Stan Dimitrov

Writing Challenge - day 24 - What is success?

What is success?Success is something you are in full control of. From the very definition of it up to the point where you decide if you reached it or not. Every person has to define what does success means to him or her. Thanks to societal pressures and expectations,

Writing Challenge - day 22 - Online vs Offline

Today's word or I should say the phrase is online vs offline. As I have found no old notes on that topic, I began thinking about how to approach it and what to write. I spent a good amount time of Googling that phrase in a search for inspiration. As

Writing Challenge - day 21 - Explore

It is critical for the emotional development of every child to explore the world on their own terms. That's one of the main concepts of the famous British pediatrician and psychoanalyst - Donald Winnicott. Before going into more details on how I try to apply that concept with my kid,

Writing Challenge - day 19 - What can wait?

The lesson you are trying to teach your kid can wait. When the child misbehaves in some way, your intervention with rational explanations can wait until the emotions settle down. Let's break down the process how it usually happens and how I try to change it for myself. The typical

Writing Challenge - day 18 - But

There is no one to blame but me. If we could all try to fully understand and embrace that perspective. If we could all take responsibility instead of handing it quickly as a hot potato to the nearest person. If we could all overcome our ego and take the hit

Writing Challenge - day 17 - Focus

The first thing that came to my mind when I read today's word "FOCUS" was this article by James Clear. The idea expressed in this short and well-written article is that instead of focusing on a precise goal, you need to focus on setting up the right system for you.

Writing Challenge - day 16 - Overthinking

We don't need perfection. We need to move forward. There is a 100% chance that you will never get the whole picture and every detail. The longer you wait and plan, the more things change and the less you know. A couple of examples of overthinking New year, new you

Writing Challenge - day 15 - Anger

Anger is an emotion common to everyone. It is something we've been experiencing since the dawn of humankind. Because it is something we all share, our perspective of it continues to shift in the wrong direction. We tend to accept that being angry is normal. But it is not. It

Writing Challenge - day 12 - Distraction

There are numerous distractions and we often fall prey to them. That is the general narrative in most productivity books, articles, podcasts, and media focused on that topic. Although I agree with it, some nuances are often neglected. Distractions vary from person to person If you are a writer, social

Writing Challenge - day 11 - Year 2500

March 7th, 2500. We haven't been outside for nearly a year already. I so want to go out and explore the lands that were once beautiful and green. They are still fascinating to me, but from the pictures I've seen, it's nothing like before. I want to venture out and

Writing Challenge - day 10 - Why

Why? Why? Why?... The question that children love to ask literally up to the point of the mental collapse of their parents. Even if you are not a parent, you know what I'm talking about. Why do I love the question "why" and do think it's foundational for the child's

Writing Challenge - day 9 - Enough

The most frequent excuse I hear is "I don't have enough time". I don't have enough time to readI don't have enough time to excerciseI don't have enough time to work on my side projectI don't have enough time to learn a new thingI don't have enough time to get

Writing Challenge - day 8 - Talent

Talent is not relevant for you. Erase that word from your vocabulary as it is often used as a part of an excuse. People often say I don't have a talent for that, but what they mean - I don't want to put in the hard work to master whatever

Writing Challenge - day 7 - Role model

We, as humans, learn through observation. Especially for young kids, this is their main source of knowledge on how to navigate the world. It's by no surprise why the parents are the most influential role models for every child. To put it differently, having a role model is a critical

Writing Challenge - day 6 - Quit

What a coincidence the today's word to be quit. Earlier today I was watching a documentary covering one of the most extreme triathlons - Patagonman. To give you an idea, a participant needs to cover a 3.8 km swim in the Aysén Fjord (10-12C water temperature), a 177 km

Writing Challenge - day 5 - Expectations

Expectations and the enemy of a happy life. Think of your expectations as pink (or any other color) glasses that YOU made and proudly wear all the time. You never take them off and you see the world only through them. That's not the world, that's your biased view of

Writing Challenge - day 4 - Time

It takes time! If I can teach my kids only one thing - that will be it. There is no overnight success, it takes a lot of time and a tremendous amount of work to be successful. Why would I pick that lesson among many other things to teach them?

Writing Challenge - day 3 - Observe

So you have a Ph.D. in .... You studied for 10+ years the topic of your choosing, but never dedicated even a day of studying yourself? My oh my! This is what, I assume, one of my favorite authors Anthony De Mellow would say to a person boasting about their

Writing Challenge - day 2 - Impact

Have you considered the impact your grandparents and even grand grandparents have on you today? They might not be alive anymore, but they have serious influence over the person you are right now. Understanding the impact your ancestors have on you is something that can transform your life. If you

Writing Challenge - day 1 - Direction

I've decided to join Borislav's daily writing challenge since writing is something I haven't had time to practice in the past 6-7 months. Haven't had time = I did not prioritize it. The rules are simple - every day you get a seed word that you can use as a starting

Week #20 - thoughts and ideas

Theme of the weekBe mindful about the context Random thoughts“If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.” - Cicero Let's update it If we ought to "update" this quote, we might go with something like this "If you have a garden and an Internet

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Week #19 - thoughts and ideas

Theme of the week - Get back to workAfter a full week off I started the week recharged and ready. Ah yes, by off I mean really off - like little to no screen time. This is how a "week off" should really look like. Daily usage down

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Week #18 - thoughts and ideas

The theme of the weekRest and slow down.It's been 7 days of complete relaxation for me. Okay, I guess the word complete is not appropriate as occasionally I had to go through my email for urgent requests but the total amount working was no more than 40-50 minutes a

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Week #16 - thoughts and ideas

The second edition of the weekly recap. Theme of the weekHistory, Hardcore History! Even if you had never enjoyed history, trust me, you will love it the way it is presented by Dan Carlin. I've been binge listening the Hardcore History podcast every free minute I had this past week.

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Week #15 - thoughts and ideas

Last week, out of the blue, an idea emerged in my mind, a thought: Stop being a passive consumer. Start creating and engaging with other creators. I thought to myself that I should challenge myself to create, instead of consume ideas and knowledge. I was staying on the consumer side