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7 tips to be happy when a dark winter brings you down

Posted on Utrecht, The Netherlands

This morning I got a message from someone who I hadn’t spoken with for a long time. She told me that she currently has a hard time being happy and that my positive messages and pictures are helping to cheer her up. I know how challenging it can be sometimes to find joy and I’m very grateful that I am able to help others where I can.

When you’re feeling down I think it’s very important to reach out to someone and tell how you feel. It might not be an easy step, but you have to know that everyone has their ups and downs and there is a good chance they’ll understand how you feel. Even if they might not have a solution for you, it’ll probably make you feel better to just share your challenges with someone.

Talking about it is a great start, though there is no change without action. Therefore I’ve written down seven actions that might help you feel better and bring more joy into your days.

Life

33 things to be thankful for

Posted on Utrecht, The Netherlands

Yesterday was my 33rd birthday and it gave me the idea to write down 33 things to be thankful for:

  1. A loving family
  2. Great loyal friends all over the world
  3. A healthy body
  4. Freedom to go wherever I want
  5. The wonderful adventures I’ve been on so far
  6. Working with my own business Webpuccino®
  7. The tools I have for my work, like a Macbook pro and noise cancelling headphones
  8. My dream bookcase
  9. Coffee
  10. Starbucks
  11. Good music
  12. Creativity
  13. The gym
  14. Meditation
  15. Disney
  16. Having food on the table every day
  17. A home cinema
  18. Fresh leaf tea
  19. Beautiful nature
  20. TV shows that make you laugh
  21. Online courses to learn new things
  22. Pizza
  23. Living in a nice city
  24. Weekends
  25. A big comfortable bed to sleep in
  26. Ice cream
  27. Creative people to work with
  28. Being able to make phone calls all over the world
  29. Bullet journalling
  30. Christmas time
  31. Being able to read and communicate in multiple languages
  32. My programming skills
  33. Future adventures
Life

The real you

Posted on Utrecht, The Netherlands

The real you is strong and powerful beyond imagination

The real you is creative and inspired

The real you is positive and optimistic

The real you doesn’t know fear

The real you has many dreams and unlimited potential

The real you is full of life and energy

The real you is here and now

The real you is connected to all

Life

What do you expect?

Posted on Amsterdam, the Netherlands

For quite a while now I’m a bit struggling with the mundane of life. In the mornings I wake up early, go to the gym and then to work for the rest of the day. In the evening I cook dinner, watch some tv and before I know it’s time to go to bed again. Even though I do my best to make days different by working at several locations, it still feel often that most days look the same and the desire for breaking out of that grows by the day.

Life, Motivation

Change your beliefs

Posted on Utrecht, The Netherlands

In my last post I wrote about how you can live your best life. Doing the things that you find important is a good start, but I realised that I didn’t mention one more important thing: changing your beliefs. When you start out with adjusting your daily habits you might fail some days and it’s easy to beat yourself up for it or just give up all together. To keep going, you have to alter the way you think about it.

Life, Motivation

How to live your best life

Posted on Utrecht, The Netherlands

Last weekend I went to Dublin with my dad. It had been on our list for a few years and we finally did it. It was a great weekend together with going to Irish pubs, visiting the Guinness factory and Trinity College and doing a beautiful hike along the coast. I could write some travel tips for Dublin now, but my favourite part was just spending some quality time together and enjoying being abroad for a couple of days. What I want to write about now is the challenge of getting back to normal life this week.

Travel

Going home

Posted on Utrecht, The Netherlands

Vancouver island is very beautiful. There are snow-topped mountains, trees everywhere and many big lakes. My favourite part is the west coast where you’ll find wide outstretched beaches. Except from Alaska, this is about the most west point of North America. I love the Pacific Ocean, it’s so peaceful. At the beach I climb on some rocks and sit down for a while to enjoy the view.

People

Bright days in Vancouver

Posted on Nanaimo, Canada

It’s Saturday morning. The sun is out today and it’s probably the most beautiful day in Vancouver I’ve had so far. It’s true what people had told me. The city is completely different when it’s sunny weather. Last night I had dinner with friends and we went out for drinks until late and so they offered me to sleep on their couch. We had a great time and this morning a lovely breakfast together before we said goodbye.

People

Change of plans

Posted on Vancouver, Canada

It’s Saturday afternoon and I’m sitting in the plane from Helena in Montana to Seattle in Washington. After 12 wonderful days of Christmas it’s time to travel further again. I’m always a bit sad when I leave Montana, but at the same time I’m thankful again for the great time we had together. My grandparents just dropped me off at the airport, right where they picked me up at Christmas Day. The nice thing of a small airport like this one is that you can show up less than an hour before departure and still have plenty of time to get on the plane.

People

Traveling to my grandparents in Montana

Posted on Helena Montana, United States

When I wake up in the airport hotel I feel a bit lost. It’s Christmas morning, but it doesn’t feel like that. I get on my computer and post the blog about last weekend. Like I wrote yesterday, I don’t feel so much like going back to Vancouver but I also don’t feel like going home yet. I look up flights to San Diego, the idea of a sunnier destination is tempting.