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We live in uncertain times: Can climate change be stopped? Can global violence be stopped? Do young people have a future? The questions go on and on.

Why is this topic important to me?

Not only humanity lives in uncertainty, but also each individual. We humans all have similar worries:

Is what I’m doing right, is it good? Can I fulfill my wishes, satisfy my needs? Will I find friends who are good for me (and vice versa😉) and the „right“ life partner? Can I achieve my education, my career goal? Have I made the right decision? Have I chosen the right career, the right goals?

I am afraid. What if I have an accident, if I or my loved ones fall ill, if my life changes from one day to the next due to a stroke of fate?

The security I long for in life doesn’t seem to exist – neither through preventive medical check-ups nor through insurance or unexpected wealth.

What are the important basic insights for me?

In the decades of my life, I have been able to feel that there is a „law of provision“ (as the American pastor Norman Vincent Peale once called it) when I simply try to do my best.

My management coach Jörg Radl from Freising (who sadly passed away far too early) put it in a similar way: „The path is built for the walker.“

These are helpful signposts for me:

• Follow your heart – live your passions, it doesn’t matter if you have several and some days they seem incompatible.
• Work on something that is bigger than you. Something that you think is meaningful. It doesn’t matter if you are sometimes unsure, your gut feeling will tell you the way.
• What matters is your attitude „Do you want to be the passenger or the pilot of your life?“ and the tactics you use to pursue your goals and values.

Allow me to say a few words about point three: you can’t control everything in life, but you can sense balance. Like in the water, for example: you won’t be able to stop the waves, but you can feel balance.

Food for thougt for children

As many paths lead to the same goal, I can only give my son tips that are based on the findings of many smart people and that I share based on my own experience:

• Cooperate with others. Use this super power of the human race, as our Minister President Winfried Kretschmann recently put it so beautifully. This proves the African proverb „When many small people, in many small places, do many small things, they can change the face of the world.“
• If you don’t know how to behave in uncertain situations, use tried and tested principles of action as a guide: Goals should be generalizable (because all people/living beings want to feel good), consider whether you could harm someone with your action (including future generations).
• Take care of your health, pay attention to good relationships and personal growth – this is more important for your long-term well-being than, for example, the accumulation of „likes“ from people who don’t know you or the accumulation of material things.

Then you will flourish and be able to live with uncertainty!

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

“Even behind a cloudy sky there is a bright sun” I once read on a postcard – what an apt image for confidence.

I took a month break to write about something fundamental today.

A topic that particularly highlights the interactions in human life, because I am convinced that everything is somehow interconnected, that humans/humanity/nature is a living organism.

Why is this topic important to me?

Instilling confidence in your child is fundamental. My parents and those around me have succeeded in instilling in me a “basic trust” – as a Christian I call it “trust in God” – and I want to do the same.

When I read in the newspaper that “Oshada sometimes cried from hunger and Udeni sent him to bed early”[1], it affects me personally, even if the story takes place in distant Sri Lanka. The same applies to human violence and the destruction of nature near and far.

I am human and as such I have compassion. I can

• Feel anger – not being able to prevent it;
• Feel shame – living in a “golden” bubble;
• feel despondency – not being up to the challenges.

But I can also ask myself how I can make my contribution to a world worth living in, how I can live up to my responsibility.

Poverty, violence and the destruction of nature are mostly man-made. The world does not have a problem. Man has/is the problem.

I don’t consider myself to be “remote-controlled”, but sane. Or as my former university lecturer Julian Nida-Rümelin puts it: “Humans are free, rational and responsible”.

Perhaps I am sometimes remote-controlled when I relinquish my responsibility, when organizational goals are not congruent with my own,… . But I have it in my own hands to be the pilot or passenger of my life.

[1] DER SPIEGEL Nr. 12 16.3.2024, S. 46 „Dhanush und die Staatspleite“ von Stefan Schultz

What does that mean for me?

