Blick über den Tellerrand #13
With a few notable exceptions, Silicon Valley’s rising young stars are rejecting the traditional symbols of status: fast cars, yachts, luxury homes. To make their mark, they’re putting their wealth into social causes and startup ventures. (…) „Things can’t bring you happiness,“ Moskovitz said. „I have pictured myself owning expensive things and easily came to the conclusion that I would not have a materially more meaningful life because of them.“
(Jessica Guynn: Young tech millionaires keeping 1-bedroom lifestyle)
Why didn’t we indulge in such things if we could afford them? We simply had different priorities. It’s not that we didn’t spend money—it’s just that we spent it on experiences (like travel) rather than stuff, or saved it for things that really mattered to us.
(Francine Jay: Minimalist Inspiration from Millionaires)
Whether it’s leaving your wife, destroying your car, burning the bridges at your high paying job you hate, or running away from your childhood home, it’s all the same, and it’s all hard. The truth is that you deserve to be happy, and something is in the way.
(Everett Bogue: How To Make Difficult Decisions)
Take an honest minute and think about your job. Is it making a difference? Is it making you happy? Is it as valuable to you as the few short years you have on this planet?
(Scott Gilmore: You should probably quit your job)
Focus and creativity are connected. People are more likely to be creative if they are allowed to focus on something for some time without interruptions. (…) People who complete certain tasks in parallel take much longer and make many more errors than people who complete the same tasks in sequence.
(The Economist: Too much information)
Technology tends to separate normal from natural. Our bodies weren’t designed to eat the foods that people in rich countries eat, or to get so little exercise. There may be a similar problem with the way we work: a normal job may be as bad for us intellectually as white flour or sugar is for us physically.
(Paul Graham: You Weren’t Meant to Have a Boss)
The constant flow of relationships and noise around us often distracts us from the most important thing in our lives: our heart and soul. The fear of solitude, the inability to disconnect, the lack of training in meditation, and the difficulty associated in looking deeply into our heart and soul means that we rarely do it. In a world where virtual relationships exist around-the-clock, the discipline to search our heart is rarely developed.
(Joshua Becker: The Danger of Neglecting Time Alone)
Es wird Zeit, dass wir eine Gesellschaft erschaffen, in der Beruf wieder mit Berufung und Leidenschaft assoziiert wird, nicht mit Sklaverei und Ausbeutung. In der Menschen wieder freie Entscheidungen treffen können und mit Respekt behandelt werden. In der Privatleben und Arbeit gleichwertig sind – auch für die Vorgesetzten. Es wird Zeit für das 7-Tage-Wochenende!
(David Rotter: Die Befreiung der Arbeit: Das 7-Tage-Wochenende)
I don’t know if it’s possible to be immune to other people’s opinions and actions. Because we value our relationships, we care about what those people think. But there is a difference between respecting what people think and worrying ceaselessly about what they think of us.
(Lori Deschene: Its Not All About You)
Seeking satisfaction in others or in external objects or events reinforces a deep and often unacknowledged belief that we, as we are, are not entirely complete; that we need something beyond ourselves in order to experience a sense of wholeness or security or stability.
(Buch: Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche: „Joyful Wisdom“)
Minimalism is a philosophy of stripping away the excess – to make room for the truly important. For some people, it becomes a crutch. They are only happy when life fits into their neat little (simplified) box. They can’t stand to see the “rules” broken.
(Mike Donghia: Taking Minimalism Too Far)
If I can show up vulnerable and real, I think it gives other people permission to show up vulnerable and real. (…) Self respect comes from earning your own reward. (…) I’d rather have a life than a pile of money. (…) If you learn anything from any indigenous culture, it’s that we are all connected and one person’s action is going to influence somebody else’s somewhere. So we better start thinking about how our actions affect people we’ll never meet.
(Peter Buffett: “I’d Rather Have a Life than a Pile of Money”)
I don’t feel any of us take enough time to identify these simple, often free, acts that give us pleasure and joy. Even those of us that do, often do not take enough time or give ourselves permission to indulge in them. Especially when it would benefit us the most.