes of your day on your number 1 priority
The 60/10 method - Work in 60 minute sprints and relax for 10. You can use Pomodoro for that.
The 30 second habit - Take 30 seconds after every meeting to write down the most important points for retention.

Robin Sharma - The Methods for SuperHuman Productivity

Robin Sharma - The Methods for SuperHuman Productivity

Productivity hacks are all around on the internet. But just reading about them doesn’t make you more productive. So I’m going to experiment with a few. In these two articles there are 4 tips for productivity:
The 20/20/20 formula - Start your morning with 20 minute blocks of exercise, prioritizing and learning.
The 90/90/1 rule - For 90 days, spend the first 90 minutes of your day on your number 1 priority
The 60/10 method - Work in 60 minute sprints and relax for 10. You can use Pomodoro for that.
The 30 second habit - Take 30 seconds after every meeting to write down the most important points for retention.

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