Three aspects help me to take on my responsibility with confidence:

1. Observance of the penguin principle

Eckhart von Hirschhausen explained it really well on YouTube: “Everyone has strengths and it is so much more efficient to strengthen strengths than to work on your weaknesses.” What are my strengths and do I use them to be effective?

Excursus: There is a good strengths finder on the University of Pennsylvania website in numerous languages.

2. Orientation towards meaningful action maxims and goals

The categorical imperative of Immanuel Kant, for example, can serve as a yardstick for meaningfulness, i.e. checking for generalizability for all people, for example

to live in a way that does not harm anyone (see blog post on responsibility),

for example, to be guided by the SDGs (see blog post Sustainability).

As this develops (self-)efficacy.

3. Collaboration

“Those who work alone add up, those who work together multiply:” I am not alone.

We humans can cooperate and work on tasks that are bigger than us. “Many small steps in the right direction lead to the desired change.” Cooperation, the “superpower of the human race”, as our Minister President Winfried Kretschmann once put it so beautifully.

Food for thought for children

I therefore try to support my son in gaining confidence in himself “through play”:

• Let him try out sports => awaken his curiosity
• Listen to music and look at art with him => feel beauty
• Encourage friendships => Feel the power of relationships
• …          

Doing things together, spending as much time together as possible, taking him seriously, respecting him, treating him with appreciation. Being there when he needs me.

Above all, love him unconditionally, take his fears seriously – talk about them/listen to them and trust him!

The question „Why is life finite“ is one that pretty much all of us ask ourselves. Often, even those who believe in life after death feel a bit of melancholy. Not least because no one can predict the day they or their loved ones will die.

„The fact that we can exist at all is a great, galactic stroke of luck.“ I once heard this in a Blinkist in connection with the creation of the universe. There is something positive in this statement, even if I can no longer assign it to an exact book title.

And because humans have an enormous potential for damage, I sometimes think that limiting our lifespan can also be understood as a kind of „life insurance“: That each generation has a chance to do better than the previous one.

What are the important basic insights for me?

If we are spared from strokes of fate („negative lottery wins“ such as serious accidents or similar), we can preserve and prolong our lives if we take care of our mental and physical health. But at some point, even with the best genetic conditions, a healthy diet, sport and a life filled with love, the biological limit is reached (according to health experts, the theoretical limit is currently between 120 and 130 years). The anti-ageing industry is working on overturning this limit in the medium term through cell rejuvenation.

At some point, we will all be „stardust“, but until then we humans are – as I described in my blog post „What is responsibility„, according to Nida-Rümelin – „free, rational and responsible“.

What does that mean for me?

At the #Wethefuture Summit 2023, I heard an inspiring sentence from mental coach Jim Kwik: „Life is C between B (Birth) and D (Death)“. The C stands for Choice. We have a lot of choices between birth and death: We can live passively and let others determine our lives or we can live it actively, develop ourselves and shape our lives.

I think there is something focusing about the limitation of life. When something is limited, you deal with it more mindfully. I regularly ask myself „What is important to me“ and my activities and attitude support this.

Of course, I also have „passive“ days, that’s part of it. However, the passive days remain in the minority if I focus and trust myself, true to the motto „the path is built under the feet of the walker“.

Food for thought for children

I once heard a beautiful story in which life was compared to a train journey. People get on and off at the various stations. The traveler can’t choose his passengers and he doesn’t know how long they will travel alongside him or how long he himself will be on the train.

I like this image of the journey of life because it conveys serenity and shows what I can and cannot influence.

Life is fleeting. No one knows when the „journey“ will end. For some people, the journey ends when they are children, which are particularly sad moments. For some people, the journey ends too late in their own opinion, when they are lonely, physically and mentally deteriorated and marked by serious illness.

Ideally, it is the right time for you and you can say like Sir Baden-Powell, the founder of the scout movement, „I have fulfilled my mission and gone home“.

I want to give my son this image of the journey and encourage him to live actively, that he is the „pilot“ and not the „passenger“ of his life.

