Mind the Beginner

Will you regret reading this blogpost? Did you do something to make today count? Are you innovating, inspiring others or bettering yourself right now? Are you waiting for just the right moment? Who or what are you waiting for?

Where you are today is the accumulation of all your choices in the past

What is your excuse!

If you’re doing the same thing today that you did yesterday or last week you’re probably not making an effort to get where you want to be. Take the first step today or at least admit that you’re slacking.

How often is it that you hear people giving you excuses for things that they need to be doing. We humans are just plain lazy, working for something seems like a strange idea. You’d rather things just pop into place without any effort right? We all hope for that to happen but unless you’re totally ignorant you know that it’s not going to happen by itself. Depending on who you quote things left to themselves either stay exactly the same or go from bad to worse.

Let’s compare:

• You want things to pop into place by themselves but,
• left to themselves things stay the same or go from bad to worse.

Why is it then that you don’t do something about it? You’re still reading this blogpost right? Do you really think that reading this post will make things pop into place? You know better.

Blaming yourself

Looking back at my life there are a lot of instances that I should have stopped making excuses and looking for ways to slack. There are so many things in my past I wish I did differently and I’ve got myself to blame for all those missed opportunities. But do you know the problem with blaming yourself? you stay stuck in the past and thoughts about would have, should have and could have. I could have been a great guitarist if only…, I could have been a great martial artists if only…, I could be in far less debt if only… Just a few of the many things that are lodged in my mind.

I’ll be damned

But you know what? It’s not about what you could, should or would have done. It’s what you do this moment that counts, yesterday is in the past and tomorrow is in the future (how obvious what that one). Today is the present, it’s a gift that you had better accept and be happy with.

Where you are today is the accumulation of all your choices in the past. That is the essential sentence here because today will be yesterday tomorrow and so you can add todays choices to your past and slowly but surely form your path. You can’t change the past but you can put a lot of good things in it. And so if you don’t want to condemn yourself to feelings of regret in the future about all the things you didn’t do today go do them! Don’t give yourself any excuses or you will regret them when the time comes to reflect on what you did. Don’t give yourself any excuses you can beat yourself with.

I know it’s quite obvious. But why don’t you implement this and take action today? Admit it, you’re doing right now what you will regret tomorrow.

Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards – Soren Kierkegaard

In my previous post the Truth had a central role. In this blogpost again the Truth is an important thing. The Truth after all is what is right now, this very instant. And as soon as you think about it you’re thinking about the past. You can’t even pin the word “now” to actual now before it becomes past. Trivial though it seems this means that you can’t capture the moment. All you can do is accept it and live in it without trying to fight it.

So many people out there are constantly looking towards the future or the past to identify the perfect moment to do something. Mostly that moment was in the past and if you’re lucky you might find a moment in the future that’s perfect for what you want. The problem with that moment in the past of course is that you can’t relive that moment although you might understand the lessons and take that with you into the future. The problem with the future is that it’s distracting from the now.

Living forward is all there is. One moment after the next, following each other at instant speed. Trying to understand is dealing with the past, trying to look into the future is distracting from what is happening. We continuously hunt down the precious moments in our lives, but we’re always late or early.

Living without dealing with past or future robs us of all meaning it seems. I recall a fellow student of Cheng Hsin a few years ago who described trying to be perfectly in the now, the more he tried the less he was actually doing because almost all tasks were either dealing with something from the past or preparing for the future. Eventually he decided to give up in being perfectly now because it was boring and unproductive. He took things so far that he wouldn’t even brew a cup of coffee because brewing was preparing for the future event of drinking the coffee. This lasted for only a few hours before the decision to give in and act “normal” again. Possibly it’s the caffeine addiction that pushed him over the edge.

Preparing for now is impossible, preparing for the past senseless, preparing for the future a shot in the dark. That shot in the dark is your best guess out of the three options and is a very good idea indeed. Study the past and understand, prepare for the future and brew that cup of coffee, just don’t forget about this moment.   …to late… it already passed.

