Summer

I have not been writing for some time and I have had good reasons (mostly). It is summertime and I have been living it up with good friends from far and near. I spent some time in Leiden in the Netherlands with walks on the beach and rain showers in the marsh. I met up with old friends from highschool for barbecue and enjoyed days by the lake around here. I went canoeing and biking. I got to sing along to my grandpa playing the keyboard. I helped my uncle's family move into their new house. I got to throw my dad to the ground in martial arts training. My brother is happy and we are soon to take off on another adventure together, driving to Spain in my car. I also got a new laptop which has increased my quality of life enormously (speed, webcam and a lot more mobility).

I have been reading quite a bit and am currently writing a paper about communication and leadership in project groups. It is a topic within organizational sociology and a pretty interesting one especially for me, because I feel the relevance it is going to have in my future career. Did you know that the German Industrial Norming Institution (DIN) does not work with a category for leadership or social competencies within the project when deciding over its quality certification?!
Although the topic is nice, work is going a bit slow, mainly for the above mentioned reasons.

Never mind that, everybody keeps telling me. Just let it go and this too shall pass... I know, I can feel now, what I have been thinking for a long time. Just having the experience of those unfortunate phases passing and coming up again does not make you immune to them. Emotions can get in the way just as your diet or lack of sleep can. Whatever it feels like when you are stuck, eventually you will rise again and all those fears and the self-reproach will be forgotten, because you have not lost anything, only gained. Knowing that will not stop you from feeling that way, but it will help you to get to the other side! So, just relax :)




And if you are still not relaxed, consider this ;-)