Tag: take action

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Ukraine in urgent need for help!

War is never good.

We have all seen the invasion of Ukraine by Russia last week which is still evolving. Too many people, including civilians and children, have died. Russia’s aggression seems to increase by sending ever more troops, missiles and bombs.

Personally, I’m heartbroken ever time I listen to the news.

Coming form a country which was invaded by Hitler’s Nazi Germany, I remember my grandparents telling me about how the war started. It started exactly the same way in which it is starting in the Ukraine right now.

Flag of Ukraine
Flag of Ukraine

I urge you to help the Ukraine any way you can. It may seem difficult to help if you live far away and have never been near a similar war situation before. Please consider these small actions and see if you can find it in you to help:

Donate! Donate! Donate!
I understand that not everyone has spare cash to share with people they have never met. Still, I hope that some of you can donate a little to keep help efforts underway.
There are plenty of organizations who currently focus on the crisis in and around Ukraine. Some of them are:

Help refugees / charities directly. If you live close to the Ukrainian border, check out local organizations which can direct your efforts to maximize all your combined efforts. Even if you live further afield, have a look around in your community or your online social groups to see if there are self-organizing groups that deliver help to where it’s needed. Every small action to support those in need is welcome.

Educate yourself on the situation in the Ukraine, its history, the cultural differences between the countries in the region and what the actual reason for the invasion is.
My strong recommendation is that you seek out news from different news outlets from all parts of the media spectrum to get a full picture of what “both sides” are saying. Then take your time and think and come up with your own conclusion.

Political education should be part of everyone’s curriculum at school. It is paramount that every single person understands how political systems work and how they differ from each other. Only then can they understand what options are on the table when they go to vote.

Unfortunately, this is not the case.

That is why is it up to all of us to seek out political education and learn so that we start to understand the world around us.

Engage in the political process to ensure your country remains free.
Some option are to run for office in your local area or join a local school board. You could also be more active in your political party either by taking on an official role or simply by facilitating fair elections. Many seemingly small steps can help: debating on one party versus another in your local social club; trying to increase voter turn out by going door to door and informing locals ahead of the elections or by arranging transport for locals to and from the voting stations.

Vote to keep your own country from falling into dictatorship!
Prepare ahead of time by making sure you are eligible to vote on the day or via post. Then vote!

For all of the above points, I urge you to include your children, family and friends. It is vitally important that everyone – especially the next generation – is aware of how bad things can get and what can be done to prevent such a situation from happening time and time again.

Most importantly, you have to stand up to injustice – no matter how small or how big – no matter if you will get hurt yourself in the process – no matter what – you have to stand up for yourself!

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Here is the answer to the toughest question on Universal Basic Income (UBI) yet

After my last article, I received a fair few questions and also some complaints. The main point being around: “Why should lazy people who don’t want to work and do everything they can to stay on social welfare also get UBI? Where is the incentive to work?”

In short: “Why give lazy people money?”

The answer is simple: if someone doesn’t want to work, they will never do good work.

Over my 30 years of work experience, I had the pleasure of working with some great minds, creative thinkers and motivational leaders. I also worked with those who would rather stay home and play video games. This last group is the one who I think is more disruptive in the workplace than any other. They don’t necessarily break things but they lower morale by complaining and whinging; they keep productive people from doing their job by drawing them into long drawn out conversations; they use resources that are needed to move the company forward.

So, I hear you ask: why do they have jobs now?

They are in their jobs because they had their job yesterday and the day before. The real reason though is that our current socioeconomic system requires us to work for money. So they have to work. Whether they like it or whether they are good at it doesn’t matter. It’s not a choice. If you want to eat, you better have a job.

That is where a Universal Basic Income (UBI) comes into place. A recent report by the Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, UK, showed that poverty would be cut in half by the introduction of UBI.

Be honest, do you really want to work with disruptive, demoralizing, downer colleagues?

If not, then I suggest you sign the European Citizens’ Initiative for the Universal Basic Income!

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Celebrate connection – not outdated, romantic love!

