Friday, July 26, 2019

A world deadly sick of sugar. Rehab from my addiction.

Four weeks ago, my girlfriend sent me an already dated video of a live interview with the Medical Doctor Raymond Francis from Florida, USA. In 2002 he published his book "Never be sick again".

To be honest I am not a person who like all this kind of ‘how to get a better health’ movies, most of the time actually promoting a product or supplement. But it was short, I got it from my girlfriend so I watched and listened to it.

Clearly a man with a mission this Mr. Francis. A person who inspires and knows what he is talking about. Someone who for me shows many similarities with the passion, engagement and optimism my father always had and showed. Personalities with the gift to appeal to people out of their best intentions and from their own experiences to encourage others to live healthy or even more healthy and support them to enjoy that healthy lifestyle.

Yes, sure, Raymond Francis is kicking a kind of open door for many people, including me. I had heard something before but never really thought about how I, unconsciously and unintentionally, risked and played a game with my health. And he published this book already in 2002…? Well, better late than never so to say. Happy now I heard from it and being aware now, take things seriously.

I just did not pay attention and thought to myself that it was not so bad with my health. After all, I never took sugar in my coffee or tea, for example, and drank a lot of fruit juice with no added sugars, etc .. Enough rest and no stress anymore for about seven years already. Well done, at least I thought so.

And yes, due to my accident in 2010, I radically changed my lifestyle. On a daily basis I practice meditation, I exercise a lot by walking firmly with my dog for a few hours and doing yoga for about one hour. Up to now, never really sick. Still…

Francis' story woke me up more than I thought. I found some of his statements astonishing. For example, how only one teaspoon of sugar within two hours for a period of six to eight hours completely destroys the human body’s natural immune balance. Reduces it by 50% as he explains. Or that sugar has a much more harmful influence on your body than alcohol, drugs or smoking. Then the connections he makes with the influence, just say wide open the door, to a wide range of sicknesses and their symptoms.

After hearing his short story, I thought to myself that it was time to really start to pay attention to this. And starting my regular six-week alcohol-free fast again last July 1, I thought that was a good time to acutely stop with regard to sugar too. Something, at the moment, I can say I want to continue.

Indeed, maybe a simple decision but not yet done so easily. I really never thought to discover that I was more than super addicted to sugar. It was not just easy stopping as I without much problems regularly do with alcohol but worked out more to be a rehab. So yes maybe Francis also in this for me is right, to stop consuming sugar for me is much harder and more difficult than to stop drinking alcohol.

It’s easy to tell yourself I am the boss of my body but my body was just trying for a long time to trick me and get what it wanted (so far without success).

I have often written in my blogs that everything you give attention grows. To be honest I don't think it is even possible altogether to stop with sugar (on a zero percent level). It is really everywhere, yes nearly in every product you buy to consume, and not in the least quantities. My experience now is that the world simply is deadly sick with sugar. It is a more than bad poison.

Why it was an addiction to me (I can say now) became clear from the following personal experiences.

For a period of almost two weeks I felt more than tired. My desire for something with sugar (my children often call me a cookie monster) increased and I almost turned my house around to find something that contained sugar. A kind of playing tricky games between body and mind. Fortunately the games were unsuccessful and I stayed on track. But not so easily. Looking for sugar substitutes too. Well, I left that behind me very quickly. That literally "junk" is much more harmful and ... it doesn't solve anything to get rid of that sugar addiction.

Good that my girlfriend could not come to me for two weeks because of her work. My mood, normally always stable and good, changed drastically and I was a bit bad tempered on Skype and short in words and expressions. Happy for me my girlfriend saw and understood all of what happened to me. After all, she too had stepped into the sugar fast only a little less abruptly than me.

Nagging headaches, looked like the same I had during my burn-out period. And sometimes even chills. Extremely strange in the very warm climate here. Still, apparently my body had to get used to how to turn on the internal heater in a different way.

These phenomena are now almost over. Never thought that it would take so long for only ‘some’ sugar. I just gave away my stock, yes, I really had a lot of different juices, of packed fruit juices. The kind that show on the package to distract ‘no sugar added’ but who actually are full of this harmful stuff.

I have bought a blender and am now making my own juices from the very large and affordable range of fruit and vegetables that we find here on the local markets. It takes some time to get used to the new, actually real, taste again. Whoow, what a great difference. You literally taste nature again.

I feel good, even better, and have enough energy again.

And yes, I am not totally used yet. Sugar keeps ogling and saying 'NO' to that longing feeling is not always easy although it has been successful so far. And whether I will (still) never get sick? I'll just wait and see. That is actually not the main reason for me to skip sugar in my food. Also, not to lose weight.