To do this, I want to encourage my son’s creativity, because I believe it is at least as important as a positive attitude. Because creative people find solutions where others only see problems.

Today I would like to dedicate myself to passion, as I keep seeing people throw in the towel prematurely because they believe that their current job is not a „calling“. In the same way, I know people who have inwardly „resigned“ and are only „present“ in their job and only look to others for the reasons for this state of affairs.

Is passion a permanent state and do you only feel passion in a single area? I don’t think so.

When do I feel passion?

When I’m working with great intensity. When I enjoy doing something because I am highly interested in it, and ideally I am also good at it. When I see added value because the topic is important to me, because it makes sense…

When I am at one with myself, when I am in the flow.

I like to remember the example of the Pike Place fish market in Seattle: the fishmongers had decided to give their customers a unique shopping experience and every visitor can feel how much they enjoy their work. About their four maxims[i]

• Choose your attitude („… as someone who is world famous, you will act very differently“)

• Play (How can we have more fun and get energized?)

• Make others happy (Who are our customers and how can we make their day? How can we make each other’s day?) and

• Be present (the fishmongers are at work with all their heart and attention)

even wrote the management bestseller Fish!

This example shows that it doesn’t matter what job you do, you can decide for yourself how you want to do it and how you want to feel about it (the fishmongers wanted to have fun doing their job).

Similarly, the careers advice service matchrs impressively describes four stages on its website of how to move from interest to passion and that there is a long road in between and that perseverance is worthwhile. Not even the interest has to be firmly anchored in the person, as research shows.

Where are the challanges for me and how do I deal with them?

My biggest challenge is that – apart from my family – I have several interests that I would like to pursue passionately.

I’ve had a soft spot for real estate since I was a little boy visiting my uncle and aunt in Chicago with my family and I was able to look down from the Sears Tower – the tallest building in the world at the time – and see the sea of skyscrapers below me.

I also have a soft spot for successful teamwork, ever since I experienced in the Scouts what you can achieve together with teamwork that an individual can only dream of.

So there are (at least) two hearts beating in my chest, which I always try to unite in my job, including my current role as First Mayor of my home town of Weinheim. It works particularly well here, but I have also combined my social passion with my technical passion in my previous jobs.

Food for thought for children

While I loved to build and paint skyscrapers as a child, my son loves to build and paint airplanes and ships and dreams of becoming a pilot or aircraft builder. We try to encourage these interests, be it through visits to the technology museum, the airport or the water, so that they can develop into passions.

My wife and me don’t care whether our son does an apprenticeship or goes to university, the main thing is that he finds his passion(s), and we want to support him in this.

We encourage his autonomy in pursuing his interests and at the same time show him places where he can feel the enthusiasm of other people who are passionate about their interests. When the spark is ignited, new interests arise for him.

[i] Fish! Stephen C. Lundin, Harry Paul and Hohn Christensen (2003, 15th edition) Mosaik bei Goldmann

After psychology, sociology, economics and politics, today I would like to round off my series of blog posts with an introduction to ethics, an exciting branch of philosophy.

What do I find so interesting about ethics?

The lesson of „good“ in times of war in Ukraine. How do you explain to a six-year-old that his former au pair’s home is being reduced to rubble?

I try with the hope of peace. „What you take by force, you can only keep by force.“ Gandhi’s words exude humanity’s desire for freedom, showing the fragility of oppression. As horrific as the moment is, it will not last. I’ll try the story of David versus Goliath, even if I would prefer a non-violent one.

We immediately come to the big questions of humanity. Why is there violence, why are there wars, why is there oppression? Are people bad? I explain to my son that people are neither good nor bad by nature, that good and bad are human judgments. That we are social beings who need other people. That wherever people live together, there are always disputes and that it is better to resolve disputes through discussion.

That it is about balancing interests. That violence must be the last resort when defending yourself. Words can hurt the soul, physical violence can kill.

What are important basic insights of ethics for me?