A bit more reading on the subject:

-Time-place dissonance and the quick fix

-The prison of the mental world

A lot of blogs I follow seem to be doing an end-of-the-year review. I myself have been thinking about this a while now and see no reason not to do one. When this year started I didn’t own a blog, I wasn’t active on social media and had never earned a single dollar through online sales (not counting ebay, but that’s not business).

Three small things but I started in all three and combined they made a huge difference. It began with reading the four hour workweek. As I have the habit of writing down the date on which I bought a book inside it’s cover I an tell you that I bought it on October 28th 2008. I read it the following days and reread sections over the following months. The first thoughts about lifestyle design were born and I started reading blogs. A few months later I decided to start blogging over at mindthebeginner.wordpress.com (March 13th 2008). You might recall the adres, it’s where I build this blog to it’s first 100 subscribers. I was doubtful about starting a blog for a long time, thinking I had nothing to write that people would actually want to read. I was wrong and Taking part in probloggers 31 days to building a better blog challenge helped me get into the ways of blogging.

Blogging is not the only thing I started as said, I also got into Project Mojave thanks to my friend Carl. Although I didn’t stay there it did open my eyes to the possibilities of inernet and that things really aren’t that hard if only you believe in yourself and your own capabilities. With so many people online there are bound to be people who want hear what you have to say.

Right now I’m still not completely happy with my blog though. The look isn’t to good and reader interaction isn’t what I’d like it to be. So there we have a goal for the next year. But there are many more goals for the new year. 2010 Will be a themed year for me: freedom. Freedom in many ways, and of course something this vague needs measurable goals so let me give you an outline of what I’m going to do this year:

The Goals

Most significant of all I’m setting the goal of a monthly income of at least $500 a month through online ventures to be reached by the end of 2010. Combined with this the total spendings for 2010 will not be more than the total income. I could try and do that on a monthly basis but I pay my tuition in one go and that will most certainly be more than my monthly income. Freedom of finance.

My second area of goal setting is this blog. I want to reach the 300 subscribers mark by the end of the year and give you at least 100 blogposts over the next year, spread evenly. (So no overload of blogposts in December just to reach this goal.). Also I want to redo the layout and provide you with a better blogreading experience. I might just start using “headway” but I’m still on the fence about that one. A blog to write about freedom, minimalism and zen-inspired life.

In the computer area I have three goals. First off, touch-typing in qwerty. I type a lot of course. Not only in blogging but I’m almost always behind my computer and touch-typing will improve my speed greatly. My education is training me among other things to be a programmer and it’s silly to have to keep watching the keys and be slow just because I use six fingers and cant’ find the [, \ , ; and ] without looking. Secondly I’m going to set up my desktop to be a Linux-only computer. Not because I’m anti-windows (actually I think Win 7 is very good) but because I want to challenge myself and I can see only advantages of knowing how to work with more than one OS. Lastly I want a laptop, so I can properly blog and work/study wherever I am. Something highly portable but capable, like a thinkpad T500. Of course this will run on Linux. The sidenote here is that I’m not going to pay for this laptop with anything else but the income I plan to make through online ventures. Freedom to work/study/play where I want.

In the category of brain-development and useless skills I have another nice set of goals. I want to be able to solve a Rubik’s cube in 60 seconds or less. (Of which I will be posting a video on this blog as soon as I reach that goal.) I know it’s completely useless but It’s something I’ve wanted to be able to do for a long time now and it keeps bugging me.
I want to be able to juggle three balls, yes it’s completely useless, or so you might think. But its a great way of training the brain and developing hand-eye coordination. Together with the cube it’s something from my childhood I never learned and watched others do. Who said every goal needs to be useful.
Speedreading, you’ve probably heard of it, is something I’ve also wanted to be able to do. Although I can reach roughly 600 wpm (words per minute) right now I want to raise this to over 1000 wpm both in Dutch and English. Thicker books will not hold me captive for countless hours anymore. Information is freedom and more information is more freedom.

