Being afraid

“On a scale from 1 to 10, 10 being extremely happy, smart and admired, where would you want to stay?”

When asked by my coach, I told him I wanted to be everywhere.

For me there’s no point in choosing a number between 1 and 10 and do everything within my power to stay there.

If my life is about something, than it’s about learning how to appreaciate everything from 1 to 10. It’s about learning how to appreciate life with all its up- and downsides.

Easier said than done.

At the time of my meeting with my coach, I felt I was very close to 10.

But today I’m quite close to 1. And it scares me.

It scares me because it makes me want to fight the feelings and fears I’m experiencing right now. It makes me angry as well because I want to blame some one (me?) for doing this to me. And although I keep telling myself that this miserable moment is as much part of life as that splendid n° 10 moment, it doesn’t make this experience less distressing.

Still, being afraid, being unable to cope with some of my worries, being unable to control myself or repress my feelings and thoughts proves to be a valuable lesson.

Whatever insights I have, whatever training I receive, I will always be human. I will always experience moments from 1 to 10 for the rest of my life. And if I want to enjoy that life and get as fast as possible from 1 to 10 I’d better start to look at these miserable moments with compassion and respect. I better care for these emotions and feelings instead of trying to ignore or repress them.

After all, one of my most profound beliefs is that wisdom only works for those who accept their complete human condition as a gift.

Again, easier said than done.

Although, I guess, there’s nothing else to do in life than to do.

Don’t you?

The future is tomorrow

No, not another marketing claim. Just my way of anouncing that I will be blogging live from The Future Summit (#tfs09 on twitter). Roularta and Flanders DC gathered some fine speakers to shed their light on our time being. I’m really excited since this is my first official invitation as a blogger. Thank you for the invitation guys.

I’m hoping to meet some interesting people, have some great talks, learn to listen a bit better and get inspired.

Now, who’s coming tomorrow and what will they be talking about

Tom Savigar, Strategy and Insight Director, The Future Laboratory. Savigar will talk about The Fifth Scenario. The what? That’s what I’m asking myself as well. Most likely – since that’s what the website tells me – he’s going to talk about how companies and brands use wild ideas and uncommon strategies to prepare for the unthinkable. Being a fan of Foucault and his description of Unreason, I’m really looking forward on how he will take a pragmatic approach to the improbable but nonetheless probable.

Herman Konings,CEO , PocketMarketing/nXt (Belgium). Konings is one of the most well known trendwatchers in our country. Yet I’ve never seen him live and I haven’t read any of his books yet (shame on me, I know). Yet he’s going to present us the results of some brand new research on trends.

Ian Pearson, Futurologist, Futurizon. Ian Pearson is a futurologist. I usually think futurologists are people who are highly sensitive people with a great imagination. They can sense things which are around us, which are already happening but before we become well aware of them. Of course you can’t tell from looking at an embryo what he or she will look like in 20 years, but you can tell a thing or two about how they will most likely evolve. Not only do I hope to hear more about the embryonic ideas and concepts Pearson has spotted in our present and how he thinks they will evolve. I also hope to get a glimps of how his sensitivity works. Maybe I’ll ask him personally tomorrow.

Also on the speakers list are three people with inspiring case studies

- Isabelle Maenhout, CEO of Navitell who will be talking about software which can help you navigate through life by the use of authentic storytelling

- Bernard Lahousse, Director of Creax Food who will talk about his foodpairing project

- And last but not least: Bart De Waele, CEO of Netlash, one of the best performing web-agencies in Belgium. Bart is a well known entrepreneur and webpersonality in Flanders and beyond. We ran into each other on some occasions but we’ve never actually spoken to each other. He did however invite me to participate in his trends-project (in Dutch) in which I was asked to share my thoughts about what 2009 would bring in the online world. Writing for this project meant a lot to me. Bart gave me the opportunity to work on some ideas I had in my head for quite some time but which I’d never worked through before. They have inspired me ever since so I’m very grateful for him putting me to work. Now I’m looking forward to hear Bart live, talking about his experiences with trends.

So, that’s all for now folks.

You can follow me live @superblyhuman (twitter) and on this blog.

Dutchspeaking readers can also follow me on @hcouvreur (twitter) and on our companyblog www.thebigpicture.be

Bill Isaacs on Powerful Listening

Listen to the course of the world and to your own nature; and you’ll know what to do. Most people think that dialogue is a form of talking. It’s more about articulating what’s been heard and at what level. What are you actually listening to? (Bill Isaacs)

Read more here @Fastcompany

Via @Dailygood