Ethics as a branch of philosophy deals with the universal justification of morality (morality in the sense of morally good behavior)

An example of morally good behavior (morality) is the Golden Rule „Do not do to others what you would not want done to yourself“, while the Categorical Imperative „Act as if the maxim of your action should become a general law of nature through your will“ is therefore an example of an (ethical) justification of morality.

According to my former philosophy lecturers at LMU[i], ethics is about practice-oriented questions about a happy and successful life, for example:

• How can we determine the right life in the face of the divergence of cultures?

• How can we act correctly in the face of the divergence of concepts of „good“?

These leave room for answers, depending on which ethical position one is guided by.

Examples of ethical positions are Virtue ethics, natural law ethics, utilitarianism, deontological ethics, ethical nihilism, value ethics and metaethics.

I will go into this in more detail in the course of my blog.

[i] This is what I learned in the introduction to ethics at LMU from Prof. Dr. Mayer and Prof. Dr. Vossenkuhl😉

What do I do with it?

The individual ethical positions offer me good guidance on the question „How do I become a good person“ in a VUCA world[i]😉

According to Aristotle’s virtue ethics, the good life consists in choosing a suitable way of life, in developing virtues that enable the best behavior in certain types of situations and in concrete actions corresponding to the virtues (see blog post „What is good life?„)

According to utilitarianism, for example, one should choose actions with the greatest possible benefit for all.

[i] VUKA stands for volatile, uncertain, complex and ambivalent

(Further) food for thought for children

You can find good tips on philosophizing with children on the following page: https://www.scoyo.de/magazin/familie/freizeit/philosophieren-mit-kindern-tipps/

I hope you enjoyed this introduction to ethics!

After an entry into the economy last month, in today’s October blog post, I’m dedicating myself to a discipline again, and I’m striving for a maximum 3-minute introduction to politics:

What do I find interesting about politics?

Compared to my classmates, I was not very interested in politics when I was young. I took a functioning state for granted. My family and my immediate environment were socially, but – except for the ballots – not politically engaged.

This changed over time. On the one hand, I am increasingly interested in

• how political opinion-forming (and its implementation) works:

• How can successful coexistence / cooperation be organized?

• How can security, health, education, infrastructure, resource distribution („commons“) best be organized?

• What characterizes a resilient society and

• where the optimum lies between federalism (with its understanding of local experience) and centralization (with its standardization of rules).

On the other hand, it concerns me to see how other societies are falling apart. I would therefore like to contribute to the cohesion of my own society.

What are important basic policy insights for me?

The task of politics is to bring about collectively binding decisions. Since the framework conditions change over time, this is a continuous process. The rights and duties of the individual must be constantly rebalanced – for the benefit of all.

Separation of powers („checks and balances“) is important for the preservation of democracy.

People long for simplicity; political reality is usually more complicated.

In this context, I well remember the words of Anette Schavan, the former Federal Minister of Education and Research, at a lecture of the Wirtschaftsgilde in Sils Maria 2022:

• „Politics does not mean going through the wall with your head.“
• „Solidarity and mercy are important components of politics.“

What do I do with it?

Politics develops and enacts the most important framework conditions. Due to the multitude of individual interests and the resulting compromises, these can only be framework conditions that leave us individual room for maneuver.

From there, live „convinced“ of one’s values and contribute to enabling an environment for well-being, promoting the common good and preserving nature („We don’t have a Planet B“).

Do not „delegate“ the responsibility for a functioning democracy and go to the polls (and also get actively involved in politics, there are many possibilities).

Food for thought for children

With my six-year-old son, I can already talk well about distribution issues („everyone should have a roof over their head“) and rule compliance („Dad you’re driving too fast…“).

I successfully ran for first mayor in my hometown of Weinheim. During the city council election between the three finalists, my son was present and I was able to explain to him how political decisions are made and that a term in office is term-limited.

I’m excited to have daily discussions with him about day-to-day politics when I take office in October😉 .

