-
6 days ago | 
goodmenproject.com | Niklas Göke
I still remember what it feels like to believe that meeting one of your friends for play time on a Thursday afternoon is the most important thing in the world. Do you? “Come on mom, I need you to drive me! Please, please, please!! It’s important!!”The older we get, the more we believe that what we once thought was a big deal is actually irrelevant. But was it? Letting go of ideas, places, and people is a natural part of human growth. It would happen whether we age or not.
-
1 week ago | 
goodmenproject.com | Niklas Göke
What’s the best age to buy a house? Chances are, by the time you first ask the question, you’re already too late — at least if you consult the media. Plenty of sources will tell you that, technically, there is no right or wrong here, but actually, the median age is 32, the best age is “young,” and you should really do it between ages 25 and 34. So much for “to each their own.”A high school friend of mine ticked all the boxes by the time he was 30: married, house, kids.
-
2 weeks ago | 
goodmenproject.com | Niklas Göke
The best thing about going to a bar is that you’ll likely hear a stranger’s story. Yesterday, I heard someone I’d never met before explain how she and her mom became alienated from the rest of their extended family. “They’re all from the same region, and some 10 years back, we went to a family gathering. Nobody would even come and talk to us. They stick to themselves.
-
3 weeks ago | 
medium.com | Niklas Göke
Imagine a city with one million inhabitants. It has everything you would expect from a city of that size: some skyscrapers, a decent transport system, and all the usual public and social infrastructure. There is, however, a catch: Everyone in this city can only read the same 10 books. It’s a simple literary restriction, but what consequences might it have?
-
3 weeks ago | 
goodmenproject.com | Niklas Göke
A school friend once told me a story about someone pulling up behind a car at a red light. The group of friends were on their way to a night out, and everyone in the car was feeling a bit feisty.
-
4 weeks ago | 
emptyyourcup.life | Niklas Göke
Hello there! It’s Nik! Been a minute, but still alive and kickin’! I hope life has been kind to you in the last 14 months. When I hit pause on the Empty Your Cup newsletter early last year (again), I wrote:When life throws an interruption your way, know which kind of disturbance you’re facing: Is this a hair in my soup or a bowl of soup in my face? Don’t be afraid to do a 180, and remember that giving up is also giving.
-
1 month ago | 
goodmenproject.com | Niklas Göke
I’m sitting on a train, waiting to go home. I’m 32 years old, have lived by myself for the last 13 years, and recently moved into a nice, spacious flat with my wonderful girlfriend — but when I say “home,” there’s only ever one place I’m referring to. It’s a simple house in the middle of nowhere in southwestern Germany. Nice but not extravagant. Unsuspecting. You couldn’t tell the difference between that house and the seven others on that street.
-
1 month ago | 
goodmenproject.com | Niklas Göke
“No answer is also an answer,” we say in Germany. Usually, a negative one. “Freddie never got back on our group chat. I don’t think he’s coming to the cinema on Wednesday.” That sort of thing. Against my better judgment, I still try to answer all of my emails. My hit rate is higher than it should be, but every now and then, messages still fall through the cracks. Sometimes, months pass, and I start wondering whether it has become too embarrassing to reply. Usually, I still do it.
-
1 month ago | 
goodmenproject.com | Niklas Göke
During my first semester of college, we had to code and submit a Java programming exercise every week. For me, it was torture — and thus more work than my other seven classes combined. “Where is the bug? Why won’t this thing compile? Argh!”A good friend of mine fared much better. He had what our professor used to call “the third eye.” My friend had some talent for using the various code elements, and he also had a knack for spotting bugs.
-
1 month ago | 
goodmenproject.com | Niklas Göke
The other day, I sat on a swing for the first time in 15 years. Beyond the obvious lesson on the surprisingly strong physics of this simple device, I felt transported back to the many times I had used it before. I remembered the white rope and bleached orange seat of the swing I used to jump off of when I was eight. I also recalled how much it hurt when my arm got twisted in said rope, and how it stopped my swing-jumping career dead in its tracks.
