Intro LO: The most important quote might be in the 5th paragraph below: “He noted that the number of marriages in China last year was less than half of the 13.47 million in 2013.” Note: bold & italic markings by LO. Source: Reuters, 10 February 2025, Marriages in China plunge by a record in 2024, fanning birthrate concerns Hence, China may not have enough...
Procrastination
Able, daring, and willing
Before doing anything, I first decide if I’m able to. My second consideration is whether I dare to do it (now). My third consideration is whether I’m really willing to do it. When these three hurdles are taken then doing becomes logical and usually right away. No more delays or procrastination. The reverse works differently. People often use the excuse that they...
Everything we do is either an expression of love or a request for love
My title is a translation of a Dutch saying (eg, Dutch examples). This saying was new to me and caught my immediate attention. Once you start thinking about it then it indeed seems true. Feel free to change the word love by the word attention. I prefer the word love though. The Nobel-winning English polymath Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) wrote about...
Is happiness and satisfaction an obstacle in life?
Recently, I finished (re-)watching the pilot episode of Ally McBeal, an "American legal comedy drama television series" that aired from 1997 until 2002. That episode finished with some thoughts of Ally that felt like an eye-opener to me. These were her exact words; see transcript: "ALLY: The real truth is, I probably don't want to be too happy or content. Because,...
Expectations vs Hope
There's often a thin line between expectations and hope. Sometimes, you even wonder if there's a difference. I suppose the main difference is time. Hope does not have a timeframe; expectations usually do. Both assume that something will happen. The degree of certainty varies significantly. A recent Aeon article suggests that there is another difference: When hope is...
When to get off on a dead-end street
Several of my blogs stated that life is like a roundabout (eg, 2017 and 2023). Sometimes, its exits are a one-way street (my 2023 blog), or even a dead-end street. Marriages and/or relationships show similar exit features (eg, a break-up or divorce). The main question is: when to get off. The other 5 main questions (ie, How-What-Where-Who-Why) have - usually -...

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