I myself am a fan of the Wahl-O-Mat to find out which party best represents my interests in federal and state elections and have gratefully discovered at u18.org that there are also initial approaches to this for children and young people.

What do I find so interesting about economics?

Its presence, economic activity shapes us: „Today, almost every aspect of our daily lives is linked in some way by an economic relationship. „¹

Its purpose: Economics is not an end in itself, but is meant to serve us: The goal of economics has long been to eliminate scarcities of certain goods (food, housing, clothing, services…). It is about using the available resources (capital, labor, material) as efficiently as possible in order to produce a maximum of goods.² At least here in Germany, there is no scarcity of many goods anymore, many (not all) rather feel an abundance of offers.

Last but not least, I am interested in their mechanisms: Who determines the rules in the economic/financial system? Do the rules have to be adjusted from time to time?

What are important insights for me?

For the efficient satisfaction of the population’s needs with goods, the economy uses certain „tools“ (currencies, markets, …), methods (division of labor & specialization, …) as well as organizational forms (producing companies, service providers, …).

Prosperity of western market economies is based on competition. In a market economy, companies have the task of providing society with good, inexpensive, innovative goods and services. ³

The market and competition, private property and the pursuit of profit find their ethical justification solely in the beneficial systemic effects they have on all people. They are – under the condition of a suitable framework order – the most efficient means for the realization of freedom and solidarity of all people known so far. ⁴

In order to avoid the negative consequences for society of too much inequality (keyword „distribution blindness“), to take into account the consumption of resources in economic activity (keyword „future blindness“) and to ensure the provision of collective goods (public infrastructure, security, …), the framework order of the market economy must thereby necessarily contain social and ecological components.⁵

What do I do with it?

On the one hand, that I always make clear to myself that progress and quality of life are not solely dependent on annual growth in per capita income.⁶ On the other hand, that it is crucially a matter of the framework order to reduce possible disadvantages of economic activity. „One thing is clear: Growth without solving the environmental problem will end in collapse. Growth without solving the distributional question on this planet carries within itself the special danger of radicalization. „⁷

The framework is not set in stone. I can take my knowledge of the interrelationships into account in my purchasing, investing, and voting decisions. And I can get involved politically to advocate for appropriate growth models that are not based on wasting resources but on fairness to nature and fellow humans.

After an introduction to psychology and sociology, I hope this blog post, „What do I find so interesting about economics?“ has piqued your interest! For more in-depth reading, I can recommend the works of the authors cited:

¹ Rifkin, Jeremy (2014). Die Null Grenzkosten Gesellschaft. Frankfurt, New York, Campus Verlag: S. 11

² Vgl. Picot, A. / Dietl, H. et al. (2008). Organisation – Eine ökonomische Perspektive. Stuttgart, Schäffer-Poeschl: S. 1ff

³ Vgl. Homann, Karl (2007). Ethik in der Marktwirtschaft. München, Roman Herzog Institut, S. 31

⁴ Vgl. Homann, Karl / Lütge, Christoph (2005). Einführung in die Wirtschaftsethik. Münster, LIT, Kap. 2.1.4

⁵ Vgl. Nida-Rümelin, J.; Vortrag i.R. der Zeugnisverleihung PPW in München Februar 2013

⁶ Vgl. Eichhorn, Wolfgang / Sollte, Dirk (2010). Das Kartenhaus Weltfinanzsystem. Frankfurt a.M., Fischer Taschenbuch: S. 17

⁷ Eichhorn, Wolfgang / Sollte, Dirk (2010). Das Kartenhaus Weltfinanzsystem. Frankfurt a.M., Fischer Taschenbuch: S. 184

⁸ Vgl. Eichhorn, Wolfgang / Sollte, Dirk (2010). Das Kartenhaus Weltfinanzsystem. Frankfurt a.M., Fischer Taschenbuch: S. 17

After I have illuminated the first discipline/subject with psychology last month, today it is about the introduction to sociology. In sociology, the focus is not on the individual, but on the group.