It is more an ode to my temporary temple, my body, to be able to make optimal use of it for as long as possible. And for me, being sick once in a while is no more than a signal from my body that it still can compete with what made me unhealthy to become healthy again on its own. But if that fight isn't even necessary because of getting rid of this addiction... then I think you enjoy living life maybe even so much more.

Gangey Gruma (Frans Captijn)
Captijn InsightCatalyst in developing tranquility & in-sight to get in a sustainable way real connection, purpose, pleasure and flow in life, love, family, business, career and work again.


Friday, July 19, 2019

Show your difference by being your true Self.

Every person in the world is unique. Many times already I wrote about this phenomena. Every person has been born with a unique set of talents and gifts that makes him or her different. The meaning of truly living life is to share this uniqueness. You came to this world for a reason. Sharing your uniqueness is something else than what we call working. It is going with your flow. Something that makes the world and yourself finally the happiest.

For many of us it is hard to show their difference. All the systems we live in do not encourage us to show our difference. In society it looks to be better to be ‘invisible’ organized in booths, cupboards and drawers. Culture, religion, family expectations, education and so on, are some examples of how ‘locked up’ you can feel in making your own choices. They can be restrictive in sharing your true self.  
It is appreciated being part of a group. Following the, sometimes unwritten, rules. Not bothering around too much because that can be disturbing.

Being aware of being unique is an invitation to show and share that uniqueness. To show your difference. The only thing to do is feeling free to be your true Self. Isn’t that in fact your calling since birth?

Growing up every person has to deal with the adolescence period. Being a bit rebellious to find your personal way. Sometimes it is hard to go your own way and follow that calling if it is even possible in the circumstances you were born in.
Still, being an adult, it is a matter of listening to that inner child always available in yourself. Giving response to that inner call and, yes, maybe to be a rebellion again. Not following the patterns made for you to behave. This can be hard, maybe not even a struggle but sometimes a fight.

If you think of it, isn’t it worth to fight for your own identity?

Free yourself, trust yourself. Show your difference by being your true Self.
It makes the world, who is waiting for it, more colorful.

And if people around you start thinking, or even better start telling you, you act a bit differently or even strange... please think you are on the right path. 

Gangey Gruma (Frans Captijn)
Captijn InsightCatalyst in developing tranquility & in-sight to get in a sustainable way real connection, purpose, pleasure and flow in life, love, family, business, career and work again.

Friday, July 12, 2019

Employers should be less concerned about diplomas and certificates

Recently, a couple of times, I have been in contact with people who wanted to make a career move. A combination of contributing to an organization in their change, growth and or development, and at the same time an impulse for their own personal growth and development. A process, or rather a project, that in my opinion should always go hand in hand for the best results.

Why I call it a project is because it is good for people and organizations to say goodbye to each other after a while. That keeps both fresh.
Now that I write this, I remember a conversation with a trainee in communication sciences who once wanted to work for our organization. As a boss I told her at her introduction just before she got her job, that I hoped that she would work somewhere else within five years as a business card for our organization. At first sight she turned to be a bit surprised to hear that from me, and… she followed it. Now I dare to say that both she and the organization had positive effects of it.

Many people fall into the routine of continuing to do things they once liked doing (and not really like anymore because the impulse for wanted growth is over already for a long time). They earn their money with it as an encouragement to continue the work they are doing. No longer getting any satisfaction and challenge out of it any more. That’s unfortunate for two sides. Have the guts to change. Understand that change is growth.

Back to my topic for this week. The people I talked about in the beginning saw it as a problem to serve an organization (and themselves) because they did not have all the required papers and diplomas mentioned in the job description. And that experience this week was the trigger for my blog. The frustration of bureaucracy.

What about required certificates and diplomas? Employers, in many situations, should have the guts and courage to deal with that a little more lightly. Guts? Yes. As a boss you may have to explain something to your Works Council and / or Labor Union. And still ... can’t you do that if you believe in the quality of people, their passion and mission?

Many organizations feel so bound to all kinds of rules (or find it easy that there are) that the flexibility to attract outstanding people without all the required papers and diplomas has gone. Afraid to be addressed or, for good reason, to deviate from the fixed pattern.

In various organizations in which I worked as an end responsible manager I took all those set diploma and certificate requirements sometimes not too literally.

The Polish poet and noble prize winner Wislawa Szymborska (1923-2012) once wrote a surprising poem about writing apparently in bureaucracy in relation to applying for a job: “Writing a Curriculum Vita”.

Be honest. In a new job, isn't it much and much more about the match between the deeper mission of the company and the personal mission of a candidate? About inspiration, talents, connection, affection, personal background, enthusiasm, resilience, life experiences and thus already acquired life wisdom and genuinely desired growth?

