thank you I hope you’re feeling relaxed
I don’t dare to tell anything after such
an emotional talk but I hope you’re
feeling relaxed and I was wondering
tonight if you came over to hear maybe a
lot of people had to rush to get in time
here right yeah did you feel stressed
like oh my god and I’m gonna make it yes
so why did you do it I mean why didn’t
you stay at home and just do nothing
right it’s it’s easier no but you’re
here and I want to trigger you with one
quote from a French philosopher from a
long time ago 17th century
his name is Blaise Pascal and this quote
goes as follows he says all misery from
mankind stems from the fact that human
beings are unable to sit quietly in the
room I repeat all misery from mankind
stems from the fact that human beings
are unable to sit quietly in their rooms
17th century and I can imagine suppose I
didn’t tell you the century maybe you
would have agree with me that this quote
fits wonderfully well into our society
because that’s what we do if we meet
each other and you ask people how are
you how are you doing what do we tell is
that fine well we always say fine even
we’re not fine but we say fine but then
we say well I’m busy I’m rather I’m
really busy in fact and that struck me
because until the 8th until the end of
the 60s many magazines such as Time
magazine predicted that one of the major
problems of 21st century would that be
of boredom really boredom they thought
well labor gets autumn
Electronics enter the household and
people starts to work less hours then oh
I pushed the wrong button
that’s the right one and people start to
work less hours because they have
vacation days they have weekends so what
will these people do in a 21st century
with all the hours of free time but look
at us we’re 2016 we’re swamped with
bucket lists with career opportunities
with nursing our children through
creative and successful young beings and
we want to deploy ourself we want to
realize ourselves and this is an
interesting paradox isn’t it we work on
an average basis less hours than our
grandparents that we have more to do
that’s fascinating
we work less and we have more to do we
have more free time and we sleep less
because if you compare it to 150 years
ago on an average basis we sleep for
about one hour and a half less than 150
years ago so what happened what did we
do from 150 years until today well if
people are in a hurry if we are leading
visualize what do we do we are looking
for what is called a peaceful mind a
balanced and that’s what many people do
today right we’re in a rush and we’re
told that we need to find a balance well
when I learned from a German philosopher
Martin Heidegger is his name is that the
most difficult thing in the world that’s
typical for philosophers the most
typical or the most difficult thing in
the world is to pose the right question
because the way you frame a question is
determinate for the answer you will give
so the question is what is our problem
today are we indeed looking after a
balance we lost somewhere or
are we obsessed with the idea that
leading a good life means that you have
to be in balance so what actually is the
question what is our problem today why
are we complaining about the fact that
we have so many things to do and at the
same time we keep on doing them so let
me return one more time to bless a
Pascal one of my favorites
Pascal already in the 17th century knew
very well how human desire works because
his observation is so interesting he
said look people are complaining about
the fact that their lives are too busy
but if you ask them just simply do
nothing the only thing they want to do
is to run away out of that room because
people are so bad in doing nothing while
doing nothing maybe some sort of fantasy
a lot of people have and at the same
time once you’re in the midst of it it
feels like awkward like oh my god
there’s nothing to do where can I go to
now let’s get back to our time 2016 what
do we do if we ask the question what
about the time what is our relationship
to time most of us most of us work for
about 320 days a year their butts off
they do as much as they can as efficient
as they can leaving them with 40 days in
which they try to do nothing and then
there are seduced by all kinds of
advertisements from vacation resorts
selling them like this is the whole of
paradise you don’t have to do anything
just lay down next to the swimming pool
having your cocktail and don’t do
anything well maybe could be interesting
but what I find interesting is that
while people are lying next to the
swimming pool in all these vacation
resorts
many professionals are being full-time
Lee paid to keep people busy next to the
swimming pool because once they’re lying
there for two days
they’re so utterly bored I think that’s
the wrong button again I have two
choices and I made the wrong one okay
there I am restlessness I think we have
to make a choice either we stop
complaining and we just go on because
apparently if it’s so wonderful what we
do why should we stop and if it would be
so terrible why don’t we just stop doing
things because if it would all be awful
why would we do it now
Pascal’s conclusion was all misery stems
from the fact etcetera etcetera that’s a
rather negative conclusion I try to look
at it from a different angle why not try
to look at the way we and that’s what I
call restlessness and the way we are
restlessly seeking for making something
of our life because that’s one of the
fundamental reasons why we are unable to
sit quietly in that room we want to make
something of our life well what would be
the worst thing that we have too much to
do because we’re loved to do so many
things and there’s so many things to
choose all the other way around that
there’s nothing to do that you get up
every morning and every weekend and ask
yourself oh my god what am I going to
doing this weekend
there’s no TEDx on Saturday so it’s
tonight what are you going to do
tomorrow and on Sunday and the next
weekend and the weekend after so my plea
is not to do nothing
my plea is not to get imbalance my
please try to follow your passion try to
lead a life in which your passions are
at the center of it try to find an
activity where your passions are at the
center and then I don’t think you need
to find imbalance because the balance is
in what you do so what I wish to all of
you is lead a passion
and restless life another boring one
thank you
[Applause]
you [Applause]
