Krakow Day 2
I successfully found my friend in Krakow. On the way from the train station to his apartment, we walk along the Wisla, a beautiful river that flows through Krakow.
The next morning, I wake up to the sound of my buddy punching in some code into his MacBook keyboard.
After our daily dose of coffee, we get out of his apartment and rent two bikes and ride off to a nice restaurant where we want to work.
Riding through the old town of Krakow is magic. It really feels like travelling back in time and visiting a medieval city. You hear the noises of galloping horses who pull white carriages through the city. In the background, you see beautiful churches and castle walls everywhere. I can see why my buddy decided to live here for a while.
As soon as we arrived at the restaurant, we order our omelettes and get our MacBook’s out; time to hustle.
We get some bewildered looks because of pulling out our laptops in the middle of a restaurant, but as fellow members of nerd nation, we are used to this.
Pawel shows me some new designs for my website and my podcast, and I realise that this guy is a wizard with his computer. Seeing those new designs really made my jaw drop.
As my buddy shares his screen, I realise that this thing is really happening, and I realise that words become things.
I think about the moment where I first dared to tell other people about my vision of being a travelling psychologist and of all the people who helped me along the way.
And although I still have a long way to go, I am here in Krakow, working on the thing I love, being where I want to be, doing me.
Do Nothing
After a couple of hours of intense screen staring and me slowly becoming neurotic about getting eye cancer, we decide to unplug from the digital world and do something real.
We ride with our rented bikes to Jordan park to work out in nature. There is something about working out in the open that is really therapeutic. On our way back, we have to cross a field that has a beautiful view of Krakow’s biggest mountain. On that mountain is a castle. Beautiful scenery. And my buddy casually says, “This field looks nice, I want to lay down for a while”.
So we get off our bikes, and do just that, lay down in the grass. No, I am not going all Brokeback Mountain on you, but I honestly do not remember the last time that I casually laid on the ground and did nothing.
I have been all tunnel version for quite some time now, and taking a break of my urge of becoming was really recovering.
As we lay there and watched the clouds, we contemplated life and realise that it is not all about going somewhere, but also about being in the present, and enjoying this very moment. I cannot stress enough how important it is to occasionally disconnect from the daily trance of life.
So fuckface, how about you put your phone away, close your laptop, and just lay on the floor for a couple of minutes and do nothing.
Words Matter
If you are reading this, I want to give you one thing on your way: words matter.
Be very aware of the words you use, because they ultimately end up becoming your reality. The one tool that everybody has control over is language.
Nothing shapes our behaviour as much as words. So, I urge you to be brave enough to speak out about what you really want because after all, words eventually become things for better, or for worse.
Whether you think you can or can’t, you’re right — Henry Ford
Identifying who in your environment is holding you back is one of the most important lifestyle design steps there are. Figuring out who holds you back from articulating what you really want is a difficult but necessary step. I think most people do not get into gear because they are worried about the opinions of other people. Those people are often our closest connections, our mother, our father, our friends and colleagues. Liberating ourselves from being dependent on the opinion of others is key if you want to start doing you. Do not expect other people to believe in your vision; it is yours, not theirs.
So fuckface, enough worrying about what other people might think of you, once you start to believe in yourself and have guts to say it out, others will follow.
In psychological terms, we call this a “self-fulfilling prophecy”. It means that our beliefs and expectations, and the things we say have an effect on our behaviour and on our impact on others. Thoughts become words, words become actions, actions, ultimately, become our new reality.
