English words to spark a little joy — The best part of living abroad is to experience things that are unique for a country or a region. I am blessed to live since three years in England, part of the United Kingdom. I am learning a lot of beautiful concepts about life and the world here. Sometimes through…

The way was to discover solitude — “Interesting choice of country. I have heard that Sweden is the most unfriendly place for foreigners, and winters there are very cold and dark.” said my colleague when I told him I would move to Stockholm for my master’s. I smiled at him and said, “I guess I will find…

Did they actually help me help myself? — I am reading a new self-help book this week, The Diary of a CEO. And it got me thinking, I must have read hundreds of these. Are they actually helping? I got into the rabbit hole of figuring out how many I have read exactly and what impact they had. …

In the country ranked 1st for gender equality in the EU — I walk into the meeting room in our Stockholm office and I see my manager smiling and more cheerful than usual. I wonder what he will tell us, because the meeting invite mentioned that he had some news for the team. …

Potential without support is like dynamite without a spark — I board the plane at Heathrow Airport and search for my seat. When I reach it, I see that it is next to a very old man. I store my luggage, sit, and say hi to him. We will be spending hours next to each other, and I believe it…

I feel the need to prove myself to everyone individually now — “Is this the right response? What if I got it all wrong? They will laugh at me if they realise I don’t know everything about this topic. Oh dear, they are going to find out I’m a fraud now.” I had this internal conversation in my first year of work…

It makes people feel smaller, and it makes us feel frustrated — I have spent all my life aiming to be the bigger person. They hurt me? I will return it with kindness. They are a bad friend? I will be the best of friends. They don’t reach out? I will reach out more. They complain all the time? I will inspire…

It’s not the tasks that make us tired, it’s the reason behind them — “I think you might be heading for a burnout.” A colleague pointed out after hearing me a few times say that I’m tired. I hadn’t even thought about that until she mentioned it. It isn’t my first time experiencing burnout, and I’m always shocked at how I have such a…

The home you knew is gone — What do we call home? For every person, there’s a different answer. And for each of us, the answer can change with time. For me right now, home is still the place where I grew up in Albania, although I have left seven years ago. …