The minimalism goals are next. A long long time ago I blogged about the 100 items challenge and I must confess that I’m still not there. Why would I want to do this? I want less clutter, more space and a serene living space. I will have to get rid of dozens of books, and all those things that represent cash value but are a total pain to get sold for a descent price. It’s to cluttered right now and have more things ties you down and limits freedom.

Last but certainly not least we have body and mind developments. Five points here, but three are things I’m already doing and need to keep up. (Okay, it’s more of a want but feels like a need)
I want to keep meditating daily for 20 minutes using the methods of zazen. Combined with this it’s always a good idea to take up physical activities so I’m going to run, continuously for an hour somewhere between two and three times a week. I’ve been running for a while now but it’s hardly consistent. The last physical thing I want to keep doing is continue training t’ai chi. Following a weekly class every Thursday evening and I will stay at that for as long as I can, which is probably until I finish university.
As mentioned there are five points, so two are new ones. The first is a huge things if you know anything about personal development and productivity. And of course…. it’s something I’m not doing right now so here it is: I want to become an early riser. Getting up at 6.30 Monday through Friday consistently. Seeing as I live about 15 minutes by bike from Uni and we never start before 8.45 am that leaves me with enough time to write blogposts and perhaps even go for morning runs and/or meditate in the morning as well. We’ll have to see how that goes.
The last goal on this extensive list is something I’m absolutely not sure about if I will be able to do but I want to take up Aikido. Again this is a weekly course but the timing is horrid. Mid-day somewhere and that might interfere with my roster. I just hope it’s possible.

There you have it, my 2010 shortlist:

“Freedom”

• Financial

*Monthly “internet income” of $500
*Live below means

• Blogging

*300 subscribers to this blog
*100+ blogposts in 2010
*New layout

• Computer-related

*Touch typing in qwerty
*Having Linux as only OS
*A laptop (Payed for with internet income)

• Brain development

*Solve Rubik’s cube in 60 seconds or less (and post a video of it here)
*Juggling with three balls
*Speedreading 1000 words a minute in Dutch and English

• Minimalistic living

*Complete the 100 items challenge

• Body development

*Continue meditating daily for 20 minutes (zazen)
*Continue training in T’ai Chi
*Run more consistently (2-3 times a week, one hour at a time)
*Become an early riser (6.30 am Mon – Fri)
*Take up Aikido if possible

An almost insane list to complete and I forgot one essential thing: Do all this AND get proper grades! In the new layout this list will get it’s own dedicated page so you can keep track of the developments. I’ll also be making a so called bucket list (Things to do before you kick the ..) and that too will get it’s own dedicated page. I’m sure this list will develop a bit over the year, but nothing will come off, if anything, things will be added.

With that being said all that is left is to say Thank You! for making 2009 an awesome year where I learned loads of things and finally found my path in life. I couldn’t have done it without you. Enjoy these last days and I hope to see you in 2010

Greets,

Christiaan

Failure is a part of every day life for without it we wouldn’t be learning at all. Failure is level zero so to speak, it’s where we start from, we have nothing, no achievements, no successes. From this starting point we embark on a journey to get where we want to be. Without exception this is “better”, “successful”, “loved” or perhaps “being worthy in the eyes of others”. (Nobody goes forth in life trying to be miserable after all, we all have our golden dreams.)In the eyes of others is a very important statement here for we usually want things not for ourselves but so we can show others that we really are somebody. If bragging about ourselves to others would not get us higher up some social ladder would we still do it just or ourselves?

The single biggest hurdle to get over is to accept that we are utter failures in life when we start out. We can’t even take care of ourselves now can we? Diaper changes, meals served to us and all kind of other things. We don’t have control over anything, not even our own body (yet). The more we learn, the more we gain control over our own actions. The more control we have to more responsibility this brings along with it. But you -as avid reader of this blog and other blogs on personal development and lifestyle design- already know this don’t you? They say knowledge is power and most certainly knowing that, with more control comes more responsibility equals more power. You’re in control of your own actions every single day. Again this is old news if you’ve been reading about personal development.

