Weekly review cw 34

I'm at a campsite. The path past the service building and across the car park leads down a green hill. From the top, I look out over a large lake. There's no wind, the sun is shining constantly, and I'm sweating. So I stroll down to the cool water in my flip-flops and swimsuit. The swimming area is in a small cove. Still, the water must be deep because at the end of the short jetty, there's a small ladder leading up to a bumping block. Tempting. A few meters further on, there's a pontoon with an impressive diving platform—there's a combination of one-, three-, and even five-meter diving boards. I want to go there. So I take off my cap, put my glasses aside, and warm up by a jump from the small block on the jetty. While I'm still in midair, I realize that was a stupid idea.

Getting out of the comfort zone

The daily relaxation on holiday gave me time to reflect on my last reading, “So good they can't ignore you”. I carried two questions with me:

• What do I want to learn or improve on?
• How can I ideally get myself out of my comfort zone daily, or at least regularly?

As reported in the last Weekly, I've put English on my “Better at” list. I'm currently using Babbel, Duolingo, and Leo for this. My goal is, on the one hand, to expand my vocabulary. Any words from my English reading that I don't know are looked up on Leo and entered into the vocabulary trainer there. Secondly, I aim to expand my language skills through regular use. I hope to achieve this by using the apps Babbel and Duolingo.

Another goal on the “to improve” list is writing. I write in capital letters in my bullet journal. This forces me to write slowly, giving me time to think about what I actually want to say. The key reason, however, is readability. My handwriting is terrible. This is precisely what I would like to change. I'm not sure how, but I'll figure it out.

The “Sketch Notes” point goes in a similar direction. I intend to make my notes more lively. The visual part should give my thoughts more expression and clarity. If I want to pass on what I've learned, I believe that good illustrations are a didactically valuable tool. In addition to the basic ability to write readable, I'm also learning this.

While on holiday, I regularly found time and space to study. Be it writing, learning English, or researching for sketch notes. It's more exciting to fit this into my everyday life, between caring for school-age children, household task like laundry, and not forgetting the programming.

And as my hands slowly slide into the cold water, I feel the pleasant chill enveloping me. The sunscreen and sweat are washed off. But that's not all. My smartwatch detaches from my wrist. As if in slow motion, I notice the snap fastener opening and the water stealing the watch like a petty thief. Before I understand what's really happening, however, I've glided through the water and surfaced. I frantically dive back down. But the lake is clear and, unfortunately, deep. I managed to dive five meters to the bottom, but it's dark there; the soil is mouldy. Even worse: the water pressure hurts my ears.

I climb back out of the water and sit down on a wooden bench. First, I take a deep breath and try not to get upset. But then it starts. The negative thoughts begin, and I can't stop them. The silent self-cursing, how could I possibly be so stupid? I quickly dry off, get into the camper, and get to my bullet journal, writing down my thoughts. And I counter the negative thoughts with a single question I silently repeat: What's positive about this event?

After a few days, I can say that there are many positive aspects. I'm timeless, less driven. Nothing buzzes on my wrist. No notifications to move, no messages or calls. And indeed, no alarm clock in the morning. And as mundane as it sounds, I can't scratch or lose my watch. Far more critical than these benefits was the realization that the positive reflection, coupled with writing it down, prevented the long and intense frustration of the loss. I hadn't thought that possible for me.