Archivi dei tag: Change

Searching for Sugar Man: The Timeless Lessons of Sixto Rodriguez

In the world of documentaries, few stories are as compelling and inspiring as “Searching for Sugar Man.” This Oscar-winning film, directed by Malik Bendjelloul, chronicles the fascinating journey of Sixto Rodriguez, a Detroit-based musician who, despite being largely unknown in his home country, became a cultural icon in South Africa. The documentary is more than just a tale of music—it’s a profound exploration of hope, resilience, and the transformative power of art.

The Enigmatic Story of Sixto Rodriguez

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Sixto Rodriguez recorded two albums, “Cold Fact” and “Coming from Reality.” Despite their artistic brilliance, these records went unnoticed in the United States, and Rodriguez faded into obscurity. However, his music somehow made its way to South Africa, where it struck a chord with the anti-apartheid movement. In a land divided by racial injustice, Rodriguez’s songs became anthems of hope and resistance. Yet, while his music thrived on another continent, Rodriguez himself remained a mystery, with many assuming he had died in obscurity.

The documentary follows two South African fans, Stephen “Sugar” Segerman and Craig Bartholomew-Strydom, as they start on a quest to uncover the truth about Rodriguez. Their search leads to the astonishing discovery that not only was Rodriguez alive, but he was also unaware of his fame on the other side of the world. “Searching for Sugar Man” is the story of how one man’s music transcended borders, and how it changed lives forever.

Lessons We Can Learn from “Searching for Sugar Man”

  1. Resilience in the Face of Failure. Rodriguez’s story is a testament to the power of resilience. Despite the commercial failure of his albums in the United States, Rodriguez never lost his passion for music or his belief in his own artistry. His persistence in pursuing his craft, even when the world seemed indifferent, is a powerful reminder that success is not always immediate or visible. It often requires patience, perseverance, and an unshakable belief in oneself.
  2. The Unpredictable Nature of Success. Success, as Rodriguez’s story illustrates, is often unpredictable and can come unexpectedly. While his music was ignored in the United States, it resonated deeply in South Africa, where it became a symbol of resistance. This teaches us that impact and influence can be far-reaching, often beyond our immediate understanding. The key is to continue creating, sharing, and contributing, even if the results are not immediately apparent.
  3. The Power of Art to Inspire Change. Art can inspire, uplift, and unite people across cultures and continents. Rodriguez’s music became the soundtrack to a movement, giving voice to those who were fighting against oppression. This underscores the importance of artistic expression as a tool for social change. Whether through music, writing, or visual arts, our creations have the potential to make a difference in the world.
  4. The Value of Staying True to Yourself. Throughout his life, Rodriguez remained true to his values and his music, regardless of the commercial outcome. This authenticity is a powerful lesson in the importance of staying true to oneself. In a world that often prioritizes commercial success over artistic integrity, Rodriguez’s story is a reminder that true fulfillment comes from being genuine in our pursuits.

Embrace Your Passion

The story of Sixto Rodriguez and “Searching for Sugar Man” is not just a fascinating narrative; it’s a call to action. It encourages us to embrace our passions, pursue our dreams, and share our stories, no matter how unlikely success may seem. We are reminded that our contributions have value, even if they are not immediately recognized. The world is vast, and our impact may be greater than we ever realize.

As you reflect on Rodriguez’s journey, consider the passions you hold dear. Are you pursuing them with resilience and authenticity? Are you sharing your talents and stories with others? Let Rodriguez’s story inspire you to keep creating, keep striving, and keep believing in the power of your unique voice.

Have you watched “Searching for Sugar Man”? What lessons did you take away from Sixto Rodriguez’s incredible journey? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and let’s continue to celebrate the power of resilience, creativity, and the enduring impact of art. If you haven’t seen the documentary yet, I highly recommend you watch it.

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Writing Is Good for Your Health

There are great therapeutic benefits to writing backed by science – that’s why I run this blog 🙂

Keeping a journal can be extremely helpful. It is a low-cost, easily accessible, and versatile form of therapy. It can be done individually or guided by a mental coach. It can be practiced within a group and even added as a supplement to another form of cure.

