Complexity of Contrast

Even though we often don't want to say goodbye, I think we should. By acknowledging that distance, we share our vulnerability. We show our humanity though our ability to miss and grief. So I invite you to not be low-key about goodbyes or ''see you laters'', but instead to use it as a opportunity to show your loved ones how much you care.

As human beings we complain a lot, even about the thing that are in our control... But what if complaining is actually useful? Apart from the fact that it helps you release emotions, it is a way to reflect on your situation. In this episode I describe three ways to deal with complaining and how it can bring you closer to what you truly want.

I finally understand why people used to think I was on drugs all the time... It is because I'm highly sensitive. Actually, being on drugs and being highly sensitive resembles eachother more than I ever thought. You can literally feel high, but when the drugs works out you feel a really deep low. If you enjoyed the episode please leave a review and rate the podcast Follow the podcast on instagr...

Have you ever wished to be a child again? Imagined how your live would look like without all your adult worries. In this episode, I will share ways to tap into that inner child energy again. And even though it will not resolve your problems or responsibilities. It can help you to live less according to the 'adult restricitions' mentality, and more by your own free will. If you enjoyed the episode...

Have you ever felt frustrated knowing that you are not showing up as the person you want to be? Not knowing how to bridge the gap between the person we are acting like and the person we tell others we are. In this episode, I share a tool to become a little more aligned with yourself and the person you want to be. Through an easy breathing technique we will tap out of our daily rush, to stop ingnor...

From a young age, we are used to suppress our curiosity. People get frustrated by all our questions or find us weird for our specific interests. As adults, we tend to see curiosity as something childish. We understand what is expected of us and therefore we lose touch with our curiosity. But what if by denying your curiosity, you are denying parts of yourself? If you feel called to leave a review...

We have all heard the sentence before: 'Your time is NOW'. But what if the time is actually not now? In this episode, I share my thoughts on the pressure we associate with theories like Carpe Diem and how to reframe this mentality.

What if restrictions actually lead to more possibilities? When you are forced to work with limitations, you have to be creative. Restrictions push you to be inventive, to become curious again, and therefore can be a great tool to inspire yourself. In this episode, I share how restrictions impacted my life positively and how I use them in my creative practise. If you enjoyed the episode please leav...

Am I too much? Why would I bother other people with my problems? It is not that hard just man up. If any of these thoughts sound familiar, this episode is for you. We often feel guilty when we share our emotions with others. We are afraid to take up too much space, to ruin the ambience or to face people's judgement. And yes, indeed, it is not normalized to share your feelings in every environment....

In this episode, we discuss the impact our safety behaviors can have on our lives. These precautions we take are necessary to our existence, but what if we do not remember how to live without them? The things that are supposed to protect us may begin to harm us. If we are never exposed to what would happen when we do not rely on our safety behaviors, it will only strengthen our fearful assumptions...

We all subconsiously have created a timeline for ourselves, often based on the expectations that our close environment has set for us. But what if you were never meant to follow someone else's timeline? We naturally compare ourselves to the people we resonate with: same age, a shared passion or a similar phase in life. These people are our classmates, co-workers, the people we follow on instag...

Our definition of productivity reflects what drives us, our priorities, and our quality of living. But what happens if you never took the time to define what productivity means to you? What if your daily thoughts and choices have been subconsiously implemented in your life, without you even noticing? That happened to me. I live(d) according to the productivity expectations set by our current hustl...

We kick off this new season with a confronting topic: the need to be right. We fear being wrong, we rather pretend to know than admit we do not. Conversations turn into competitions. A race of desired control. Being wrong feels like failing, so we shame and blame ourselves just for not knowing something. But where does this subconsious pattern come from? Is this crave for approval actually serving...

For this final episode of Stranger's Lifemottos I'm going to dive into my personal lifemotto. 'Just do it and enjoy' It might sounds really easy, but for me, it wasn't. As a control freak and perfectionist, I didn't allow myself to be in a space of discovery, because that meant risking being seen trying (or even worse, failing). This quote became something more than a sente...

The last stranger that I got to meet was Vincent, an American engineering student traveling through Europe. He told me about one of his life mottos that his mom used to remind him of: 'You can have everything in life, just not all at the same time.' This quote is a form of reassurance at times when you feel behind or unsuccessful. It shifts your focus to what you already have. There will a...

Today, I share the story of how Adnan and I met. A Bosnian bus driver that took me under his wing. Although the language barrier made it difficult to communicate, through a mix of hand gestures, google translate and music, we made it work. Adnan told me how he had spent years delaying his dreams, one of them being to become a bus driver. Until one day he realised that decades had flown by and he n...

A new week, a new stranger, a new life motto. In this episode I get to share Janien's story. An engineering student recovering from burn-out, who felt like she couldn't live up to the expectations that were set for her and the ones she set for herself. The lessons she learned over the past few years reflect her life motto: ''The only thing you must do in life is die.'' It m...

In today's episode, I share the stories of a French comedian duo called Bonne Pioche. We will dive into the life motto of Tom: ''It is not the things that are difficult why we do not dare to try, it is us who do not dare to try who make things difficult.'' Tom made me realise how many times we choose to put things off or not try at all just because of our inner resistance. We p...

For this new chapter of Complexity of Contrast, I asked complete strangers about their life mottos. The first stranger was Poppy, a Thai circus artist whom I met back in France. At the time, I did not know this question would turn into a project or that it would lead to the most insightful conversations. It is time to tell Poppy's story through his life motto: ''There is no book, so do...

When was the last time you asked yourself why you wanted to reach the goal that you're pursuing? We're taught to be so goal-oriented that we lose sight of our true intentions. In today's episode, I discuss how shifting my focus from the goal itself to my 'why' has changed my perspective. Identifying your 'why' is essential for you to set reachable, rational and meaningf...

We are not particularly afraid to try, we are afraid of what might happen if we do. We trick ourselves into thinking that it is safer not to have tried, than to risk being seen failing or exposing our weakness. Nevertheless, the art of trying means more than just failing or succeeding, it tells us something about who we want to become. Therefore, trying is always worth pursuing, even if the chance...

In this episode, I discuss the relationship I used to have with creating. From being so self-critical that I completely stopped creating art to now slowly starting to enjoy the process again. The struggle was never truly about creating itself; it was the beliefs that I had attached to it that were holding me back. Now, I am starting to rewrite my inner narrative in order to develop a healthy relat...

In hard times, when everything seems to fall apart, it is difficult to keep going. It seems easier to just give up instead of continuing to push forward. You face resistance with every step you take, but what if you decide to not let that hold you back? Maybe this is the preparation you need in order to achieve your goal or to overcome certain thought patterns. There is something out there for you...

In today's episode I give a reintroduction of the podcast. After months of traveling, I have developed new values and ideas that I will share from now on. So welcome once again to the Complexity of Contrast. A podcast that lets you embrace all the different aspects of your identity. Together we can embrace our inner contrasts.

Maybe the most frustrating thing we go through in life is the in-between phase. A period where you have started to shed your old self, but still can't quite see where you are going. This discomfort is of greater importance than some might think. It is not the peaks or the valleys that make us grow; the real change happens in the transition phase.