Rasie your hand if you would not like to be considered as an intelligent person. Since we all want to come across as intelligent people (IQ wise), no wonder Facebook came up with an IQ test. Everybody comes up with short IQ tests. So often that even if you actually dislike these tests, one day you catch yourself trying to fill one out online.
Same goes for me. The other day I was going to take an instant IQ test online. Having answered 9 questions, a message pops up saying I am really stupid for having thought that 9 questions can determine my real intelligence.
Ok, fair enough.
So, today I decided to set up Google Analytics for my blog - I wonder how many people actually visit my blog. But I never read a manual, I am smarter than that. And I could not install the application. So my colleague who is a knowledge management expert asks me "Have you read the manual?". I get furious, but still I read it. Good. Now I know in principle how to do it. Another 30 minutes of trying...frustration. So my other colleague, hands on and considerate, asks me, "Why don't you wait until we have time to help you and then we can do it much faster - rather than you wasting your time now".
Well, in my part of the world, you know best and hate relying on other people's knowledge. So I went like "I can do it, don't you worry". And I ultimately did it. All by myself. With the manual open. Tremendous satisfaction. I knew I could do it. I just wasted some time :-)
Then I thought that this was not very intelligent of me. I did not minimize my efforts. I was stubborn. But I succeeded in the end. Did this equip me with a skill that will eventually make me feel even more intelligent?
I wonder.
And then, my favourite: emotional intelligence. Coz I have loads of it - so I thought, anyways. I am helpful. Helpful is being nice. Doing things for other people. Doing the same things that I hate it they offer me. Hm...So I upset people? I frustrate them sometimes with my helpfulness. Oh, does that mean that since helpfulness is not directly related to emotional intelligence, I just turn out to be ... not emotionall intelligent as I thought I was? I am not as structured and straightforward as I could / should be?
Another revelation. I really enjoy challenging my assumptions (I build several hundred assumptions a day). Today is a constant refaming and I smile to myself and wonder about intelligence.
I hope this post does not come across as an environmentally conscious one. Because it's not supposed to be about that :-)
It's simply about the intelligence and the lack of it.
As one of my Facebook freinds said the other day:
Artificial intelligence cannot replace natural stupidity.
Strong statement, but I really liked it (since I of course do not belong to either of the groups referred to in the statement :-)
Staying with it
If I say "Stay with it", does it ring a bell?
I see all these amazing and energizing people around, wanting the change, being the change. Most of them are from Generation Y. And then I look at the generation of the Flower power and of the Spring of 1969. And now I see corporate faces, not embracing the energy and efforts of the current pioneers of change. I wonder why?
Do people "lose it"? Why don't they "stay with it" - with their passion, energy, commitment? Where do we "lose it" on the road?
Well, of course not everybody loses it. But those who truly stay with deep humanistic values, do not often make it into the board rooms. They built their local communities, schools, groups of friends. That is where they bring about change. They are not quite as high leverage people as CEOs. But the truly connected people may not dream of becoming CEOs. Since career doens't really truly matter.
It looks like we have two streams: those who lose it and become heads of major organisations and those who don't lose it and never make the system turn around. Well, this is what I have observed in the older generation.
So the question is: how can our generation make sure that the strems do not split: that people "stay with it" and become high leverage individuals.
Or: is that really the way at all?
I see all these amazing and energizing people around, wanting the change, being the change. Most of them are from Generation Y. And then I look at the generation of the Flower power and of the Spring of 1969. And now I see corporate faces, not embracing the energy and efforts of the current pioneers of change. I wonder why?
Do people "lose it"? Why don't they "stay with it" - with their passion, energy, commitment? Where do we "lose it" on the road?
Well, of course not everybody loses it. But those who truly stay with deep humanistic values, do not often make it into the board rooms. They built their local communities, schools, groups of friends. That is where they bring about change. They are not quite as high leverage people as CEOs. But the truly connected people may not dream of becoming CEOs. Since career doens't really truly matter.