These benefits are certainly not trivial. The potential positive outcomes of a creative writing process reach much further and deeper than simply writing in a journal.

A case out of all: Participants in a study who wrote about their most traumatic experiences for 15 minutes, four days in a row, experienced better health outcomes up to four months later (Baikie & Wilhelm, 2005). This research shows a significant healing effect in individuals who have experienced a traumatic or extremely stressful event.

Regular creative writing can help the writer:

• Find meaning in their experiences, view things from a new perspective, and see the silver linings in their most stressful or negative experiences (Murray, 2002).

• Experience important insights about themselves and their environment that may be difficult to determine without focused writing (Tartakovsky, 2015)

Writing therapy has proven effective for many different conditions or mental diseases, as found by Lepore & Smyth, 2002; Pennebaker, 1997, 2004; Farooqui, 2016, including:

• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder
• Grief and loss
• Chronic illness issues
• Substance abuse
• Eating disorders
• Interpersonal relationship issues
• Communication skill issues
• Low self-esteem.

Writing regularly, following an established pattern has shown:

• Increased feelings of well-being
• Reduced physician visits
• Reduced absenteeism from work
• Enhanced immune system functions.

Why don’t you try today the writing therapy? Email me to know more!

How to Keep Your Resolutions

Today is the first of January and many of us have decided about their resolutions for 2023, or are about to do so. The new year brings the desire for a change, the need for renewal. We would like to spend more time with our family, to take that trip that we have been dreaming about for so long, to change our job, to enrol in a gym club, to lose weight, to stop smoking…the main goal is feeling better with ourselves and with others.

Why does it happen then that along the way we forget about our resolutions or we abandon them?

Here are some questions you should ask yourself.

Are your resolutions too ambitious, vague or simply they are too many? In this case you are putting too much pressure on yourself. If you have decided to stop smoking or to lose 10 kilos, you must ask yourself why you have started smoking and why you are always hungry. Are they ways for relieving the daily tensions?

Are you positive in comparison to the achievement of your resolutions? If you think that you will never make it, it is sure that you will never make it. Henry Ford used to say: “If you believe you can make it or if you believe you cannot make it, you will always be right”.

Are your resolutions appealing? You have decided to lose weight or to stop smoking. As such, they are great objectives. But find a bigger reason for which you want to achieve these objectives. For instance, you want to stop smoking to be able to recover breath faster when you go jogging or you want to lose weight to put on those beautiful pants that suited you very well.

Bad habits are difficult to lose, above all you need time. If you have been sticking to them for years, you have your good reasons (to protect yourself from stress, for example). You cannot change your habits in some weeks. Some time ago, studies stated that you could take up a new habit in 21 days. Now, neuroscience has found out that you need at least 60 days! Take your time then, establish a new habit with calmness, don’t stretch your body too far, your body is comfortably used to the old habit and it doesn’t feel like changing it. You must make it understand, day after day, that another way is possible and it is also healthier!

Besides, remember that the path won’t always be linear and you may find obstacles. There will be some easy moments and some difficult ones but losing a battle doesn’t mean losing the war. Accept the ups and downs: your body will learn to adapt slowly.

Choose an objective that won’t sound like an obligation, in the sense that it must represent a real choice, a thing that you want to do, not that you must do. Control your thoughts, remember what Henry Ford said. Don’t focus on what you still have to achieve, but celebrate what you have already achieved. List the small victories and congratulate yourself. Stay positive!

Think about the strength that a seed has to become grass. It must come out from the soil to be able to live and flourish. It works slowly under the soil, up to when one day it comes out and sees the light! For you it is kind of the same thing. Work slowly and one day you will see the results, because you are stronger than you think.

And now four tips:

1. set one objective at the time, but define it well, use the SMART model (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time bound). Even though this model has been created for organisations, it may be helpful also to individuals engaged in goal setting.

2. Adopt the strategy of small steps by dividing your objective into smaller objectives.

3. Celebrate achievements: the first kilo you have lost, the first whole day without smoking. Put some post-it all over your place with your success on it. Tell yourself “Well done!”.

