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What inspires you?

What inspires you most? Inspiration as the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative.

Sometimes, it takes more work to answer such a question. Either because we have no quick answer or we have many and don’t know what’s the best.

The following situations come to my mind and often touch me deeply:

  • Observing birds when they surrender entirely to the air
  • Light and wind spectacle in the sky
  • When listening to or reading exciting things and I’m completely absorbed by it
  • Moments in nature, especially if it’s quiet
  • When doing sports outdoors or in water

…and a lot more…!

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Contrast

Contrast often gives us energy, and variety invigorates us. Sometimes, actively changing the place, the practice or the perspective gives us wings.

So be brave and take a break! It will do you good.

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The question of success

First and foremost, success is defined by you alone, and everybody has a different view of what constitutes success and what it entails. So we have to define success in our terms.

Then it is a question of how critical success is for us. Do we need success?
I would answer yes to this question. There is a satisfying feeling when success happens. Does not everyone want to have something to tell, something to contribute to others? And what if not a successful (or unsuccessful) story?

So then, can anyone be fulfilled without having success?
This is a more challenging question. If the person has no success according to their definition of success, it is probably harder to live a fulfilled life. The key then is to adapt maybe the success definition, the story in your mind, so that smaller successes are possible and you can live a more satisfactory life.

Often, being grateful for what we have is the key to success. So don’t forget to give thanks for all your blessings.

I’m wondering what your success story is?

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101 km on classical cross-country skis

06.02.2023 – It was my longest distance ever on cross-country skis. It was a challenge for me, not from an endurance perspective but more from a muscular one. Because the classic style is slower than the skating style, it is more demanding.

The key is, as always, a strong reason why, motivation, a variety of landscapes, and to take step-by-step, or translated to the cross-country ski alphabet, glide-by-glide.

There is usually always something that hurts after a while. However, without certain pain, the challenge wouldn’t be the same.

The emotions after the execution are usually redemptive and satisfying. And so it was this time.

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Impressed by the sky

Why are we so impressed by the sky? Is it a longing for the unknown, awe for the light show, or the constantly changing image? Is it because we see ourselves so small in our subconscious or because we feel how lifeless we are without “our” star or other stars? Whatever the reason. It gives you a calming, satisfying, and grateful feeling. When you catch the sun’s rays, especially at sunrise or sunset, your heart warms up.

It’s a blessing to live on this Earth – Thank you!

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To choose is to sacrifice

The way we live our life is a choice. But it comes not without a cost. In every moment, you have to make choices. You can only choose one option out of an infinite number of possibilities. So once selected, you have to live with your choice. And the more important it feels for you, the greater the sacrifice during and after the choice.

Sure, sometimes you can reverse your chosen path. But it is another point in time; thus, it is not the same. How to handle this tricky situation? There is no right or wrong, and it’s just the process of life. Trusting your intuition seems to be often wise advice. So trust your gut and heart and try to be aware of the consequences.

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Having an attitude of gratitude fuels our hearts

Isn’t gratitude often the key to a more meaningful life? Expressing gratitude expands our hearts and lets us feel better. But because we are so busy with our thoughts and what we want to accomplish, saying a thank you or expressing gratitude in a similar way can be forgotten.

“What we appreciate appreciates.” We learn an appreciation for the service of others in our youngest years. But what is more important than expressing gratitude and not just thinking about it? Thinking and praying gratitude is a very healing practice, expressing makes it even more tangible for others and ourselves. It is a blessing for others and fuels our relationship with them.

As A.A. Milne, author of Winnie-the-Pooh, so aptly wrote “the smallest things take up the most room in your heart.” The littlest of gestures can fill your heart with gratitude and joy. 

So choose to be kind, not right, and make others feel important!

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When do you want to suffer?

Don’t we often want to get things done or receive material goods and accolades as soon as possible? The easy way looks often like the most obvious and desirable one.

However, as Les Brown puts it so well, “if you do what’s easy, your life will be hard. However, if you do what’s hard, your life will be easy.” When you choose the easy way, it benefits you probably in the short run but costs you more in the long term. Additionally, the easy way seems to give you rather a less relaxed feeling of having done something valuable. Suffering seems to be an inherent part of our life. Even “to love is to suffer, to suffer for and with others.“

What’s interesting is that people often overestimate what they are able to achieve in the short run but underestimate what they can achieve in the mid- or longer term. So “active patience” seems to be a solid option. That means being patient, but still executing consistently because consistency compounds.

This principle keeps your stress level hopefully on a more balanced level. It’s on you – you have the choice – so choose wisely!

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What makes you most aLIVE

What are we striving for in life? What do we often or at least sometimes miss? Isn’t it, amongst other important needs and desires, a feeling of aliveness? Aliveness is the state of being alive, defined as vigor and intensity, often also associated with joy, vibrancy, enthusiasm, presence, consciousness, adventure, awareness, expression of a cheerful moment in life, joie de vivre, passion or exultation of spirit.

I was always amazed by the aliveness and positive mood of my father, who spent most of his days outdoors and was practically never sick. Thus I asked myself, in which moments do we feel most alive in the sense of a strong body feeling? I tried to summarize my personal experiences of intense moments:

  • Moving/exercising our body extensively so we feel our breath and heartbeat more intensely.
  • Outside in nature, especially under harsher weather or environmental conditions.
  • When soaked with love.
  • When you feel that the heartbeat relaxes, for example by receiving a good massage or by releasing pressure on a pain point.
  • When we have stark gratitude for something or somebody.
  • When we have the impression that we have given everything it that moment.
  • In general, when we have very strong feelings.

Personally, I feel most alive when I do intense interval workouts, especially running sessions.

What makes you come/feel alive?

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Norway (27.01. – 20.02.2023)

What is more inspiring than nature? Who is a wiser and nobler teacher than nature itself? Norway for me represents the ‘purity of nature’. Maybe because of some heroic athletes, maybe because of the harsh winters, maybe because of the sheer beauty of the country with all the breathtaking fjords and vast fjells. Here my heart turns upside down, my attention is more in the present moment, I am feeling a little bit more alive.

On the one hand, exercising in front of a magnificent winter backdrop strengthens your muscles, lungs, and cardiovascular system as well as your body balance, and gives all your senses a fresh kick. On the other hand, and here I quote from the official site, it is a way of contemplation and reflection about nature and oneself, a relaxing pleasure for spirit and soul. With this in mind, let’s start the adventure for the next about three weeks.

Here is a useful link:

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