It looks like we have two streams: those who lose it and become heads of major organisations and those who don't lose it and never make the system turn around. Well, this is what I have observed in the older generation.
So the question is: how can our generation make sure that the strems do not split: that people "stay with it" and become high leverage individuals.
Or: is that really the way at all?
Life expectancy
I am somewhere between 20 and 30 years old. Much closer to the 30 than to the 20, by the way. As I was trying to convince myself last night at the gym to move my muscles (and the rest of my body) a bit, I just randomly observed the other visitors of the gym. Aged between cca. 19 and 75. Do I try to work out a bit to live longer? (And also not to have the backpain from sitting in front of my Toshiba 8 hours a day.) I think ultimately the wish to live a longer life is at least part of the package.
So today I looked up on wikipedia (where else :-)) how did life expectancy develop over time. I found out I would be heading towards the upper limit of average age in Classical Greece, Classical Rome, Medieval Britain or the Pre-Columbian North America. In the Neolithic and Bronze age, I would probably be dead by now...
So there's a lot to appreciate! Even the soft wrinkles appearing on my forehead (that I keep flattering myself about - due to the amount of thinking I do :-)).
I asked myself how long I would like to live? As long as I am happy and healthy, of course. How selfish...but true!!! And I expect to be healthy because I keep fit and drag my tired body to the gym every now and then :-)
So today I looked up on wikipedia (where else :-)) how did life expectancy develop over time. I found out I would be heading towards the upper limit of average age in Classical Greece, Classical Rome, Medieval Britain or the Pre-Columbian North America. In the Neolithic and Bronze age, I would probably be dead by now...
So there's a lot to appreciate! Even the soft wrinkles appearing on my forehead (that I keep flattering myself about - due to the amount of thinking I do :-)).
I asked myself how long I would like to live? As long as I am happy and healthy, of course. How selfish...but true!!! And I expect to be healthy because I keep fit and drag my tired body to the gym every now and then :-)
Taking pictures at concerts
I have left my buoyant metatheoretical clumsiness behind for a day. We went to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs concert in Paradiso. Awesome!
Except for the people who were taking pictures with flashes throughout the concert (and especially documented the roadies before the concert very miticulously). Man, if I was the artist, I wouldn't be able to concentrate. I would probably want them out of the room!
And then my other favourite thing is taller people with a hiardo taking up at least 1/3 cubig meter standing in front of you (you being me, 160 cm with shoes on). So first you don't see a thing. Then you have your face and mouth full of the hair of the other person in front of you who is having a blast. And once they start jumping and pushing each other, you start wondering why bother going to a concert next time.
Not that I could enjoy the parformance ....
Now, from a metatheoretical perspective, I should have let go and melt into the flow of the crowd to experience the oneness. It seems, even though I wish it wasn't so, my oneness with my surroundings still has a clear limit.
Except for the people who were taking pictures with flashes throughout the concert (and especially documented the roadies before the concert very miticulously). Man, if I was the artist, I wouldn't be able to concentrate. I would probably want them out of the room!
And then my other favourite thing is taller people with a hiardo taking up at least 1/3 cubig meter standing in front of you (you being me, 160 cm with shoes on). So first you don't see a thing. Then you have your face and mouth full of the hair of the other person in front of you who is having a blast. And once they start jumping and pushing each other, you start wondering why bother going to a concert next time.
Not that I could enjoy the parformance ....
Now, from a metatheoretical perspective, I should have let go and melt into the flow of the crowd to experience the oneness. It seems, even though I wish it wasn't so, my oneness with my surroundings still has a clear limit.
The Call
I should be doing something, but am not sure what it is and where to start. So I get involved in all kinds of small projects, initiate this and that, but always keep some distance. Because the thing is, I have not quite yet found the moment that would trigger my transformation, that would kick start me on my journey to....not sure where to.