Acceptance

Accepting the current failure is the big hurdle, getting over it can be done by realizing that you have the control to change things. You’re not a victim of your own life or a victim of circumstance. With enough knowledge (power) you can change just about anything. It might not make you a millionair rock star, but you can have a very comfortable life if only you take control and not let life slip through your fingers. Life isn’t that bad actually once you get properly acquainted with the way the game is played

But still, I haven’t written anything you didn’t know already now did I? For you see, that’s the problem with all these development blogs. We keep beating about the bush on that one issue that seems so hard to grasp: You are responsible and so it’s up to you to make the change.

Same old stuff, different day

We bloggers can write all we want and you can read every single blog out there on the subject. Fact is that reading is not the same as actually taking responsibility. I could write all I want about the major changes in my life, how I made the changes and how I’m on my path to where I want to be. Many bloggers do the same and their posts are always a great hit with the readers. Reading about how we live our lives and how we do things might give you some ideas, but reading alone will not change your life. Taking (blog-inspired) action is where the control is. Even if you do manage to take control failure will always be a part of the game of life, it’s here to stay.

I know I really enjoy reading about others traveling, about Leo planning to move to San Francisco, Alan’s latest adventures, Carl’s new blog, Sean’s escape from the 9-5 and all those other cool people out there. But the fact remains I’m not traveling, moving or having adventures. I’m just a blogger and a dreamer. I’m not where I want to be so in that respect I’m a failure. But at least I know it and want to change things. I’m not a victim, I’m responsible for my own life and so it’s up to me to make the change… I got myself into this mess, now I’m getting myself out!

Nothing new to report here, you know all this stuff

…so turn off the screen, get off your behind and start acting responsible. And you know what? It’s not about being worthy in the eyes of others. It’s about being who you want to be, regardless of others. I have nothing new to offer you, nothing that deep inside you don’t already know.

Are you with me? Let’s see what’s next. A new adventure is never far away, that’s life for you.

It won’t have gone unnoticed by now that my posting frequency has dropped dramatically. There is a high correlation between this phenomenon and the hours I’m spending on my homework. Take this weekend for example, I’ve been working roughly eight hours spread over the last two days trying to solve SQL queries. Problogger warns against this type of post but I’m still going to put it up: I’m sorry for the lack of posts and I must confess I don’t see things lighten up in the next weeks.

So here’s the new plan:

You will get at least one (1) proper post from mere on this blog every week! I’m temporarily backing down a bit. After all, the real world still is just that bit more important than the online world. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s just that I’m working on a sure fire way to have a good income through the 9-5 way. It’s everything we lifestyle designers are against but blogging about it, or blogging in general will never support my life. I have to find better ways, and more importantly, safer ways.

I’ll be more than happy to spend weeks without working, knowing that I can get a very good paying job quickly than linger in the online world kicking against that evil wage slave world while I can’t seem to sustain myself. I’m hoping to set up some sort of side income through the online world, but I don’t (realistically) expect it to ever make me enough money to fuel all my dreams. But that’s okay, I know there are a lot of lifestyle designers out there that make it and earn more than they can spend while traveling all over the world. I’m just not one of them (yet). It’s all because I chose a different path, a traditional one and one that I want to finish before I try all sorts of crazy/insane/brilliant ways of generating a side income.

Seeing as most passive side incomes are generated through internet and I do have a soft spot for this type of income (who doesn’t) it’s not more than natural I will try this in the future. At the same time I’m currently learning all sorts of new computer skills (new to me at least) through university and I expect to be able to do some simple programming within a year from now. That alone will generate an income. Blogging will chip in a bit when I move over to my own domain.

But as things stand, this blog is put on a slow simmer with an occasional proper blogpost. After all I’m still a quality seeker and I’d hate to flood you with all kinds of bad blogposts just so you have something to read.

