comfort zone Archives | Create and Connect

On simplifying life into black and white

I was glad when 2018 was over. I'd had quite a few curve balls thrown at me and a lot of ups and downs, which left me tired and reeling. Now that we reach the end of 2019, I am not sure I had a more balanced or positive year... And that got me thinking. About how we humans like to categorise things into black and white, good or bad, happy or sad. And it made me think about F. Scott Fitzgerald's quote: The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at t [...]

Miranda2019-12-23T10:19:22+02:00December 27th, 2019|

How (and why) to beat your inferiority complex

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. – Eleanor Roosevelt Some years ago, I was asked by the women’s network of an international bank to speak at their monthly meeting about creativity, finding your passion and work-life balance. When I met the two women, I was impressed by their professionality, their corporate position and the way they seemed to manage their own work life balance. When I am in such meetings, I have a tendency to fall back into one of my default settings, whi [...]

Miranda2019-09-03T10:02:21+02:00September 13th, 2019|

What is your excuse?

I was sitting at a restaurant with my friend, telling her about my latest idea: setting up a business or structure that would allow non profits and charities to use a pool of corporate employees to help them with their projects. Not a new idea, but, at the time, a non existing one in Luxembourg. I had done some research, gotten the facts, written a first draft of the idea. I got all excited and so did she. 'You should do it.' she said. '???' 'Yes, you should really do this! It's a great idea, yo [...]

Miranda2019-05-27T14:26:12+02:00May 31st, 2019|

Let’s have more micro adventures!

In the past years I have been on quite a few big adventures. I have driven 4000 km with a trailer tent all through France to Barcelona and Bilbao in Spain. I have driven another 4000 km with that same trailer tent all through Denmark and Sweden. And although those were wonderful, adventurous trips, I found myself quite in need of 'less' this year. Less driving, less locations, less mounting and dismounting tents, less doing, less responsibility, less kilometers, less planning, less organising, l [...]

Miranda2018-11-22T19:12:37+02:00July 27th, 2018|

Do you eat alone in a restaurant?

When I was in my early 20ies, I lived in Paris. I had a job which got me to travel from time to time to places like Milan or Amsterdam. I would often find myself surrounded by people during the day but alone in the evenings. Most of those evenings I spent with a roomservice club sandwich in my room watching television or reading a book. Because I did not know any restaurants and didn't feel comfortable going there on my own in a foreign city. Years later, when I got to travel more, roomservice f [...]

Miranda2018-12-03T16:05:14+02:00September 17th, 2017|

How to inhabit your discomfort

I read this sentence somewhere recently: Inhabiting the discomfort of the unfamiliar can let a truer, stronger voice emerge You know how some things, like sentences, words, images, situations, jump out at you sometimes? What do you do when that happens? Here's the thing: when something jumps at you like that, it's your intuition talking. It's ringing your doorbell to say: pay attention! Look at this! This is important! You need to get this message! So I looked at the sentence. Picked it apart. A [...]

Miranda2018-11-22T19:07:40+02:00January 20th, 2017|