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Do you want what you wish?
“You don’t have to learn to want,” said Greek philosopher Seneca. And indeed, we humans seem very good at wanting. We want all kinds of things. And there are things we don’t want.…
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Forget being who you are. Life’s about becoming who you want to be
You may recognize this: To friends, family or colleagues you can’t refrain from stressing that you “want to be yourself”, and meanwhile you silently ask yourself, “Who am I actually?” If so, then…
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5 misunderstandings about being introverted
If someone asks you whether you are an introvert or an extrovert, do you immediately know the answer? I myself do not identify with either; I always say that I am an ambivert,…
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Authenticity: your values, your choice
If you buy an age-old painting for a lot of money, you probably want a certificate that guarantees the authenticity of the painting, so that you can be sure that you are not…
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Rollo May on choosing to live
“It is doubtful whether anyone really begins to live, until he has frankly confronted the terrifying fact that he could wipe out his existence but chooses not to. Since one is free to…
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‘Man’s search for meaning’ in 10 quotes
I just finished reading ‘Man’s search for meaning’ by Viktor Frankl. Here are my 10 favorite quotes from this highly recommended book: 1. Happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue. A human being…
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Distinguishing feelings from thoughts
How many times do we say or think: Probably I use some of these expressions myself sometimes as well. But these are not feelings. They are thoughts. You think you are powerless and…
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Are we like hamsters?
Many of us are working to improve their emotional well-being by addressing past experiences and traumas, either by themselves or guided by a therapist. Let me be clear that I think paying attention…
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On expectations
I recently attended a mini class on ‘expectations’. You know, those tricky imaginations that we all have about what future events are supposed to be like. It was good to be reminded of…
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On time (and why ‘living in the now’ is b*s*)
“Temporality is evidently an organised structure. The three so-called “elements” of time, past, present, and future, should not be considered as collection of “givens” for us to sum up – for example, as…