4. Inform your family and friends about your goals and ask them to help you with this. Getting their support will help you in achieving the results. Look for some groups on Facebook that share your same goals, and participate in forums on the Internet. Remember that you are not alone, there are other thousands of people that may have your same goals and exchanging ideas with them can be helpful to you. You can create a blog that can become your journal (a journal on paper is also okay).

I wish you a successful 2023!

Photo by Cristiana Branchini

Cultivating Trust in Life

In life it happens sometimes that the difficulties are transformed into problems and that the efforts necessary to solve the complexities that life presents to us are important and sometimes last a long time. Sometimes we feel discouraged, and we feel like saying “Enough, I can’t take it any longer, when will it end?”. That’s how we lose trust in life.

Those who know the universal law of alternation continue to have confidence in life, whatever happens because they know that everything is change, renewal and impermanence. They were able to observe that an expansion necessarily follows a contraction and that after dark the light returns.  They are aware that one day things will change, and that life will make them smile again.

The guides who accompany the great expeditions in Kilimanjaro, one of the highest mountains in the world, use a Swahili expression to comfort fatigued walkers: “Polé, polé”, which means “slowly, slowly, one step at a time”.

Without interpreting what happens to us or projecting ourselves into a future that we do not know, we are left with only the concrete possibility of welcoming our moments of misfortune, without resisting them, because all the efforts will only cause loss of energy.

So, go ahead, keep on with trust in life, and slowly, slowly, one step at a time, you will find the light at the end of the tunnel.

You can find more articles on trust here.

brown brick tunnel
Light – Photo by Ksenia I on Pexels.com

A Long Lasting Strike

Ireland, May 1970.  The country’s banks were closing one after the other. The reason? The employees claimed for a salary increase. Their strike would be long lasting, it went on for 6 months! How will people withdraw money, receive their pay-checks or buy things?

Their way out to this long lasting strike was going to the pub! Indeed, these typical bars of the country have a lot of cash.

In addition, the owners know everyone, and enjoy great trust from their customers.

Therefore, Irish people turned to them. They signed cheques and collected cash in exchange. Pub owners will only need to wait for the banks to reopen. Thank to this way out, they could pay for their purchases, and everything went well.

For the anthropologist David Graeber, this episode would tend to show that the job of bank’s employees has no “social utility”. When they would not work, everything continued to function normally. This proved to be true as in the year of the strike, the Irish economy grew as well as usual.

Obviously, Irish could not do some operations, like asking for loans, making investments in the stock market or establishing business companies.

Finally, everyone was very happy when they could go to the bank again, especially the pub owners who could cash out all the checks they received.

Actually, bank jobs have changed a lot during the last twenty years. When I opened my first bank account, I had to go there and meet someone to do all the papers. The last one I opened, I went to the bank just to sign one paper, to verify the authenticity of my signature.

Beyond social utility, today we are witnessing the disappearance of professions due to the increasingly widespread use of artificial intelligence which causes, and will massively cause, a radical change in the job market.

What jobs do you think will change or disappear in the near future?

high angle photo of robot
Artificial Intelligence – Photo by Alex Knight on Pexels.com

Can One Person Make the Difference?

We live in a time of political uncertainty and perpetual conflict. While it’s easy to give up and say that you can’t change the world, that one person can’t make a difference, the inspiring life of Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) proves us wrong. Gandhi is the living embodiment of the values of democracy, and he inspires us to do good without ever giving up.
The Father of the Indian Nation

Leader of the Congress Party in 1921, Gandhi led national campaigns to reduce extreme poverty in India, give more rights to women, establish peace between hostile ethnic and religious groups, and gain the independence of the people. Perhaps his greatest legacy is the way he used non-violence to combat oppression, a belief adopted today by thousands of followers of peaceful resistance around the world. Indians often refer to him as the father of the nation. He owes his exceptional leadership to his way of building bridges between different communities: upper and lower caste Hindus, Muslims, Christians. Gandhi believes in the goodness of people, regardless of their religion, social class or gender. For him, no religion surpasses the pure force of true faith.