Actually it’s a trait I’ve been seeing develop on more blogs in this area of the sphere. Less frequent posts but the ones that do come out are good stuff. So my dear reader, that’s what you can expect on this blog the oncoming weeks/months. Less posts but “still kicking ass with a zen twist”

I was watching “Kung Fu Panda” yesterday and for those who’ve read a bit about the tao this movie is full of nice little references to it. One of the nicest quotes from the movie is from the old wise turtle/kung fu master.

Yesterday is a memory.

Tomorrow is a mystery.

Today is a gift.

That’s why they call it the present.

That’s the Tao for you, it’s so overly obvious we all seem to forget it.

For most of us the present is filled with promises, ideas and beliefs about the future and pain, uncertainty and doubt the past has planted in our minds. But what if you could unpack your present and find only today in it? Without the limitations brought on by the past and the illusions from the future.

This way of thinking severely blocks the “Western” mind that’s evolved around achieving things, always seeking the next best thing and never being happy with what is going on right now… hardly even noticing what’s here right now. Receiving gifts is a skill we’ve all but forgotten.

Okay, a bit of a sidetrack here but bear with me, there’s a message here.

In the western world we tend to judge a gift by it’s value (in dollars) and by the prestige it will give us “Look at me with my new iPod.. it’s expensive as hell..”  Kids who grow up in this enviroment quickly learn this way of unpacking and clearly show disappointment when the gift wasn’t exactly what they wanted. It’s not good enough.

Now we jump to Japan, and the way they treat presents. For starters the way it’s packed is as important -if not more so- that what’s in it. The gesture of giving is all others will see for presents giving on a party stay packed untill everyone goes home. You might wonder why this is but it’s simple:

- If the present is a disappointment people won’t see it

- It’s impossible for the giver to boast about what he has given. The value stays unknown

- And so every present is equal

- (It’s also good form to give a present back, bot with a slightly lower value as to not let the whole thing get out of hand.)

Now back to our present day. As soon as you project expectations onto the gift you’re bound to end up disappointed every once in a while. The Western approach of “what’s in it” is more important than the gesture. Whereas the Japanese approach is to accept every present wholeheartedly and treat it exactly for what it is. A gesture of friendship, love or gratitude that should be treated with the utmost respect. The giver after all has no intention of disappointing you or giving you less than you deserve in their eyes.

And so, treat every day as a gift, don’t be disappointed and know that you get what’s yours to receive.

How many tasks can you squeeze in a day? Have you optimized you’re getting things done routine yet? Do you know all hotkeys within windows and set your Gmail account to do it all for you? Everything is going faster and faster, you’re the personification of productivity.

Rings a bell doesn’t it. Constantly trying to get more things done and being more effective. It’s almost like doing more and more things in a day makes you successful for your active all day doing all sorts of things.

But let me ask you this: do those activities have any meaning? Or in other words, are they achievements or are you just running around like a headless chicken faking the lifestyle of a highly effective, successful over achiever by putting on a mask of activity hoping nobody will call your bluff. What’s worse, hoping that you can fool yourself into believing that you are on the right track.

We constantly fool ourselves that we’re busy. Reading all kinds of books on how we can be a few seconds faster for we are so efficient that every second counts, right? But do you put those milliseconds you win by using hotkeys to good use? Do you do things in the time you win that you otherwise would never do? Or do you pat yourself on the shoulder for being so good, and in doing that waste those seconds again.

All things said, achievement is not the same as activity although to onlookers it’s exactly the same. Remember the upside down swan routine? We use it to fool others but more damaging we often use it to fool ourselves. Take a good hard honest look at your activities and ask yourself, are you just active or are you really achieving something. Activity without achievement can be quite futile, a waste of the time that’s so precious to us highly effective people.

