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Embracing the Blank Page: A Gentle Start to Journaling
Now here we are—the blank page staring back at me, as if daring me to make the first move. I’m seated in my favorite Munich café, the comforting aroma of freshly brewed coffee enveloping me. Outside, the city hums with its usual rhythm, but inside, there’s a serene stillness. My journal lies open, pen poised, yet the words hesitate. This moment, this quiet pause before the first word, is both daunting and beautiful. It’s a space of infinite possibilities, a canvas for thoughts, emotions, and reflections. 🌟 The Hustle and the Hush In our fast-paced lives, we’re constantly moving—meeting deadlines, attending meetings, juggling responsibilities. Amidst this hustle, finding a moment…
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Journaling: The Science, the Practice, and the Power of a Pen
This morning, nestled in a cozy Munich café, I sipped my matcha latte and watched the world go by. Beside me sat a man, journal open, pen in hand, gazing thoughtfully out the window before writing again. There was a serenity to his presence—a quiet dialogue unfolding between him and the page. I felt a pull to ask him about his practice, to learn what brought him to this ritual. But I hesitated. Journaling is intimate, a sacred space where thoughts meet paper without pretense. I didn’t want to intrude on that private moment. It reminded me of my own journey with journaling—a practice that began not out of desire,…
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From Survival to Strategy: How Journaling Became My Anchor
More than a decade ago, I didn’t start journaling because I wanted to. I started because I had to. Life had placed me in a tough private situation—one that shook my foundation far beyond the walls of my home. Even though I kept showing up at work, leading teams, delivering results, and putting on the polished armor of professionalism, the truth was: my strength was stretched thinner than it had ever been. Every morning, I would power through, believing I could handle the day. Meetings, deadlines, leadership challenges—it all felt manageable at first. But then, around early afternoon, the emotions I had carefully tucked away would come rushing in like…
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Stretch to Strengthen: What Pliability Taught Me About Leadership
It doesn’t look impressive. There’s no speed. No sweat. Just stillness. Breath. And a long, quiet stretch that seems to last forever. This is pliability training. And while it might not look like much from the outside, what’s happening inside — in your muscles, in your breath, in your brain — is powerful. Pliability is the practice of training your body to become more limber, resilient, and adaptable. It’s not about passive stretching. It’s about holding a pose longer than you’re used to, leaning into the discomfort, and breathing through it until your nervous system softens. Sound familiar? It should. Because that’s not just how you train on the mat…
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Breath: The Leadership Tool Hiding in Plain Sight
Just Breathe. If you had asked me a few years ago if I needed help with breathing, I would’ve smiled politely and said, “No thank you—I’m already doing that just fine.” Breathing is automatic, right? It’s one of the few things we do from the moment we’re born until the moment we die. So we don’t think about it. We don’t question it. We just… breathe. And yet, that quiet rhythm—so natural, so essential—was something I didn’t realize I had so much to relearn. It started with a book. Breath by James Nestor. Maybe you’ve read it. Maybe you’ve heard of it. If not, consider this your gentle nudge to…
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Words That Build Us: The Power of Affirmations for High-Achieving Women
Let’s talk about affirmations. I’ll be honest with you—this wasn’t something that came naturally to me. In fact, the first time I heard someone say “Just repeat this affirmation every morning while looking in the mirror,” I inwardly rolled my eyes. It felt fluffy. Like I was being asked to chant rainbows into existence. And I’m not here for googoo energy or spiritual bypassing. But I am here for living fully, intentionally, and in alignment with how I’m actually designed to move through the world. I care deeply about coherence—between my thoughts, my actions, my values, and my potential. So I kept leaning in, looking past the clichés, and asking:…
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If you want a career, this is important
The interview is going fine. Questions and answers are meandering like a lovely river – the job offering seems to be certain. This is when the applicant asks her bold last question: „What would you have liked to know when you were in my situation?“ I am smiling. „Always choose the person you are working for and not the topic.“ The applicant pauses. „I didn‘t expect that answer“, she admits. We are both sitting in silence for a moment enjoying our thoughts wandering around the idea in the room. Choosing a person. Not a topic. Selecting a teacher. Not a task. When you think of it, it really makes sense.…
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Why it is good to have no clue what to do
When I led my first project team, it felt quite overwhelming. Assigning tasks to my team, talking to the client, keeping my internal stakeholders up to date, managing the scope, keeping track of the numbers … sometimes I didn‘t know what to do first. On top, the solution for the client didn‘t fall off the shelf but we needed to interview people, ask questions, define deliverables and agree on a way of working to getting to the results. Sometimes I really wished to know everything already. At that time, a lot of the solutioning was created in the evening when I went swimming. Under water I could think. I could…
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Doing a career is easy [2/2]
Recap from lasts week article: Promotion means that there are people who put you in new roles you cannot get on your own. These people talk in rooms to which you don’t have access. These people cannot be forced to promote you – but they can be won over so that they want to promote you. How do you win people over? Think of the reasons you found for promoting somebody: Please remember that a career is done in a context, which means: other people need to be convinced that you fit the promotion standards – not you. All you can do – and have to do – is, being…
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Doing a career is easy [1/2]
“How do I get the promotion?”, it’s THE question in the room – especially in the early stages of a career. Let me turn it around: whom would you promote? Think about it for a moment. What would you like to see to promote someone? Before we get to the answer, let’s explore the habitat of a career. A career is always done in a context. There are clients who need your service. There are bosses who need your integrity. There are middle managers who need your skills. There are your peers who need you as a trustful colleague. And there is you. You. What do you want? Being the…