Indeed, as Szymborska says so nicely, CVs are requested that are written as if the applicant has never talked to him- or herself and has always looked and stayed far away from him- or herself. Are this the kind of persons you are really looking for?

A good diploma does not say anything about how valuable a (new) employee really is or can be for your organization. You can often get so much more for the same money (or even at the start a little less). And, because of the inner motivation of this type of candidate’s management is less needed. This people are of the type learning by doing and are in the mood of exploring on their own.

As a company or organization, don’t you get much more sustainability and motivation if your diploma requirements were not taken too literally? I have great experiences with it.
After all, as a manager aren’t you responsible for the quality of your staff? If you have the courage and especially feeling and engagement with your business, you dare to deviate. In addition, if you believe in your own qualities, it is also easy to explain your different choice to the outside world.

Gangey Gruma (Frans Captijn)

Captijn InsightCatalyst in developing tranquility & in-sight to get in a sustainable way real connection, purpose, pleasure and flow in life, love, family, business, career and work again.



Friday, July 5, 2019

It is not even possible to unfriend somebody. Ever thought about this?

A few weeks ago, my daughter told me that she just discovered a Dutch lady who is living in my neighborhood here in Thailand "unfriend" her. What even a crazy word if you think about it.

Because I had a small collision with that woman’s female partner, now she has broken the "friendship" with my daughter. How social, "social" media can be that you can do this invisibly.

My daughter was a bit surprised about it. I do not know the phenomenon "unfriend" because I have said goodbye to all those "social" media for years already. So whatever happens there does not bother me anymore. It supports me in keeping peace of mind.

The question occurred to me if it is really possible to unfriend someone. Of course, I know that that is just a matter of easy and without even notifying the other person pushing a button. And yet ... do you really say “Goodbye, you are not my friend anymore” to someone?

I have had more than a thousand "friends" on every individual social media that I was once connected to. A few weeks before I said goodbye to all this social media like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, I posted a few times that I was going to stop with them. Actually, that decision was not easy to fulfill. It seems to me that all this social media likes to see you coming, but I don't like you to go at all.

I didn't get many responses from all my "friends". Indeed, a number but not of the whole large group of so-called friends. Incidentally, that also applies to all kinds of groups and clubs of which I was a part of during my business- and private life. A handful, and I literally mean that, real friends are still left. "Out of sight, out of the heart," my mother sometimes said. And I discovered it is really true. Mind you, this of course has also to do with me.

And from that experience back to that to “unfriend” again in this blog. Were or are those people who "unfriend" you really your friend? What is actually a friend? What is friendship? 

Wikipedia states:
Friendship is a relationship of mutual (generally non-sexual) affection between people. Friendship is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than association.
Although there are many forms of friendship, some of which may vary from place to place, certain characteristics are present in many types of such bonds. Such characteristics include affection; kindness, (love), virtue, sympathy, empathy, honesty, altruism, loyalty, generosity, forgiveness, mutual understanding and compassion, enjoyment of each other’s company, trust and the ability to be oneself, express one's feelings to others, and make mistakes without fear of judgment from the friend. Friendship is an essential aspect of relationship building skills.”

And if you take a moment to look at these beautiful sentences, you can conclude that unfriending is not possible at all. A person who “Unfriend” you after all never had a real friendship with you. It was often only about ‘what can or will be in it for me?’ and/or wanting to belong to something or a group that no longer fits. Unconditional? All these wonderful words mentioned under the meaning of friendship by Wikipedia? Not true! This ‘friendship’ was just a sham, fake. Be happy the person who unfriend you secretly let you know now because he or she looked in his or her mirror. The friendship is not over. There never was any friendship at all.

And if someone’s opinion or attitude to life does not appeal any longer to you, or the other person lives too far away from you… by unfriending you show the other person this friendship from the start actually always had nil value for you.

Suffering about this or this kind of thoughts that will keep you from sleeping? Don’t be stupid. Let it go. And ... well as the passed away French-Dutch singer and actorRamses Shaffy sang so beautifully ... Let me! Let me go my own way. 
Note: Interested to listen to this song? The link to You Tube offers you the song with English subtitles.

I am going my own way for years now. And if "friends" no longer appreciate this om me…? Take the chance to unfriend a friendship to show this friendship for you actually never was really there. It doesn't even have to be in a sneaky way.

My neighbor often talks about her Facebook 'friends'. I sometimes have to laugh a bit about this. In practice it worked out at the time she really needed them, they were not available for her to help...

Be proud and happy with that handful of people that you can really regard as friends.

Gangey Gruma (Frans Captijn)

Captijn InsightCatalyst in developing tranquility & in-sight to get in a sustainable way real connection, purpose, pleasure and flow in life, love, family, business, career and work again.