Serendipity – a tribute
05/12/2013: in the evening, a short tribute on this website to Nelson Mandela, still struggling for his life. His close family members being interviewed and giving the last updates on his physical condition that make it to the world press in a second. Significant others and many a trainee and coachee know that this giant […]
‘An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind’
Counterintuitive behaviour breaks the cycle. Stirring the pattern of blaming and counter-blaming. ‘One of the most fascinating aspects of this study is the insight that someone being non-empathetic to a loved one is a reflection of lacking self-love. The realization that self-hate is neurobiologically at the root of a loved one being cruel makes it […]
Growth mindset: we can grow considerably in nearly everything
Another example of the growth mindset, anti-deterministic view on personal growth, that I support: ‘Parents and educators can push back against such talk by emphasizing at every opportunity the malleable nature of intelligence—pointing out, for example, that performance on tasks like the Mental Rotation Test can be improved with training and practice. And test-takers can […]
Aged 95…
…, struggling between life and death, maybe it was time to let this Giant be free. Sleep tight, Madiba, sleep tight.
‘Peace begins with a smile’ – Mother Theresa
… ‘This reminded me about a story of a taxi driver in Johannesburg. Another taxi swerved from a parking space right into his path, got frightened, blew on his horn an threw him a finger and he only reacted by smiling. His passenger asked him about this strange behaviour of not retalliating. He answered: ‘That […]
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Criticism simulator
This handy online tool is designed by Ben Furman: You will be asked to think about a person whose behaviour you do not approve of and you would want to change. The program will ask you some questions and building on your answers, it will compose two different versions of how you might express yourself to the person you are […]
Amplifying useful change
It can be a fruitful strategy to look for those moments where a problem is actually not or less present. Technically speaking: those moments where people are already and have been higher on the scale towards their goal. Subsequently, the client (a coachee, a team, two people engaged in conflict,…) can become more aware of moments […]
Simple, non-simplistic
‘Goodness, why did I not ever think of that before’. These seemingly simple, non-simplistic AHA Erlebnisse, minuscule eureka moments, pocket-size moments of epiphany.When you ‘connect the dots’ (only possible afterwards, I know, Steve Jobs) and insights are casually woven and intertwined together. One of those minuscule moments when I was browsing through LinkedIn one night, after […]
Passion, or the killing of bureaucracy and routine
What are your new excuses not to look for your passion(s)? No, not your interests, that’s a different ball game altogether. Larry Smith: ‘Are you gonna go to your sweety and say: marry me, you are…interesting.’ ‘Your kid will come to you one day and tell you: I have a dream.’ You will reply and […]