Category: Exercises

(Takes about 20 minutes) Think of a situation in your life that faces recurring difficulties. This might be your job, your romantic relationship, a family relationship, or something else. Try to pick something which has been on your mind a lot in the past weeks. The exercise (5 minutes) Use the following sentences as writing … Continue reading Exercise – Your habitual metaphors →

(Takes about 20 minutes) Stories can have a strong impact on us. Most of the time we are recipients of stories: through movies, books, and even daily conversations. Stories allow us to communicate complex issues quickly and create a shared understanding. In this exercise we’re going to try to use this “tool” to structure our … Continue reading Exercise – Your personal hell and heaven →

Suggested time allocation: 15 minutes Preparation We sometimes react in ways that we are not proud of: we explode in anger, we’re mean to people we care about, we hide our feelings, or we’re just unreasonably anxious. While painful, such moments can be opportunities to learn about ourselves, our personality, our inner conflicts and our … Continue reading Exercise – Bad behavior →

In 1967 Roland Barthes wrote his famous essay “The Death of the Author” in which he argued that a work of literature has an existence independent of the intent of the author. It is instead created anew with each reading as an interaction between the reader and the work. Although I happen to think Barthes’ … Continue reading Exercise – Killing the author →