Strength of peaceful opposition

Eternally optimistic, Gandhi always believed in the ability of the human being to evolve towards a higher level of consciousness. This is what he demonstrated by leading by example into old age, turning every crisis and conflict into an opportunity for spiritual growth. “I never stopped being optimistic,” he said. « Even in the darkest moments, I always cultivated hope.».

Gandhi advocated religious harmony, he wanted equal rights for Muslims in India. When violence broke out between Muslims and Hindus, he resorted to fasting, repeatedly threatening to let himself die. He intended to be judged on deeds rather than words and firmly believed that his personal suffering would prompt men to lay down their arms.

Strengthened by this moral philosophy, his public and private life are closely linked. “Only the service of others makes it possible to apprehend the truth and discover the true nature,” he confides. He clearly showed us the power of peaceful opposition in the face of oppression, injustice and brutality.

However, non-violence is not about abstaining from any real struggle. It took a lot of courage for him to confront the violence and strengthen his convictions. “I oppose violence,” he once said, “because when it seems to produce good, the resulting good is only transitory, while the evil produced is permanent.”. Tragically, the irony is that Gandhi’s life ends in violence. He was assassinated on January 30, 1948 by the Hindu nationalist Nathuram Godse. Nearly 70 years after his death, the legacy he left us continues to live on and remains a true source of inspiration. In 2007, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 2 October, Gandhi’s birthday, the International Day of Non-Violence.

Leading by example

Gandhi’s life served as a shining example to many political leaders including Martin Luther King, Václav Havel and Nelson Mandela, all of whom fought for social change. Their powerful message to us is to respect human dignity and reject intolerance. This is something we should all think about, especially considering the current political climate, where so many countries seem deeply divided in their way of thinking, that it would seem that there are two nations instead of one. While it is tempting to read the news and conclude that you cannot change anything about this sad situation, it is enough to remember Mahatma Gandhi and how he embodied the change he wanted to see in the world to convince yourself otherwise. One person can make a difference; our best hope for the future is to look to those men, women and movements that have positively acted in the past.

Do you think you can make the difference with your behaviours?

one black chess piece separated from red pawn chess pieces
Make the Difference – Photo by Markus Spiske on Pexels.com

Why Being Curious Is Worth

We are all born curious. Think about when you were a child or at children you know. They are extremely curious, aren’t they? They ask a lot of questions and they put themselves in dangerous situations.

Curiosity has great benefits: from rejuvenating your minds to helping you cope with change successfully.

However, we don’t all experience it the same way. There are those who are fascinated by Instagram to look into others’ lives, and there are some people who focus their interest on getting to know how things work, like for instance a car engine.

In both cases they are curious people.

However, the latest research shows that there are different types of curiosity which influence our personality and abilities.

Let’s look at the typology proposed by Todd Kashdan, of George Mason University, and other authors:

Joyful exploration: this is the classic type of curiosity. You look for something related to new knowledge or information, from learning how to cook a dish you liked to knowing who built a particular building. This curiosity, as the name indicates, is linked to the joy of learning something you did not know before.

Anxiety caused by missing something: this dimension has a different emotional tone. While the previous one gives you joy, in this case you get stressed or anxious to know how to solve a problem during an exam or to remember something that does not come to your mind, for example.

Tolerance to stress: it is activated when you accept doubt or anxiety facing new, complex or unknown events. In some ways, it helps reduce resistance to change. It allows you to ask yourself what there may be beyond fear, for example when you experience changes in your job.

Social curiosity: if you are socially curious you tend to observe what others think, or how they behave. It is the desire to learn about others’ lives through the press, TV or social networks.

Thrill-seeking: This is the dimension that leads people to take any kind of risks to seek out new experiences, such as practising extreme sports or travelling to dangerous countries for the pleasure of the adventure.

According to a research conducted in 2018 on over 3,000 workers in the United States, Germany and China, 84% recognized that curiosity allows them to generate new ideas and 64% that it helps them to get a job promotion. Furthermore, according to the study’s conclusions, the first four dimensions of curiosity improve outcomes at work while people with high social curiosity are best at stirring up conflicts and gaining trust.