I am no Susan Boyle on XY's got talent, I am no mum who realised that her kid did not fit in the conventional education institution and thus opened an alternative school, I am also no Stephen Hawking not being able to really speak and yet showing humanity new dimensions of knowledge. I feel I should go out there and seize the opportunity. But as soon as I take the first step, I become unsure of my true deep passion for what I want to do. Or...does this true deep passion matter at all? I have already felt is maybe too many times and forgot which one was the greatest and the lasting one...
I really need to discover my "way of expressing" myself, even though it won't be singing, painting or playing an instrument...There is too much locked inside of us, I really admire people who can let it out...
And in the meanwhile I'll wait for that moment, that call, when I just look around and start seeing the connections, the interlinkedness of all that has always been there, but I have been oblivious to.
What is it that helps you express yourself? And have you had the "enlightning moment"? What changed afterwards?
I am no Susan Boyle on XY's got talent, I am no mum who realised that her kid did not fit in the conventional education institution and thus opened an alternative school, I am also no Stephen Hawking not being able to really speak and yet showing humanity new dimensions of knowledge. I feel I should go out there and seize the opportunity. But as soon as I take the first step, I become unsure of my true deep passion for what I want to do. Or...does this true deep passion matter at all? I have already felt is maybe too many times and forgot which one was the greatest and the lasting one...
I really need to discover my "way of expressing" myself, even though it won't be singing, painting or playing an instrument...There is too much locked inside of us, I really admire people who can let it out...
And in the meanwhile I'll wait for that moment, that call, when I just look around and start seeing the connections, the interlinkedness of all that has always been there, but I have been oblivious to.
What is it that helps you express yourself? And have you had the "enlightning moment"? What changed afterwards?
How are you?
Well, there are many answers to this questions, even though most of the time we say "fine, thanks".
This time the question is actually about your personality. There are so many diagnostics you can use to find out more about yourself. For a bunch of these tests, go to the TIME magazine, to find out how you are, who you fit best with professionally, what incentive structure works for you, what are your strengths and pitfalls. This all sounds great and I understand it's value added for my professional development, but I cannot help it but feel "boxed". You are type XY and thus this is how you are, how we'll treat you in order to get you where you need to be....
Well, I do not know myself too well, but think that over time I'll take several diagnostics to help me in my path, I have just not yet figured out, how to avoid feeling trapped in my "type".
Any ideas? Thanks in advance!
This time the question is actually about your personality. There are so many diagnostics you can use to find out more about yourself. For a bunch of these tests, go to the TIME magazine, to find out how you are, who you fit best with professionally, what incentive structure works for you, what are your strengths and pitfalls. This all sounds great and I understand it's value added for my professional development, but I cannot help it but feel "boxed". You are type XY and thus this is how you are, how we'll treat you in order to get you where you need to be....
Well, I do not know myself too well, but think that over time I'll take several diagnostics to help me in my path, I have just not yet figured out, how to avoid feeling trapped in my "type".
Any ideas? Thanks in advance!
Change your thinking
... or at least challenge it. And by saying WorldChanging, nobody expects you to take the burden of changing the world on your shoulder. Rather read their mission: "...we believe that real solutions already exist for building the future we want. It's just a matter of grabbing hold and getting moving. "Is it naive to think we all wish for a certain kind of future? How much longer will green remain hip and attract people and who will be the people who want to integrate sustainability into the core of being and decision making? And how will that happen?
Anyways, an interesting and inspiring "positive news" website is at World Changing.
Enjoy making a difference. Or just go outside and enjoy the sun :-)
Sustain your energy
I think with the spring cleaning came also the idea of cleaning up the inside - not quite a detox, more like revisiting old forgotten ideas and initiatives. So, once upon a time I wanted to make an exhibition on Europe (taking pictures of things that contain the word Europe in their name - such as EuropCar, Europa Bank and many many others). I never got round to it. Then I started a blog on adaptation to climate change. Passionate as I still am about the adaptation to climate change, I have totally neglected my blog. I also wanted to learn how to play the piano. And then the guitar. But I hve not done either.