Valentine’s day is upon us. Every year it’s the same dilemma, what to do about it? The answer often depends on whether one is in a relationship and whether “the current partner” wants to celebrate it or not.

My best friend from way back always used to say “men come and go” – even when her husband stood next to her. It took me a long time to realise that she may be true. Relationships come, start, peak, fizzle out or end abruptly. May it’s a new job that changes you whole world or your partner’s new hobby that doesn’t allow you space in their life. Whatever it may be, relationships come and go.

Having relationships end is not a bad thing either. It opens us up to new opportunities and the possibility for change. Think about it: if you only ever knew the people who were with you in kindergarten, how would your life look like today?

The same holds true for romantic relationships. There are a few lucky people who find “the one” and there are some more who are willing to “put in the effort”, but a lot of people simply stay single or in relationships because “that’s how it was yesterday” or “that’s how it was last year”.

Now think back to last year Valentine’s day. Has anything changed? If not, what would you want to change to make it an outstanding day? What would you keep the same?

If your situation has changed, a similar question is in order: what do you want to have in place (prepared) for the best Valentine’s day ever?

I would like you to think about what Valentine’s day really means for you. If you simply want a diamond laced watch from you partner, then be upfront and honest. If you rather contribute to world happiness in a small way by being happy yourself, then do that. I’m not your boss and can’t tell you what to do. Only you can know what you want for that day (and any other day for that matter).

Go and decide for yourself what small action would make this day memorable to you.

As for me, after work, I’ll be doing some yoga followed by a candle lit TV binge watch session with one glass of wine in my bathtub – because this is the height of luxury for me this year. Enjoy!

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Learn a skill and use it

Now that the initial rush of New Year’s resolutions is over (if you took part or not), I believe it’s time to sit down and actually think about the rest of the year.

I am a big fan or continuous learning and the older I get, the more I see value in learning practical skills. Don’t worry if you think it’s too hard or takes too long. Most skills only take a few hours over a few weeks to get the hang of. Also, there are plenty of organizations and clubs or night schools to help you get started.

For me, it’s a simple choice: I want to learn how to look at a flat and know if it’s going to be nice to live in it. Yes, it’s time to move house again and rather than rushing in like last time, or the time before or the time before…, I want to become better at it. So I’ve decided to put all my efforts into learning how to do that. I’ll start by doing some research online on what to look out for, organizations who can help me on the learning journey and even if there are certifications which may be useful later on. After all, I’ve never found myself in a situation of having an official certificate and not needing it. More the other way around, needing official recognition and not having it. That’s why I know how important it is to have skills to start with and if there’s a certificate to be had, to get certified also.

It may sound like a rubber stamping exercise to you and I agree with this feeling. Having said that, you never know what will happen in the future and if you spend time on learning a skill, why not have a paper in your back pocket to show the world that you are capable of?

What’s your skill you will learn over the next few months?

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Go get vaccinated and get your life back

Vaccines save lives! Your live, your friends’ lives and your families’ lives. It even saves your neighbor who annoys you all the time – they will get saved too.

If you haven’t received the vaccination yet, please go and sign up to get it ASAP. 

Why should all the other peeps get to do all the fun stuff? 

Going out, meeting friends and family, partying all night long or just sitting on a park bench and watch the world go buy. It’s all so much easier without the fear of catching a damaging virus which could impact your life for months and months and months.

I’m registered on the waiting list and it looks as if I’m only going to get in August / September. That means I’ll have to stay mostly indoors and forego eating out, swimming, gym classes and so much more. Trust me, if there was a (legal) way to pay to get the jab sooner, I would. Not that my meager savings would get me any higher on the ranking as I am already – but I’d try anyway. That’s how keen I am on being fully vaccinated.

Most of my friends and family have both injections already or are waiting to receive the final one. I’m green with envy! Not green like the Hulk… worse… I get angry like Rhod Gilbert. If you haven’t heard of him yet, have a look to find one of his videos.

With that said, go and get your vaccine until we are all ready to leave COVID behind.