Ultimately, you can have one or more of the previous dimensions and, depending on this, you will  be a joyful explorer, or you will be more inclined to solve problems, or, thanks to your social curiosity, you will be more empathetic.

Which category do you think you belong to?

black and white boys children curiosity
Children Are Extremely Curious – Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

How to Deal with Eco-anxiety

Eco-anxiety or climate anxiety can be defined as the stress that some people feel due to environmental events even though they have not had to deal with them (yet).

Melting glaciers, fires that more and more often happen worldwide, unbelievable heat waves, just to mention some major events, could really cause eco-anxiety.

The dire effects of climate change are hard to miss, and they instil fear in many people who are worried about the future of the Earth and obviously of the human kind.

If these fears sound familiar to you, you are not the only one.

A recent survey, conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of the American Psychological Association (APA), found that over two-thirds of respondents suffer at least some “eco-anxiety” and more than a quarter perceive stress.

Respondents between the ages of 18 and 34, who are likely thinking about what the meaning to inherit the Earth on the brink of environmental collapse, were more likely to say they were concerned about climate change, and actually nearly half said the anxiety affects their life every day.

The online survey, which involved 2,017 adults in the United States, covered ecological anxiety and changing habits to reduce the impact on the climate.

The survey results were weighted to reflect the national adult population, taking into account factors such as age, sex, education, region, family income, and ethnicity. 60% of respondents said they had made changes to their behaviour.

The most popular, adopted by over three-quarters of participants, included reducing waste through reuse and recycling of items. In addition to improving the insulation of your home, limiting the use of services such as water, heat and electricity and consuming less in general.

Not all respondents, however, could change daily transport or eating habits. Only two-thirds said they had or would do things like carpool, walk, cycle, eat less red meat, or become vegetarians or vegans.

People who suffered from ecological anxiety were much more likely to feel motivated to change their behaviour than those who didn’t.

While climate change anxiety may seem demoralizing, there are practical ways to manage this stress. It is especially important to gain control because anxiety can increase psychological distress.

woman sitting on wooden planks
Photo by Keenan Constance on Pexels.com

Here are 4 tips on how to deal with eco-anxiety:

Finding concrete ways to make a difference

The APA survey found out that half of adults did not know where to start to combat climate change. While it is true that governments and the private sector have the power to make the most radical changes, every citizen can change their habits. Eating less red meat, for example, can reduce carbon emissions. Participating in strikes and protests, such as those held by Greta Thunberg’s Fridays for Future, draws attention to the issue and helps get others to act. Asking local politicians to do more on climate change is also a good rule of thumb.

Re-framing negative thoughts

Overall, research shows that re-framing negative thoughts can help relieve stress, anxiety, and depression. If apocalyptic thoughts keep creeping into your mind, or even prevent you from making plans, it can be helpful to focus your attention on the present.

Addressing all the stressors

It is important to think about climate change-related stress as part of overall mental health. You may also experience financial, relationship, professional or physical stress, which can alter feelings about climate change and vice versa. It is essential to analyse the other stressors as well and, if necessary, seek the help of a professional, like a coach or a psychologist.

Building your resilience

Greater resilience can help resist eco-anxiety. You could increase your resilience by developing a close network of friends and family. Strong social and emotional support is linked to well-being, material aid during times of adversity, and lower rates of psychological distress following a disaster.

Do you think you suffer from eco-anxiety?

art abstract typography business
Photo by Ann H on Pexels.com

How to Embrace Change

Life is constant change, Buddha and Aristotle already said it: change is a fact of life. But change has also been accelerating in recent decades. Massive disruption across the social, technological, political and environmental dimensions of our lives means that we are constantly trying to figure out how best to manage uncertainty. And for someone it can be scary.

The origin of this fear can be found in biology. Our brain is the result of two and a half million years of evolution. We have lived in caves much longer than we have in cities. This means that we have “coded” automatic responses to successfully respond to everyday threats.

