question time 6

Which is worse, failing or never trying?

According to general knowledge based on popular self-help books failing is better as you learn more and won´t regret later to not have tried harder. I´m not so sure though.
I do believe in trying as many things as possible but failing badly is not automatically a good thing. Sometimes it might be nicer and more inspiring to dream about the "what ifs" than to cope with failure.



When was the last time you listened to the sound of your own breathing?
As I´m not one of those people who is constantly listening to music I do that fairly often.
But I have to be careful, if I do this too consciously I sometimes scare myself with silly thoughts like "Is it really a reflex to breath? I think I have just forgotten how this works...shit". Does anyone know this too? That automatisms suddenly become near impossible only because you concentrate on them?



What’s something you know you do differently than most people?
First reaction:plenty! But maybe that is just my own arrogance and I´m probably not as different as I want to believe. One thing I do different is my marriage - haven´t come across a long distance relationship in it´s ninth year so far. And I fold shirts differently for putting them in the wardrobe.

What does ‘The American Dream’ mean to you?

As I´m not American and don´t really care about rags to riches stories it doesnt mean a lot to me. But, I remember a funny little story: In school we got asked during an English lesson what the American Dream means. I had heard it before and eagerly raised my hand " It describes the wish of many Vietnamese during the war to live a Western and rich lifestyle". My teacher was very suprised to hear this unusual replay - I had heard about it in the Musical "Miss Saigon".



Would you rather be a worried genius or a joyful simpleton?

I identy with the worried genius so obviously have dreams about being a joyful simpleton. (Modesty would probably ask me to put a smiley after this sentence now but I won´t ...no)



If you could instill one piece of advice in a newborn baby’s mind, what advice would you give?

This too shall pass