I don’t dare to tell anything after such
an emotional talk but I hope you’re
feeling relaxed and I was wondering
tonight if you came over to hear maybe a
lot of people had to rush to get in time
here right yeah did you feel stressed
like oh my god and I’m gonna make it yes
so why did you do it I mean why didn’t
you stay at home and just do nothing
right it’s it’s easier no but you’re
here and I want to trigger you with one
quote from a French philosopher from a
long time ago 17th century
his name is Blaise Pascal and this quote
goes as follows he says all misery from
mankind stems from the fact that human
beings are unable to sit quietly in the
room I repeat all misery from mankind
stems from the fact that human beings
are unable to sit quietly in their rooms
17th century and I can imagine suppose I
didn’t tell you the century maybe you
would have agree with me that this quote
fits wonderfully well into our society
because that’s what we do if we meet
each other and you ask people how are
you how are you doing what do we tell is
that fine well we always say fine even
we’re not fine but we say fine but then
we say well I’m busy I’m rather I’m
really busy in fact and that struck me
because until the 8th until the end of
the 60s many magazines such as Time
magazine predicted that one of the major
problems of 21st century would that be
of boredom really boredom they thought
well labor gets autumn
Electronics enter the household and
people starts to work less hours then oh
I pushed the wrong button
that’s the right one and people start to
work less hours because they have
vacation days they have weekends so what
will these people do in a 21st century
with all the hours of free time but look
at us we’re 2016 we’re swamped with
bucket lists with career opportunities
with nursing our children through
creative and successful young beings and
we want to deploy ourself we want to
realize ourselves and this is an
interesting paradox isn’t it we work on
an average basis less hours than our
grandparents that we have more to do
that’s fascinating
we work less and we have more to do we
have more free time and we sleep less
because if you compare it to 150 years
ago on an average basis we sleep for
about one hour and a half less than 150
years ago so what happened what did we
do from 150 years until today well if
people are in a hurry if we are leading
visualize what do we do we are looking
for what is called a peaceful mind a
balanced and that’s what many people do
today right we’re in a rush and we’re
told that we need to find a balance well
when I learned from a German philosopher
Martin Heidegger is his name is that the
most difficult thing in the world that’s
typical for philosophers the most
typical or the most difficult thing in
the world is to pose the right question
because the way you frame a question is
determinate for the answer you will give
so the question is what is our problem
today are we indeed looking after a
balance we lost somewhere or
are we obsessed with the idea that
leading a good life means that you have
to be in balance so what actually is the
question what is our problem today why
are we complaining about the fact that
we have so many things to do and at the
same time we keep on doing them so let
me return one more time to bless a
Pascal one of my favorites
Pascal already in the 17th century knew
very well how human desire works because
his observation is so interesting he
said look people are complaining about
the fact that their lives are too busy
but if you ask them just simply do
nothing the only thing they want to do
is to run away out of that room because
people are so bad in doing nothing while
doing nothing maybe some sort of fantasy
a lot of people have and at the same
time once you’re in the midst of it it
feels like awkward like oh my god
there’s nothing to do where can I go to
now let’s get back to our time 2016 what
do we do if we ask the question what
about the time what is our relationship
to time most of us most of us work for
about 320 days a year their butts off
they do as much as they can as efficient
as they can leaving them with 40 days in
which they try to do nothing and then
there are seduced by all kinds of
advertisements from vacation resorts
selling them like this is the whole of
paradise you don’t have to do anything
just lay down next to the swimming pool
having your cocktail and don’t do
anything well maybe could be interesting
but what I find interesting is that
while people are lying next to the
swimming pool in all these vacation
resorts
many professionals are being full-time
Lee paid to keep people busy next to the
swimming pool because once they’re lying
there for two days
they’re so utterly bored I think that’s
the wrong button again I have two
choices and I made the wrong one okay
there I am restlessness I think we have
to make a choice either we stop
complaining and we just go on because
apparently if it’s so wonderful what we
do why should we stop and if it would be
so terrible why don’t we just stop doing
things because if it would all be awful
why would we do it now
Pascal’s conclusion was all misery stems
from the fact etcetera etcetera that’s a
rather negative conclusion I try to look
at it from a different angle why not try
to look at the way we and that’s what I
call restlessness and the way we are
restlessly seeking for making something
of our life because that’s one of the
fundamental reasons why we are unable to
sit quietly in that room we want to make
something of our life well what would be
the worst thing that we have too much to
do because we’re loved to do so many
things and there’s so many things to
choose all the other way around that
there’s nothing to do that you get up
every morning and every weekend and ask
yourself oh my god what am I going to
doing this weekend
there’s no TEDx on Saturday so it’s
tonight what are you going to do
tomorrow and on Sunday and the next
weekend and the weekend after so my plea
is not to do nothing
my plea is not to get imbalance my
please try to follow your passion try to
lead a life in which your passions are
at the center of it try to find an
activity where your passions are at the
center and then I don’t think you need
to find imbalance because the balance is
in what you do so what I wish to all of
you is lead a passion
and restless life another boring one
thank you
[Applause]
you [Applause]
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