People say you have to force yourself to do something for 100 days, every day, and then it will become a habit. My problem with doing something for 100 days in order for it to become a habit is that if I do X, there are millions of other things I may want to do in that time, but I am not doing those things, because my habit now is X. And we can only fit a limited anount of habits into our 24hrs per day, I am afraid. So how should one convince him/herself that X is really important and a worthwhile investment of our time and should make it a habit and sustain the energy and passion for it?
I am asking this now as I have caught myself having a bunch of relatievly new habits and I am still not convinced I want to keep them. But they might come in handy in the longer term. So, carpe diem or let´s get organized?
Just beacause I'm nice, don't assume I'm dumb
This is the title of an article in the Harvard Business Journal from February 2009. I found it yesterday and realized how true, yet odd it is, that being nice (or at least trying) makes one look harmless, too sweet and naive, and not necessarily worth being promoted or listened to. Once we meet somebody, we assess them - and we see warmth and competence as inversely related. So if somebody sees you as competent, they won't expect you to offer them a coffee at the office when you make yourself one.
I wonder why that is so. In my ultimate frustration I can just say they are rude and lack good social education and humility. Other call them competent.
Suit yourself. I just feel very motivated now to prove this stereotype wrong. There are smart and beautiful blond women, too. Let's get over our outdated paradigms!!!
Thank you :-)
I wonder why that is so. In my ultimate frustration I can just say they are rude and lack good social education and humility. Other call them competent.
Suit yourself. I just feel very motivated now to prove this stereotype wrong. There are smart and beautiful blond women, too. Let's get over our outdated paradigms!!!
Thank you :-)
ACT Responsible
I love ads. Creative ones. And it frustrates me to see on tv how it's "scientifically" proven that one one cheese is better than the other. They are so full of preservatives, anyways. So, recently I came across ACT Responsible, which stands for Advertising Community Together. The ads they make are creative, fun, and for a purpose. Just check them out at http://www.adforum.com/affiliates/creative_archive/2007/ACT/simglist.asp
So that what?
As anybody else, I also get sometimes very stuck in loops of dreaming and giving up. But in order to make things happen, one has to get over the "passive" loops and move into action. Which I fail to do most of the time :-) But every now and then I realize there are simple formulas out there that could help, such as the one I just read in Dutch recently. So, once you have an idea and you what to make it happen and asked yourself the question "So that what?" - e.g. I want to make XY happen in order to impact my community in ABC way - you can develop your project around the 7 (Dutch) Ds:
Dromen - Dream
Denken - Think
Durven - Dare
Doen - Do
Doorgaan - Keep on doing
Delen - Divide
Doorgeven - Pass on
This sounds like it can ensure the decentralised continuity and growth of truly beneficial projects. Such as the Global Oneness Project. More on this later :-)
Dromen - Dream
Denken - Think
Durven - Dare
Doen - Do
Doorgaan - Keep on doing
Delen - Divide
Doorgeven - Pass on
This sounds like it can ensure the decentralised continuity and growth of truly beneficial projects. Such as the Global Oneness Project. More on this later :-)
Long time no write
... no time.
Time spent on things I wish I actually did not spend time on. Many new creative ideas. Nothing is materializing. And the world goes round! Then times come when you meet those who are dear to you and have a great time together, but do not really have the space to have longer conversations with clearer conclusions. Then you realize there are unfinished projects at work, then you realize that you aren't devoting enough time to your home, your food, your health, basically nothing around you gets the attention it deserves. Step on the break. No effect.
Sleep less. Works, but productivity goes down. Call your mum, catch up with friends, clarify old misunderstandings, plan you summer holiday, plant a tree, build your community...oops, forgot to stay in touch with friends again.
What is so wrong with us?
