Monthly Archives: June 2014

More things that I have learned from watching the World Cup

26 Thursday Jun 2014

Posted by in Advice, Life Lessons, Self growth

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Since our lives and routines are still so full of the World Cup, I thought I would share a few insights that I have learned while watching soccer (or football if you wish) with some help from my son.
What can we actually learn from soccer that applies to life? Quite a lot when you think about it.

If you’re having a bad day, don’t bite anyone!
Just because you are frustrated, you shouldn’t take it out on anyone else. Find a way to deal with your frustration that allows you to let it go without hurting anyone else (physically, emotionally or spiritually) in the process.

If you’re slightly hurt, there is no need to act out
Nobody likes a drama queen.  Everyone has bad days, everybody gets stressed.  There is no need to tell the whole world out loud about how terrible your life is.  You don’t need to post it on Facebook or be passive aggressive about it.  Look inwards and find better ways of coping without the need for having everyone around you feeling sorry for you.

If you are actually badly hurt then by all means scream and shout and perform
If you feel that your stress, depression or anxiety is getting to a point where you can’t manage it on your own, shout out loudly for help. And make sure that you get that help.

Don’t waste time blaming somebody else for your fall
It may be their fault, it may not be.  But all the energy and time you spend blaming them is wasting time and energy that you could rather spend building yourself up.

Sometimes even the greatest players or teams fail
We all make mistakes, we all fail.  But make that failure matter by learning from it and moving in a new direction rather than digging yourself into a hole of self pity.

Be a good sport
Be proud of other people’s achievements.  It doesn’t mean that you are a failure just because somebody else has succeeded. You could learn from them and their success may push you in the right direction too.

Keep your eye on the ball
Never lose focus of your goals and dreams.  It is easy to let the routine of life distract you from where you want to be.
Go out and be brilliant!

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Lessons from the World Cup… so far

20 Friday Jun 2014

Posted by in Advice, Attitude, Life Lessons, Success

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In our house, we are in full swing of World Cup fever.
We always have bets on pretty much everything that there is to bet on (usually with a dinner reward for the winner) and of course, the betting for a World Cup winner was hotly debated.  The big issue was if more than one person could vote for the same team to win and the team that everyone was fighting for was Spain!
Isn’t hindsight a wonderful thing? Nobody should have wasted their energy trying to pick Spain but then again, nobody could have predicted that the reigning champions would be knocked out in the first round with millions of people witnessing their downfall. (Sorry to the Spanish supporters out there).

Imagine if we knew exactly how our decisions in the present would affect our future?
We would probably do so many things differently!
But we blindly move forward, always trying our best to do what we think is best and we have no idea whether those decisions are going to work for us.
Our choices could absolutely break us down or they could be the most positive thing that we have ever decided to do.
Unfortunately, no matter what, we don’t actually know how our choices today are going to affect our tomorrow.  They could be carefully measured, thought out and calculated or they could be spur of the moment impulsive decisions but neither is guaranteed to work.

So, how do we deal with this?
Well we don’t, really.  We have to do what is best for ourselves at the time and trust that it is going to work in our best interests.  But we also have to know that it may not work out.  Either way, it is part of the journey of our lives.  To really enjoy and celebrate success – especially if it related to something that we have done for ourselves, but then to also have the ability and insight to understand that if it goes wrong, we can learn from it, we can grow from it.
It could be the building block for a very successful future if we don’t punish ourselves for our mistakes and feel sorry for ourselves.

My idols – skaters Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean are most famous for having won the Olympics in 1984 with perfect marks.  In 1994, they decided to have another go at the Olympics and everyone presumed that they would definitely win gold again.  They didn’t. They ended up with a bronze medal and a lot of people having a lot to say about that.  Most people saying that they should not have gone back to the Olympics.  The thing is though, that although it seemed that they failed (though winning a bronze medal in the Olympics is hardly a failure in my eyes), they got more support and actually seemed to become more popular.  That is using “failure” as a building block.

Keep moving forward, keep trying new things, make choices despite what other people think about your choices because whatever happens, you still win!
And… take comfort from the fact that if you don’t win, there are not millions of people watching you fai!

Can cheesecake make you happy?

12 Thursday Jun 2014

Posted by in Chocolate yeah!, Creativity, Food for the soul, Recipes

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Can cheesecake actually make you happy?
I’m sure that if I looked hard enough and consulted Dr Google, I would find all kinds of scientific reasons why cheesecake could be good for you – things like boosting serotonin levels….
The simple answer to this question is:
Definitely! But (of course there has to be a but!) it is not just the eating of the cheesecake that can make you happy, there is a lot to say about making cheesecake.
There is the beating and crushing of the biscuits (by hand of course) to ease your frustrations of the day.
Blending those biscuit crumbs with warm butter and gently soothing it into a lovely, smooth base; the choreographed elegance of folding cream into cream cheese; and not forgetting the most important step – the licking of the spoon.

Last week was a Jewish holiday – Shavuos – where part of the custom is to eat dairy foods (read: cheesecake, and a lot of it) so when I usually write and post this blog, I was eating!
Stepping away from the mundane, stressful routine of life and just spending some time creating something beautiful can be one of the best ways of dealing with stress and giving your mind a chance just to calm down.
If baking is not your thing, then make sure that there is something that you can do to move away from the stressful and have something amazing and creative to show for it at the end.
This is your reward for all of the hard work, effort and exhaustion that goes into just living your life.
It can’t just be about trying to avoid stress and continually trying to cope with the all of the stressful work/family/financial/social situations.
It needs to be about letting yourself enjoy moments and to create those moments that are enjoyable.

So while I try to settle back into the hectic routine of actually working a full week, here is my recipe for a

Chocolate, chocolate, espresso cheesecake:

Base:
250g chocolate biscuits – crushed in which ever way you find best
160g butter (melted)

Combine the biscuit crumbs with the melted butter and press into a 20cm tin
Place into the fridge until firm

Cheesecake filling:
250g cream cheese
1 cup cream
3 eggs (beaten)
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons espresso (drink the rest of the espresso while making the cake)
1 slab of milk chocolate (about 180g) – or white chocolate, or dark chocolate, or a mixture (is it really fair to have to choose?)

Place all ingredients, except the chocolate into a bowl and beat until smooth
Pour this glorious mix over your base
Melt the chocolate and get creative by pouring it into the cheesecake mixture – I like to get a marble look but swirls, dots, or just random lumps of chocolate are good
Bake at 200°C for about 40 minutes until firm.
Let it cool completely and place in the fridge.

Glaze:
½ cup sweetened coffee (or coffee flavoured liqueur or chocolate liqueur)
250g dark chocolate
60g butter
½ cup cream

Place coffee or liqueur into a saucepan and simmer over a medium heat until mixture is reduced.
Add chocolate, butter and cream and continue stirring until it is melted and smooth
Remove from the heat and rest it until the mixture is cool and has thickened.
Pour all over your cheesecake and then return to the fridge to set.