To help you in this transition I’ve selected some older posts on my blog that might be worth reading:

7 steps to enduring change, the basics of beginning – A must read if you want to change. It’s a how to change, 101

My way is the best way – on being stuck in your own ways and what they tell you

The timesuckbuster – if you’re looking to squeeze every second out of every day, read this one

Truly learning or just reinforcing current beliefs – a pitfall in the field of personal development. You won’t learn if you keep doing the same things

Micro habits, the little things we do every day – getting off auto pilot in those little habits. Sure, it will costs you some seconds, but it’s fun!

Plugged vs unplugged living – If you’re into efficiency you’re using a computer, but what if you unplugged…

Reading these blogposts will make achieving things easier for they each offer building blocks to get rid of mindless activity and start becoming really productive. Even if you define productivity as doing only one thing a day, and doing it well. If they don’t offer building blocks for you, at least they will make you rethink what you’re doing which in my opinion is always a good thing. Reviewing your own actions will always teach you new things.

In my view there is one single skill that’s at the basis of all other skills and that’s truly essential to personal development. Although it’s very important few people ever master it. I would even goes as far as to say that without this one skill -although mastering it isn’t necessary- it is impossible to have personal development, personal growth, success, getting things done, meditate, or learn anything.

An essential skill indeed for without it, you’re stuck.

Quite literally stuck, stuck in either the past or the future. Because that’s the whole problem. This one essential skill is:

• Being in the present

There are many variations on this subject but they all boil down to the same thing. If you’re not paying attention to what you’re doing things can go terribly wrong very fast or on a smaller scale you’ll not remember the name of the person who just shook your hand.

Remembering names and reflecting

If you’ve ever read a book on social skills (Dale Carnegie’s How to win friends & influence people for instance) you’ll know that the single most appreciated word by all people is their own name. If you’re able to remember a name because you were totally present when you heard it you’ll make a great impression if you manage to call that person by his name the next time you two meet.

Whether it’s learning a new skill, meeting new people, writing a blogpost or going for a drive. There is so much to gain from every experience in life just by being present to experience it.

So why is it so hard to be in the present? It’s because we’re constantly either thinking about the past or dreaming up a future. The first can be relived (well, sort of) the second is pure fiction. Reliving the past is completely useless save one thing. Lessons to be learned or in other words, reflecting on what happened to avoid those mistakes in the future. It’s what all students should do after an exam. Check the mistakes and reflect on them.

If left unreflected you might act the same way in a similar event, even though it was the wrong answer/way the last time. Just because you either don’t know what’s the right answer or because you’re not present (thinking of the last time it went wrong) and going on auto pilot.

There you have it, the one skill that is at the basis of everything in personal development: being in the present. For without it you can’t learn, you can’t grow, you’re stuck.

Get unstuck, come into the present, right here, right now is where it’s at. Stop waisting time in the past or future, the past won’t change and the future isn’t here yet.

A small sidenote, not related to this blogpost it’s more of a notification. I won’t be doing a weekend update this weekend as I’m participating in a introductory period at university. I won’t have a pc or wifi where we’re going this weekend.

• Are you one of those people who constantly try to “hack” their life and productivity with all kinds of “Getting Things Done” tactics and to-do lists?
• Are you constantly trying to squeeze as much tasks in an hour as possible?
• Are you constantly on the lookout for the next big thing in organizing?
• Are you constantly reading about how you can be more productive?

If you answered any one of these questions with “yes” (or maybe you just answered “no” because you don’t constantly do it..) than you’ve probably been confronted with the curse of productive people:

Other people just aren’t that productive.

What takes you two hours, takes them a full day, what takes you 15 minutes takes them hours. I’m sure you can relate to that one. Especially if you’re a minimalist and carry everything in one bag.  You can probably pack your stuff and be on your way in under 15 minutes while others around you take way longer.

The curse of productivity

So why is this a curse? Because you’re so damn good and fast you’ve got loads of time left, time the other people (the non-productive kind) will most certainly try to leech by asking you to help them. “Hey, it looks like you’ve got nothing to do, can you give me a hand here?” “I’ve got loads of stuff to do, could you take some of it out of my hands and do it for me?”
Sound familiar?