Oh, adopt a child on distance since you do not have the time to go there ant build a village for them and provide them with safe drinking water....oooh, the summer is here, time to go out with friends. I still haven't finished the book I started reading months ago, even though it's one of the greatest books I ever came across. I should not be updating my blog right now but
1) finishing a proposal
2) taking a shower
3) cleaning the apartment
4) trying to catch up with friends
5) reading about environmental finance
6) enjoying the first spring sun
7) figuring out what to cook for friends who are coming over for dinner tomorrow
8) sewing my boyfriend's socks (oh, how ashamed I am when he takes his shoes off ....)
9) my back hurts, I should go to the gym. skipped yoga class on Wednesday again....
What a circle of should do, need to do, want to do...and I should also listen to the podcasts of getting things done. But I am ...not always up to noise. Sounds. I just like silence. And lots of light. And I like to see the end of me task list. I guess for that I should fundamentally restructure my life and go to a farm and be energy independent, have a bunch of solar panels, lots of flowers, a figue tree and a couple of orange trees, have a distant view of the sea and big piano that I want to learn to play and get down to it.
Great dreams!
Daring ones. And I hope somewhat positive ones. I am willing to share them. Would you like to join?
Sustainability twisted
So the other day I paid a visit to my former employer. I was walking down the corridor, greeting acquaintances and new recruits. I have noticed that they were largely ladies in the office. After all, this is an NGO. At some point I had to realize that out of the 20 women I have seen, 3 were pregnant. Hm, I thought to myself, in this place they must have an excellent maternal leave policy. I could not help it but mention to the HR director. Right when I did so a girl who has just started working gave me a laugh. She said:"You wish, when I started I had to sign a paper stating that I am not planning to have a child in the next two years!" I looked at the HR director with dibelief, saying: "I had no idea that an NGO promoting sustainability in the world can offer such unfair labour conditions. This is unsustainable." She smiled back at me saying:"And do you think it is sustainable for me to keep chasing talented young people and once they start working here they just go on maternal leave? Well, I do not think my labour conditions would be sustainable if I had to constantly keep recruiting new people."
I have to admit, she had a point. It is interesting how sometimes the individual sustainability (fair labour conditions of the HR director) go against the sustainability of the bigger unit (general labout conditions at the organisation). Hm...I guess eventually more men may start working at this NGO.
Wants and Needs
The entire science of marketing is set up to satisfy our needs, but also our wants. To turn our wants into perceived needs. To come up with something that we were perfectly happy without and first turn in into a desire and ultimately make us believe that we cannot go on without it.
The financial crisis has numerous negative sides, no doubt about it. People losing their homes, jobs, their future...many people are faced with conditions that they may have not thought would ever be possible. When one has to give up their lifestyle, they have to revisit the deeper self and re-evaluate the values, the needs and desires. It is possible that many of us will realize that there are many things we got used to using, but ultimately, they were not our needs. Simply our desires. A Magnum Temptation cannot qualify as a need. Food and drinking water does. As long as not everybody on the planet has access to it, why are we constantly coming up with more "potentially desired" products and turning our back to those who pay the price of our lifestyle?
I have to admit, that Magnum Temptation does taste great... Could it turn into a perceived need? Is the financial crisis the right time to revisit our definitions of wants and needs?
What we say - What we feel - What we do
I am using this picture even though I probably should not, as it is not mine. I feel bad, but I still do it. I say (write) the truth, because I think by lying I could get into much more trouble. What I do, feel and say are totally not aligned. I hope the holy tantric man in the picture is better off in this case. Making music is a much more enriching experience than talking. Believes me, who cannot play any instrument.So anyways, the point is that sometimes we do things with a good intention, but it does not come across that well. At other occasions, we have the best talk, but simply would not move to action. And then there are the times when we say what we feel and we do it and we feel great about it. I would have to examine my memory a bit to discover when was the last time that happened, since more recent and not so positive experiences are currently obscuring my view (memory) of my glorious moments in the past ;-)
Anyways, happy Valentine's day to everybody!!!
