The 7 habits of highly effective people by Stephen R. Covey (habit 5)
How to meditate
Meditation is a simple practice available to all, which can reduce stress, increase calmness and clarity and promote happiness. Learning how to meditate is straightforward, and the benefits can come quickly. Here, the New York Times offers basic tips to get you started on a path toward greater equanimity, acceptance and joy. Take a deep breath, and get ready to relax.
Stay hungry. Stay foolish.
Steve Jobs’ commencement speech at Stanford University, June 2005:
I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I’ve ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That’s it. No big deal. Just three stories.
Go placidly amid the noise
Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even to the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit. If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
What project would you start…
…if you knew you wouldn’t fail?
Mia and Ela jumping on a trampoline, Hoher Hirschberg.
Do one thing at a time
1. Do one thing at a time
2. Know the problem
3. Learn to listen
4. Learn to ask questions
5. Distinguish sense from nonsense
6. Accept change as inevitable
7. Admit mistakes
8. Say it simple
9. Be calm
10. Smile
How to work better, by Peter Fischli & David Weiss
Palestinian-Israeli pillow fight
We need more:
Solidarity to advance equality.
Initiative.
Humor in it all.
The Walled Off Hotel, Bethlehem
Mural by Banksy
“Resilience is not something we have a fixed amount of but something we can build.”
Interview with Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant on personal resilience, corporate resilience, posttraumatic growth, learning from failure and dealing with grief.
Harvard Business Review
How to jump into cold water
or how to reach an overwhelming goal.
1. Put your valuables into a watertight bag.
2. Throw the bag into the current.
3. Jump.
I hate jumping into cold water. Yet, once I drift down the river Aare in Bern, I feel it’s the most thrilling and rewarding experience. There’re many analogies to the “Aare-bag-method” in life. Decomposing a problem into manageable steps makes it less overwhelming.
An enemy is one of the most important teachers
“An enemy is one of the most important teachers. Without an enemy you cannot practice tolerance, and without tolerance you cannot build a sound basis of compassion.”
Indian scholar Shantideva in How to Practice, The Way to a Meaningful Life by the Dalai Lama