What do I find so interesting about sociology?

I’m interested in how human coexistence works. And when it works particularly well.

I’m fascinated by countries and regions that are at the top of the individual satisfaction scale and whose inhabitants feel particularly strongly about living together well.

The same goes for associations, companies and organizations in which people seem particularly satisfied. In most cases, you can sense in the first few minutes of a visit to a restaurant or store whether people like working here, and that radiates to visitors and customers.

I also find the differences between generations exciting, how they have been shaped by collective experiences.

What are important basic insights of sociology for me?

People are capable of cooperation. Together, we are stronger and can usually better satisfy our (individual) needs. Human collaboration (cooperation) is correspondingly pronounced, if we think, for example, of our everyday life based on the division of labor.

Cooperation works particularly well when everyone involved benefits from it. Successful cooperation is based on good institutions. In a narrower sense, this means basic rules ¹ and norms such as human rights, language, means of currency, …. ² Institutions derived from these are e.g. laws and contracts.

Culture is a group property (not an individual phenomenon) that develops from common experiences (teams, family, regions…) and is thus the product of social learning. ³

Accordingly, groups can be distinguished by their organizational form and culture.

What do I do with it?

In the blog entry „Psychology“ I discussed the behavioral model. One of the four dimensions, which co-determines the individual behavior, is the social may/should (norms and regulations). Sociology uses institutions and culture to explain how this fourth dimension arises or what it is based on, namely collective values/experiences.

Our well-being depends to some extent on our fellow human beings and the cultures in which we find ourselves. The plural is deliberately chosen by me, individuals are multicultural because of belonging to different communities – sociologists say „social systems“ (families, regions and organizations like clubs, companies parties etc.).

If I am aware of the importance of institutions and cultures I can work specifically to preserve or change them. Whereby I have to be aware that collective changes need time and change management knowhow is often helpful.

And I can avoid the mistake of falling into groupthink.

Food for thought for children

Some of the building blocks laid out in this blog are still too abstract for my son. Nevertheless, I can already talk about cultural topics with five- and six-year-olds, even discuss them, because they perceive different family parenting styles. For example, our son gets another „Gutenachtgutzel“ before going to bed (but before brushing his teeth), e.g. a fruit gum. One of his friends doesn’t get this and courageously discusses with me that I should no longer give my son a „Gutenachtgutzel“😉 Thanks to situations like this, you find out for yourself which patterns you may have adopted „automatically“ from your parents. Accordingly, you can begin to establish rules together.

I hope you enjoyed this introduction to sociology, and look forward to further disciplines in this series!

¹The rules, in turn, are (mostly) based on values, cf. blog post „What are values“ and „Value examples“.

² cf. Picot, Dietl et. al. (2008). Organization – An economic perspective. Stuttgart; Schäffer-Poeschel p. 10ff.

³ cf. (Schein 2010), p. 29 and (Kutschker and Schmid 2006), p. 668.

After I have given thought-provoking impulses on various topics in my blog so far, I would like – as announced under structure – to give a few impulses for reflection/share thoughts on individual disciplines/subjects here as well. For 3 min reading time, this can only be an appetizer and if interested, self-study is announced😉. In this blog I start with an entry into psychology.

What do I find so interesting about psychology?

I am interested in the similarities and differences between us humans. And the question of why people behave completely differently in one and the same situation.

I still remember how my classmates were happy about their – in my eyes good – high school graduation grade, while others showed no emotional emotion whatsoever about exactly the same grade.

Just like how confidently and self-assuredly some fellow students sold their low learning effort and others seemed completely insecure when presenting their results, although they knew every detail due to their high learning effort.

What are important basic insights of psychology for me?

Psychology is all about human behavior. In a nutshell, you can say that all people – from the equator to the poles – have similar needs and a corresponding (equal!) interest in satisfying them (preferably not at the expense of others). People are similar (needs) but not equal (we have millions of facets).

