On the uselessness of stress…
September 28, 2007
You know, I see a lot of people around me getting stressed quite regularly (which obviously has nothing to do with my charming personality)… but no matter how much I try to understand why people experience this kind of negative stress.. I just fail to see what the use of it is. This probably makes me a social outcast, but like any social outcast: I don’t care ;-) Here’s how I see it:
Situational stress (external factors):
Almost all stress is caused by being in a situation we don’t like. Whether it’s in traffic, in shops or at work, it’s stress caused by external factors that we let get to us. Truth is:
You can either do something about the situation you don’t like (and stress will only get in your way when you’re working on it) or you can’t (In which case the only option is to accept that fact, again stress is useless). That’s about the only options there are. Now isn’t that nice and simple? A recipe for happiness I’d say ;-)
Mental stress (internal factors):
Mental stress is in essence caused by a phenomenon called “cognitive dissonance”, which is a fancy way of saying that you have conflicting thoughts, or that your thoughts/actions conflict with your believes. There’s no quick fix against this but there should be no reason to have this kind of stress if you:
- Have clear goals and visions
- Live according to your own set of standards and beliefs
- Are honest with yourself and others
So… now that that’s of my mind, I feel a lot better ;-)
Kisses,
Wafel
A Day @ Xolo, Part 5: Xolo’s Internship Programme
September 27, 2007
This is Ruben, our intern.
” We have plenty of work for all you interns out there! Join us! ” -GabeB
Picture from Flickr
Can you honestly tell me, I’m not an athlete?
September 27, 2007
Well, I’m not. But the ad below gets a perfectly valid point accross. In elegantly debunks the general idea that talent, uniqueness and quality is completely determined by the social status, glamour or fame that comes with it.
I love it.
A Day @ Xolo, Part 4: Wiendelt.. Marc.. Playground
September 26, 2007
What can I say? Pacifism in the Church of Vlog
NOSO is so SO
September 25, 2007
You know, if you’re reading this, you — like me — live in new and exciting times where connectivity is a commodity, rather than a luxury.
This is of course a beautiful thing, but once in a while we just feel an urge to unplug. To just throw away all these gadgets and services that tell everyone where you are; where you’re going; what you’re doing and have done; what your goals are and how to reach you.
A fair wish right? Maybe so, but there are undeniably people that just don’t know how to switch off anymore! Really! Here’s proof: The NOSO project.
NOSO is an art project where people who want to make a stand against social networking site hang out. Which is of course very convincing, because their approach is:
- That you create an (anonymous) profile…
- … where you meet people who want to do the same thing as you
- … have similar interests at that time
- … and you can meet up in real life …
Besically its about doing the exact same thing (not talking) at the same time at the same place, in person. Hmmmmm… very uhm, anti-social?!
If you ask me it’s just conclusive proof of not being able to do anything alone anymore. For the rest of us, just switch off your phone and computer. If you can.. I dare you!
Kisses,
–
Wafel
A Day @ Xolo, Part 3: Mindcaster Marc
September 25, 2007
Sometimes, pictures do say more than video. In this case: A perfect example of how managers get after I start working for them ;-)
Picture was kindly provided by Stephan.
"To Live, to Love, to Learn and to Leave a legacy"
September 21, 2007
Did you read the title of this post? Good!
Now do it again ;-)
That small list is a core concept of Stephen Covey’s books, “First things First” and “The 8th Habit”. Very nice reads indeed.
Before I go on, you should know something about me first: I do not like self-help books! I don’t believe they work and I think that usually, they’re simply a product of marketeers, not the so-called experts.
However, some books (call them self-help or not) basically just recycle old thruths and bash them up a little to make them fit in modern contexts. And that, ladies and gentlemen is exactly what happened here.
“Live, Love, Learn and Leave a legacy” is a practical way of expressing all our goals and all our needs in a very handy; portable and nicely secular package. Why not keep it close for reference when reviewing quality of life?
- Live - You need to have your health, a house, to eat. Mostly material things here but still…
- Love - No explanation needed. Both the mental and physical needs are very real and very necessary.
- Learn - “An unexamined life is not worth living” (Socrates). How true.
- Leave a legacy - Most of us have some need to feel we’re making a difference, a clear meaning. This in the end is a most powerful motivational force and, when applied correctly, will produce a fine legacy. After all, we won’t live forever anyway.
So… let’s talk about this place…
September 11, 2007
The thing is, I like blogging, but I feel I’m out of the here-look-at-this-cool-article!-mode a little bit. I mean there are loads of fantastic bloggers that do that far better than I ever could. So why did I revive this blog?
Well.. I want to start and publish some original material on the things that really interest me… most prominently: Travel and Quality. Let me explain…
I can honestly say that I’m a happy person and that my real enduring focus is live is to improve myself. In this ‘quest’ I’ve found one concept that is exceptionally appealing to me, the notion of Quality. Quality in the work we do, the stuff we produce and the quality of the lives that we lead.
In that sense quality is all pervading subject that, if you look at it generally enough, impacts just about every aspect of our lives. So why do we think about it so sparingly? Why do we seldomly stop and ‘audit’?
I don’t know. All I know is that I want to explore the topic more, and that I’ll keep you guys and girls posted on the progress. Not as a kind of pedantic self-help process or prescription, but just to see where it leads to.
So, if you like what I’m talking about, or if you go “I don’t know where you’re getting at, you’re probably some strange softy weirdo, but let’s see”… I invite you to grab a chair and join the club! (See that orange button on the right side? Click it!)
Byebye!!
–
Walter
Huh? What? You’re writing again?
September 8, 2007
Oh you noticed? How perceptive of you! I’m proud.
It’s been a while (don’t know why)… but since I started working for Xolo this week (a company that is actually focused on blogging and vlogging), I don’t have much of an excuse anymore, do I?
Anyway, it feels good to be back. Let’s see what this is going to become! For now, I started salvaging old posts, even if it’s just to prove to the bosses that I had the “
For now, I bid thee all farewell and a great night!
A Day @ Xolo: Part 2, Wiendelt
September 8, 2007
Yes, there’s more! Here’s a great little secret tape of Wiendelt, our resident air drummer!