Although saying no might get you out of this a few times if you do it to often you’ll most certainly get into trouble. Imagine going on a vacation and being packed in 15 minutes. You then proceed with watching TV, reading a book or catching up on your RSS feeds. You’re slacking, you’re doing nothing to help the group effort. (i.e. going on vacation and getting everything packed) Some sort of discussion is soon to follow.

It works the other way round to though. You’re so productive you feel the others just aren’t putting enough effort into it. If you can do it in 20 minutes, why can’t they manage in over an hour?! Frustration is bound to rear it’s ugly head.

The fruits of learning the skills of productivity are sour indeed. You’ll be faster on your own, but as soon as there’s a group thing you’re going to either get frustrated or in trouble for being a perceived slacker.

Stealth Productivity

I advocate a form of stealth productivity: be as productive as you like and knowing that you can easily do things fast proceed to do them that way, but never let other people know when you’re “done” and thus “free” for others to leech your time. Be the upside down swan: busy on the surface, calm and steady beneath.

I just got back from a short drive and realized something, 120 km/h (75 mph) Isn’t all that fast anymore. I got a bit bored with the speed and even 130 didn’t quite do it for me. Things were going to slow. But then I looked up at the clouds and slowed down.

It struck me again why I’d rather be riding a motorcycle. Although it’s capable of doing the same speeds I end up looking around a lot more and enjoying the scenery I’m riding though.
Then the rain came down by the bucket, reminding me why I was driving today.

It wasn’t all to long ago (7 years) I got my driver’s licence. The first time I ever turned onto the freeway was scary, I couldn’t believe how fast 120 km/h was when behind the wheel. A few years later I was doing it again, this time on two wheels and at 120 I had the feeling of hanging on for dear life, about to be blown from my bike any second. The wind striking me in the chest so hard I found it hard to breath normally.

And again, today when riding 120 (and then some) It doesn’t phase me in the least.

Speeding traffic

Every means of transportation is speeding up. There was once a time when 80 km/h was akin to going supersonic. Today you get a raised fist or a singel finger if you go that slow on the freeway. They set the minimum speed to 80 on those roads over here but none in their right mind dares go that slow.

Give it a go, put your kids (if you have them, otherwise borrow some kids) in the backseat and go for a drive. Let all the cars whizz past you with a 40 km/h difference and in no time your kids will start to complain. “Come on dad (or mom), can’t we go any faster? This is boring.”
This is boring..

Kids, you’ve got go hand it to them. Such great insight.

We’re bored.Bored with speed, bored with driving, bored with staring at the taillights in front of us. Let’s face it, driving is boring. The only way to solve that is to floor it and drive like a maniac. (Or so it seems) Going past the speed limit gives you another task to do: watch out for the police. Now it’s no longer a means of transport, it’s a game of cat and mouse. How exciting.

How insane..

Every week you can read about it in the newspapers. Young drivers -already bored- were driving to fast or even racing each other and decided to make their European compact (a Volkswagen Golf most likely) just that bit more compact with the help of a jaywalking tree or lamppost.

What’s going on?!

We (well, not you my dear reader, all the other people out there.) are so used to speed that we no longer see the danger, we’re just bored. We overestimate ourselves on a daily basis. 90% Of all the drivers believe they are part of the top 10% drivers. The kids in the back seat are right.

But also, we’re bored in life.Waiting for a train or bus was normal a few decades ago. Now, if the bus is just five minutes late we get frustrated and start taping our watch while making eye-contact with the driver.

Use your eyes

What can we do about it, what can we tell the others (not us, remember) that will help them in handling the boredom. It’s the big difference between riding and driving: look around and enjoy the view. Nothing more, nothing less. Don’t worry about the speed, go a bit slower, it will give you ample time to spot that bird of pray by the road side, that interesting cloud formation and for two more added bonuses, it will save you money through gas and through speeding tickets you no longer get.

Slow down and enjoy the view, it’s not nearly as boring as you might think.