Commonalities: All living beings have their need satisfaction/self-preservation as a goal. Regarding needs, there are several theories. One of the most famous is Maslow’s pyramid of needs:

Differences: According to Felix Schönbrodt, we differ in terms of cognitive abilities (thinking, knowledge, communication, memory) and personality (character traits, motives, interests, and values).

Behavior: According to Lutz von Rosenstil, our behavior depends on four forces:

especially the influence of the situation is often underestimated and this in turn depends on personal perception.

What do I do with it?

With a view to needs, e.g. that I can systematically take care of my well-being (see also blog post „What is a successful life„). Looking at differences, e.g. that everyone has strengths and that plurality is valuable. Looking at human behavior, e.g. that I become aware of context (social influence environment and conscience etc.).

Food for thought for children

The building blocks laid out in this blog are certainly still far too abstract for younger children, but I can still talk about such topics with my son because there is a wonderful german podcast series „Mira & the Flying House“ that explains human needs and behavior for ages 4-11 in a way that is appropriate for children and that not only my son loves. Hopefully there is something similar in English.

The processing speed and creativity of children are brilliant. No sooner had my son listened to the episode „How can I deal with stress?“ my wife and I were confronted in situations where we appeared stressed to him with statements „Is your stress light on yellow, how can we get it back into the green zone?“😉

In the next blog post, I want to look at sociology.

¹ Rosenstiel von, L. (2003). Entwicklung und Training von Führungskräften, in Rosenstiel von, Regnet et. al., Führung von Mitarbeitern. Stuttgart, Schäffer-Poeschel: S. 79 (Illustration traced and translated by myself.)

For me, sustainability means living in such a way that my lifestyle does not harm my son or his children, no matter on which continent and place they will live and what his/her income will be one day. For me, sustainability is therefore closely linked to the concept of responsibility explained last month.

Sustainability is not a new invention, but a rediscovery of principles that have been practiced for thousands of years.

On the one hand, sustainability is complex (when I think of the supply chain of my desk lamp, for example) and multidimensional (usually we speak of the three perspectives ecology, economy and social), but on the other hand it also allows many options to act sustainably.

The fact is that cumulatively our lifestyle in Germany is not sustainable, as we currently consume 2.9 Earths in terms of resources. [i]

Sustainable development goals

The UN has broken down the complexity into 17 Sustainable Development Goals. From fighting poverty to promoting peace, justice and strong institutions. You can find all the goals here, for example, on the website of the German United Nations Association.

How do I get involved?

As I wrote in my April blog on global balance, I firmly believe that we will change the face of the world in this decade if everyone contributes to three goals that match their strengths. I have prioritized the following three goals:

1. As a civil engineer and real estate economist, Goal 11 „Sustainable Cities and Communities“ is a matter close to my heart professionally and I work on its implementation every day. Already, I can explain to my son that walkable cities/towns and developed bike lanes make sense because he likes to ride his bike.
2. Goal 3 „Health and well-being“ is also very important to me. Towards my family, my colleagues and also myself. I explain to my son where food comes from, encourage his athletic inclinations and am attentive regarding his well-being.
3. Goal 15 „Life on Land“ has been a familiar concept to me since early childhood, where we regularly conducted forest cleanups as Boy Scouts, but it was always frightening and impressive at the same time how much trash we collected from the forest. I explain to my son that resources are finite, go out into nature with him a lot and teach him to be mindful of it.

To the best of my knowledge and belief, I also try to pursue the other goals or to live independently of these UN goals according to the definition I gave at the beginning.

I am grateful for this orientation, although it is a continuous improvement process, because of course there are many situations where I do not yet meet this responsibility. I am wary of perfectionism and am happy about the many small steps in the right direction and that many people have set out on this path globally.

To encourage each other and to promote dialog, I have stuck a corresponding sticker on my mailbox as a small sign and have also chosen it as the background for my LinkedIn profile😉.

_________________________

[i] See, for example, Tagesschaubericht on the current UN report.