April has been a month of big (and small) emotions. On the photo, it’s Judith, founder of the Content Society, who got emotional when we gave her flowers as a gift for the wonderful community she has created. The photo represents the emotional rollercoaster I had been through during this month. What made me cry and laugh, and left me in despair and with joy in April?
#1 I had a fight with my husband
…which left me emotionally drained. I was so hurt. I felt like slapping him. I wanted to scream out all my disappointment. But then there was our son. He stood between us. And I stopped myself and swallowed down my anger. After my husband left, I managed to say to our son “I am sorry that we fought.” And he said: “Fighting never works.” He is so right. I had sleepless nights during the following days and felt awful.
Eventually, I relaxed and reflected: Why was I hurt? How could I have reacted better? How can I act now to make things better?
Our coach asked us once during a session: Does this feeling come from an old experience? Now I reflected and thought, yes, probably it came from that old experience of never actively being included into decisions by my parents, which had left me feeling helpless and not valued. I felt in peace again.
#2 An ideathon that makes things messy and then clear
I participated at the Jumpp AI ideathon to work on my mental health platform Gesund in MeinerStadt (“Healthy in MyCity”). I asked Isa to join the team ideathon, since her platform supporting parents with children with disabilities, fitted well with the requirements of the ideation: an idea that would tackle a social challenge using artificial intelligence.
I knew Isa from Michaela Schächner’s business plan coaching group I had joined in January. We had the same idea for a different topic: a platform that would guide users through the jungle of informations and support services. Isa wanted this for parents with children with a heart defect, and I wanted this for mental health.
After Isa had read my business plan draft, she was excited and messaged me that she would love to collaborate with me! Isa has a energetic and convincing personality. I thought it would be great to have her as a companion, since my other companions lacked time for regular exchange.
During the ideathon we were guided through the design thinking process by a mentor. We were advised to decide for a topic. Isa proposed that everyone should have one vote and weren’t allowed to vote for one’s own topic. We decided quickly for Isa’s topic. However, I did not feel happy with the choice. Isa offered me to swap the topic and to choose mine instead. However, I didn’t wanted to appear selfish and also wanted to respect the decision. But I felt could confused. Rationally, I thought it didn’t matter which topic we would work on, as the technical solution would be the same. But I noticed I felt energetically drained, especially, when we continued to work together on the lean canvas. I managed to verbalise my discomfort in a calm way to the group, and I gave myself the patience and time to family figure out the root cause, while continuing to contribute to the the workshop.
#I had to disappoint somebody, too
What else happened?
- I turned 48
- I traveled a lot
- I booked coach Katrin Diller to turn my flat into a flat that can host guests 😊
- I walked 3h from Biberach to Ingoldingen to join the 80th birthday of my father-in-law
- I biked 5h from Frankfurt to Wiesbaden to visit my friends
- I sailed on the Frankfurt Main River for the first time in this year – it was quite rough!
- I participated at an JCI Senator Conference for the first time – check out this quick article on the inspiring bike tour I participated during the Conference.
- I joined the first live event of The Content Society. So amazing to met people you know from your Facebook group.
- I thought a lot about what my friend Ana said: “This war is disgusting! They should negotiate! In the end, they have to negotiate anyways. Why not negotiate now?” I tried to find studies about peace and on how to end wars.
