Leonard Ng

Why You Fall Sick the Minute Your Vacation Begins

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Image by Benjamin Combs.
Image by Benjamin Combs.

It happens over and over again:

The work is done, the loose ends are tied up, and all your responsibilities have been handed over. You’ve been working extra hard and you’ve had to put in some extra hours over the last couple of weeks to get it all settled — but it’s all totally worth it, because now you’re on vacation!

And then you get sick.

You get a fever. Your nose drips. Your throat gets sore. Your allergies act up.

All you want to do is lie in bed and be grumpy all day.

This sucks.

If you’re one of those people with a tendency to get sick the moment you take a break from work, this post is for you.

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Don’t Force Things, Flow with Them (Part 3)

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Surfer at Sunrise
Image by Frank McKenna.
A Rhythmic World

Life on our planet is all about rhythm.

Everything oscillates: inbreath and outbreath, high tide and low tide, day and night, waking and sleeping.

Our hearts beat in rhythm. That’s what keeps us alive.

Rhythm is made up of rise and fall, activity and rest. Often we think only in terms of activity, measuring our days by what we’ve done; but rest is what shapes our actions and makes them meaningful, just as the pauses between notes allow us to make sense of music.

The same applies to our own energy.

Four Kinds of Energy

Energy is about much more than physical tiredness. Generally speaking we have four kinds of energy: physical energy, emotional energy, mental energy, and willpower.

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The Five Elements: A Systematic Approach to Holistic Living

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coloured journals
Image by Liz Weston.
A Comprehensive Approach to Personal Growth

Modern life is a pretty complicated bagful of kittens.

On the one hand, we’ve come to believe that there’s more to life than making money, having fun, raising a family, and staying out of trouble (or getting into trouble, if that’s what you prefer).

But on the other hand, there’s so much going on in life that we hardly know where to begin.

We might want to get every part of our lives running happily along and playing nicely together… but there just seems to be so much to consider. We have noble dreams of balance and fulfilment and harmony, but how can we keep track of it all?

That’s where five-element theory comes in. It’s a system I use to ensure that my days are meaningfully spent, and it works, too.

Basically, this is an old concept which uses the five classical elements as shorthand for the various aspects of life: Earth, Water, Air, Fire, and Void (or as I prefer to call it, Whitespace). Put together, these five cover just about every aspect of human growth and personal development.

If you’re anything like me, this approach will give you a framework that can help you shape your life more wisely and effectively than you ever thought possible.

Let’s get to it.

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