Or, what am I missing from my two years on Gili Air. I have lived in Belgium since 2008, and in January 2020, just before the pandemic, I took a break on a small Indonesian island called Gili Air. …

Self-confidence can be a genuine or performed. — The good There is a type of self-confidence that is quiet. It exists for its own sake — it doesn’t serve a particular purpose. It can’t be profoundly damaged by what people say. It doesn’t feel the need to defend itself, and insults won’t easily provoke it. It doesn’t fade…

Fulfillment is the by-product of serving a life purpose. — Imagine you appear on a kayak in the middle of a misty lake. You don’t know why you are there. You don’t know if you got there or whether you just appeared there. There’s nobody to ask. What do you do? Some people just wait there for something to happen…

Hint: you have to get, figuratively, in the water. — This is a note to overthinkers who busy themselves too much with what’s wrong with them. And in particular to those who got disorientated and became obsessed with the map. I know because I was one of them. And in some ways, I still am. The last few years I…

What to do instead. — “Positive affirmations” are self-talk techniques. They are statements like “I am strong”, “I am grateful, and “I’m free to create the life I desire” meant to be repeated daily. People who use affirmations aim to reverse the limiting belief “I am not enough.” Affirmations usually come as recordings to be…

We all have agreed to beliefs that don’t serve us. They are nonsense. — At some point in time, we all have adopted damaging beliefs about ourselves such as we aren’t smart enough, not funny enough, not good-looking. Not only are these beliefs damaging, but they are also profoundly untrue. We agreed to them usually at an early age, in a stressful situation when…

Or even move permanently. Looking for a short escape from Bali? Preferring not to stay there for Nyepi? Or you’ve had too much of Canggu and want a calm place for healing and inspiration? …

Contrary to your knee-jerk reaction, genuine boredom is a blessing. Boredom is natural, especially during a pandemic when most people lack external stimuli in locked down cities and deserted islands. Gili Air is no exception. When I was visiting as a tourist the beach bars were buzzing with music and…

I chose Gili Air as much as its “Giliness” chose me. — Every (normal) year thousands of visitors come to our beautiful island. Some get bored after a few days. But some love it so much that they start a life here. So, what is it we found here that others didn’t? 1. The island’s space-time continuum is distorted. The island is 1.3km at its widest point and walking…