If absurdly you see a tiger walking down the street, you would not try to understand what breed it is but you would rather try to escape as quickly as possible (flight). Another codified reaction would be to stay still, hoping that the tiger will not see you (freeze). The last possible reaction would be to fight it (fight), with very, very limited chances of success, so your brain would immediately discard it.

Flight, Freeze or Fight are the three primal reactions to events that we perceive as dangerous to our safety.

However, the wonderful circuits that have allowed us to evolve as a species are not suited to addressing the most subtle threats of our age, such as digitization, the pandemic or the risk of losing your job.

These fears are evolutionarily new and are not always easy to manage.

bengal tiger half soak body on water during daytime
Photo by Flickr on Pexels.com

Remember that the brain is designed for your survival, not your happiness. Therefore, to face changes, you have to understand them as opportunities and learn from the potentials they entail. Moreover, this is not as automatic as running away from something dangerous. On the contrary, it takes effort and training.

Let us see how you could get started by following these four tips.

1. First of all, it is important to train your mind daily. Just as you go to the gym or practice by yourself, you need to keep your brain muscle in shape. Try to do something different every day. For example, you could change sources of information when reading the news (also useful to understand various points of view), change your route to go to work, or try a new dish.

2. Second, you can try to consider what happens to you in a different manner. For instance, a good way is reading history to realize that although we live in an age where changes happen very fast, all these progresses have allowed us, for example, to increase our life expectancy.

3. Third, try to disconnect from technology and reconnect with yourself and your surroundings. If you are always immersed in the digital world, you will not have time to integrate learning and to find a certain and needed tranquility. For example, one day during the weekend or on vacation you can put your mobile in the “don’t disturb” mode.

4. Fourth, trust. If you look at the difficulties that you have already faced in the past, you will see that now they look easy to you. If you have already been able to overcome challenging situations, why should not you be able to do it now?

Are you afraid of change or do you like new challenges?

Photo by Braden Collum on Unsplash

Unplug your mind, find yourself

When e-mails, text messages, conference calls, Webex, Whatspp, FB, Instagram, Tweeter, Google and anything else from your partner to your boss invade our lives, it becomes necessary for our survival to stop for a while and be silent.

Our always connected minds take us away from the best of ourselves and our creative potential.

Referring constantly to what one or the other has said, we forget to connect to our essential being, which is unique and precious.

We have become individuals driven by technological change that moved away from ourselves, from our awareness of being human, from the first component of Emotional Intelligence (EI). EI is recognized today as a condition of success in a Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous (VUCA) world, as it is the one we live today.

Refocusing, looking inside, listening to silence and our inner voice. In the depths of ourselves we find an enormous amount of resources and our most authentic creativity: it is our treasure, a unique, rich and colorful, magical place where everything is open and possible.

In this space, we can find synchronicity, messages and insights that will enable us to make the right decisions for our lives.

In this space real relationships can arise, authentic relationships between sincere people who are now masked by the ego that continues to rule us.

What to do then?

Give yourself moments of silence! Be for a while without your mobile phone. Go out for a walk without it, walk with no direction in the nature and feel, look, listen, use all your senses to the maximum.

Be present in this unique moment and let yourself be pervaded by the harmony that surrounds you.

Practice your favorite hobby, and if you do not have it, think about finding one. Quietly cooking at home, knitting, painting, drawing, gardening and all the other activities that you may be passionate about.

Stop for a moment and stop moving from one activity to another, from one piece of information to another. Your brain can not take it anymore, it also needs a rest. Give yourself time to deepen the reasons of your choices and discover the reason of your being, your purpose.

So many people today cannot make a decision, if it has not been recommended by someone, a friend, a colleague, or a family member.

People feel lost. Most probably they are really lost: they have disconnected from themselves to live in connection with the social networks.

It is not my intention to condemn social networks and sources of information, I also use them. The problem is their overuse: a lot of people nowadays lives constantly with an external reference and far away from their real life.

I can accompany you on a journey where you will learn to clear some space for your inner needs. I will show you techniques to manage your stress that will help you to go back to your daily occupations in a more balanced way. And live your life fully. You deserve it!