This is an archive version of my newsletter. If you’d like to receive this kind of email as well, you can sign up here.
Hello efferieboddie! I’m writing to you from a hotel room in Edinburgh, Scotland. I’m having a great time here. Being surrounded by the green, muddy, grey nature and buildings of Scotland makes me realise how much I miss all of this…
Anyway… before I get too sentimental, I think it would be nice to share with you my reflections of the year 2022. You can find them below 🙂
1. Thought
✨ Life goes in cycles of exploration and exploitation ✨
Whilst reflecting on the year 2022 I realised that I can apply some of the theories from my university days to my personal life.
So I wrote this article in which I zoom in on the ambidextrous organisation. Trying to balance exploration and exploitation to keep a company at the forefront of innovation. Or to keep evolving your personal development 🙂
2. Art – reading challenges
At exactly 23:54 on the 31st of December 2022, I finished my 40th book of the year. Which was nice, because that was my target.
But what type of books did I read most in 2022? More fiction, or non-fiction? Did I manage to read 10 books by female authors? And what about my other side quests?
You can read my full reflection (including very nice graphs!) on the blog.
3. Quote
‘Headwind forces you to cycle harder, tailwind makes you think you cycle hard.’
A very Dutch metaphor for the dynamics of privilege. By Rob Wijnberg, co-founder of Dutch news outlet De Correspondent. I read this quote in the book ‘De Zeven Vinkjes’, by Joris Luyendijk. A book about privilege, written by someone with ‘the seven checkmarks of privilege’, for people with ‘the seven checkmarks of privilege’.
4. Sport – failing 94% of my goals
Wow – that sounds depressing, doesn’t it? Failing 94% of my goals… that’s terrible…
But in reality, I’m extremely happy with my development! I have set many personal records and I have managed to push myself quite a bit.
Read my full reflection on how and why I failed so many goals in the article (again, including nice graphs and tables hehe).
5. Picture
Here is a picture I took in Edinburgh yesterday. It’s not a very special picture, but it shows the lovely Scottish architecture and Arthur’s Seat (the hill), so that makes me happy 🙂