Prototype Yourself

Interactions are the most precious find of change in our times that I can think of. This is why it is crucial to understand the most important aspects of a valuable and respectful way to communicate, be it via online channels or face to face. We all have our own interpretations of what we say and what we mean by it. And in order to make sense of words in the same way we will experiment with the most profound way of making sure everybody is on the same page: feedback.

Want to reinvent Christmas? Then this episode is for you. At the end of the year we have to main topics that fill all our conversations. One: so stressful, I have such a long to do list it won't even fit on my smartphone. Two: the most peaceful time of the year where everything is so calm. Why is it that we have this extreme opinions about this time of the year and how did this evolve over the years from being an excited chid to being a stressed adult? We will reflect on the things that change when we grow up and what this might do to our emotional state especially around Christmas and new years eve.

It's winter time and who hasn't heard about winter depression, when it's dark and cold outside? Or is it just me? The next minute I am laughing out loud having a great time with my friends. How does this work that our emotional state can switch from one extreme to the other in such a short time frame? And what makes these extremes happen? With this episode I'll give you a simple tool how you can create your own emotional (heart) rate monitor and figure out what or who makes you feel like on a rollercoaster at some points in time.

Who tells you he or she has never been lying is already betraying you. Why is a lie so much easier to be told than the truth but so much harder to be lived by? This episodes touches upon the bigger sins in our daily lives and encourages each individual to be aware and sensible for truth and honesty by letting go of the easy controlling and protecting perspective to the open, honest and unsure perspective

Does self-love exist and if so, why should we care? Can we love other people when we don't love ourselves and is there this one golden recipe that might guide us to our own self-fulfilling prophecy we wish for? Money laundering self-help books, coaches and guides have definitely confused us more than every and put some pressure on us finding fulfilment in everything we do. But is there maybe some truth in some parts of it? Let's see and give it a try.

Attracting things, having the right vibes drawing things in. Why is it that some people make you feel different when they walk in? You don’t "feel" weak people, but strong people make you feel prickling, or nervous, or even uncomfortable.When you start to think of yourself as a confident lucky and entitled person you will attract things with your energy.Whether we are doing it knowingly or unknowingly, every second, we are acting as human magnets sending out our thoughts and emotions and attracting back more of what we have put out. But how can you define the core of your attraction? This is where we will start off today and strengthen our strength in tiny steps during the next sprint.

What's the definition of "being normal" or "playing by the rules"? Are those relevant and am I actually a role on this game or can I not simply create my own rules and stay myself? And if so, how do I create new rules and how will my friends, family and other people then see myself? Will they understand and accept my rules? This episode is about identifying social norms and rules, accepting them as a framework that gives us stability and order but not as an obligation for us to stick to and blindly follow. We will talk about somewhat concrete examples how to not play by the rules and why this might be uncomfortable but so much more honest and real for your life.

Who doesn't know the one letter that stays on the desk for weeks, unopened. The dishes in the sink, the running shoes that still have the price tag on. Shirking. Small things that seem like huge mountains in front of us. But why don't we simply do it? What psychological phenomenon hinders us from getting through with it? We will be challenging our subconscious intentionally by giving us the chance to get things done every single day for the next two weeks by focusing on one task each day that needs to be done without giving us the freedom to choose and reprioritise and think about the pros and cons of not doing it. But by simply doing it.

Don’t overanalyse, go with the flow! Easier said than done. How to cope with these situations when you have to wait for a decision and are not in control of the turning point? Breathing might help, but what when these situations last longer than a few minutes? Days, weeks even? Learn to put your mind on other aspects of your present life, don't let one situation influence all aspects of your life and appreciate the time you get to leap, because the net will appear.

A picture speaks more than 1000 words. But does it necessarily talk the truth? How do you wish to be pictured? How do you represent yourself, what are you showing, hiding, faking and when do you feel that a photography is actually showing the real you? This challenge will help us to get more aware of what pictures can express on a deeper level than on Instagram. Image comes from imagine, so imagine yourself from a new perspective each day for the next sprint.

What do you expect from life? What do you expect from yourself? When is it expectation setting because you feel passionate about it and believe in it and when do you build up these expectations in your head because you think society would appreciate this behaviour and when is it actually an outside set expectation? How many things in your life are duties and how many things do you do because they fulfilled you? This challenge will help you t find out how to distinguish different types of expectations and which ones you really need to fulfil and take action on now.

This episode is not about words, pictures or seeing reason, it's about the ability of not to think, explain and make sense. Instead we will give our powerful emotional brain the chance to be active, to feel, be present and to let go of control. We will define love without words and learn what it means to feel memories, experiences and finally love for yourself and for others. This challenge is quite tough because the goal is not to get out of your comfort zone and take an outside-in perspective, the goal is to connect with a part of yourself that you cannot control and demand to do what you want. But if you can give your emotional brain the time and space to be active, your logical brain can rest, recharge its batteries and then take you on that journey what I call "to find out who we are".

Understand how daily questions - and especially active questions can be used to increase individual effectiveness and build engagement. We tend to blame the environment when we don't feel engaged, but we are part of the equation and the only ones who can be proactively changing our own behaviour. Because 99% of problems don't come from the outside. The arise from the inside. What you need is courage, humility and discipline because holding up a mirror to yourself is not easy. Because you can’t blame the person who wrote the question.

The crazy thing is that we would rather do the wrong things right than the right things wrong. Which is exactly the opposite of having the growth mindset.· Adding a fun factor and some playfulness to an otherwise serious situation can lift the quality of both life and work situations. This episode helps you to take different roles when you are in a decision-making situation, without having only one right and wrong path, but multiple perspectives which you can all try out. Because in each of your decisions you can play a new role.

Being a prototype means you need to be your own minimal loveable product. You are your product and you are your product. This is a huge challenge because you need to satisfy your own expectations. Never possible. But the first step towards accepting this feeling of never being complete or perfect is to know yourself. Self-awareness and how others perceive us is therefor the first challenge we will go through in the next two weeks.

A short introduction to the reason of why I started this podcast, what we will do throughout the next episodes and the are of prototyping. Music provided by APL Publishing.