Today is however Friday the 13th and somehow I feel it ...
Love is the new money
What a ridiculous comment, no? I saw it in the newspaper this morning and thought, how pathetic. And then I thought of the value of love and the value of money. And their measurability (which caused a bit of a headache since money is much easier to measure than love).So then I looked at it again: Love is the new money.
Money used to have a value (an agreed one). Love has an absolute value. Love is a safe bet. Real, authentic, caring, connected LOVE. It's like an alternative currency that will never lose its value. Love (when money looses out on its importance) is becoming the new money. The sentence in itself suggests a paradigm shift.
A radical change. It seems that impatient idelists, like myself, wait every day for the paradigm shift. And by the way, if you allocate money with love, there would be no global South. Neither global North. Hmmm...there you go, food for thought
Creativity and Innovation
Did you know that 2009 is the European Year of Creativity and Innovation? Well, now you know :-) The official ceremony marking the commencement of this year took place in Brussels where at Vienna Vegetable Orchestra gave a concert (http://www.gemueseorchester.org/). It is a worthwhile experience to listen to a small piece by them on youtube.
I like this initiative because it comes across as a fresh approach to celebrating nature. Not only does vegetable feed us, but it provides us with leisure, with beauty. I guess most musical instruments were inspired by vegetables. And fruits. And animals. All the natural things surrounding us. It's a "back to the roots 21st century edition". It's creative and innovative, yet not tech. It's elegant, it's simple, it's natural....I am just not sure the artists eat the vegetable after they paly music on it...even if they don't they have my vote!
Professions
It is interesting to see how over time some professions disappear (the traditional hand labor) and others take their place (mainly in the service industry). Imagine somebody having worked at the counter giving our refunds for returned bottles in the grocery store. Just think about working there for years, knowing your customers by name, being part of the "grocery store community". Then one day they bring in the machines that sort the bottles and print receipts that allow your for a discount at the cashier. The person who worked at the counter is not needed any more. A machine has replaced him. Every day new machines seem to be taking jobs over from humans. I have to admit the washing machine is nice, I do not mind not having to wash the clothes in a river by hand. Machines are supposed to make our lives easier. To allow us to do other things that we otherwise would not have time for. But to what extent to they make us feel useless and superfluous and in the end just make us spend more time staring at the TV/PC screen and indeed be passive and superfluous in some respect?
New Year's Resolution
So, another year is over. This was a pretty exciting one for me. My first real job, my professional and personal learning, living happily with my boyfriend, being surrounded by great people, traveling a bit, having no REAL concerns in life.... Except for the question marks around the future. But those we always have, right?
Actually, all I wanted was to enter 2009 without any due to-dos from 2008. I think it worked quite well. But in order to maintain continuity, of course there were many things overlapping from 2008 to 2009.
This year I would like to read more, do more cultural stuff, speak less and learn to give and receive more and better feedback. And figure out how to bring "connectedness" to life in everything I do. I may need some guidance on this front.
How about you?
Learning Dutch
This post serves 2 purposes:
1) I can finally show off that I started taking Dutch classes - all for free, as my Inburgerings Cursus (I am going to be "citizenned")
2) Share a thought I had on Saturday when I was all excited to do my homework. So, there was this exercise in which I had to put the verb in particular form. One of them said: Ik ben een sigaret aan het roken. (I am smoking a cigarette.) So I smiled to myself. And then I realized, that in most language books the exercises are always politically correct and straightforward. I thought making me write a sentence about me smoking and me not being a smoker is maybe a bit of a stretch. And then I thought, how authentic it is from the authors of the book to use this sentence. And also, why is it that most exercises are not like this. That they are politically correct? Why is it that we want to show a great and noble and "non-smoking" image of ourselves when creating a book for foreigners who want to learn our language? Once they learn it, they're going to find out anyway what we really stand for... Is is hypocrisy or are we trying to live up to the image we want others to have of us?
I hope to know more by the end of the second book...
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