Even when you are on the right road, you’ll be run over if you stand still

A neat saying. And yet it seems to contradict that other pearl of wisdom, that of unwinding, taking time for yourself and concentrating on your own emotions and desires.

That is because the verb ‘to stand still’ means different things to different people.

Standing still in your own development means no self-reflection, taking everything as it comes, learning nothing. But here the word concerns a different ‘standing still’. Here, standing still means: to take time out. To refrain, for a moment, from reacting to each and every signal, to each and every demand.

So it is a very conscious action, a moment of reflection: am I doing the right thing for myself, for now and for later? A wake-up call in your daily existence.

Do you make sure you get regular wake-up calls?

Some people only open their mouths in a meeting when they need to yawn