A Thing or Two I Learned from the Dutch

(...insert long story here)

...And suddenly, I find myself living in the Netherlands. Halfway across the globe from home. I've only been here for barely a month and I am already starting to appreciate Dutch culture, or at least what I make of it. I find their mentality quite interesting and highly effective for dealing with stress.

A skillful demonstration of the art of stress management

Some of the things I learned after the jump!
 



DISCLAIMER: To any Dutch friends, or anyone in general, who reads this and disagree, I am sorry if I have the wrong observations. I do not intend to offend anyone in any way. Feel free to correct me in the comments. I'd be glad to hear more input and insights. :)


Before I got here, a Dutch friend told me that people in the Netherlands are generally very chill. Then, when I got here, I sort of understood what he meant. Most shops close at around 6 (save for bars and clubs, but that's another story). I have not seen much 24-hour establishments so far. Finally, go out on a Saturday morning, you can count the number of people outside. Amsterdam is an exception though.

My initial impression is that the lifestyle here is more laid back. Given that most shops close early, I think they have a lot of free time. So I guess it's not surprising to find out that the Netherlands is one of the happiest countries in the world. But do not mistake this "chill-ness" as laziness. When something needs to be done, they get it done. Dutch style.

Here are the few things I have learned so far:




1. Be lazy.

"...Didn't you just say that the Dutch are not lazy?!"

Well... in some aspects they are not, in some they are. This laziness does not mean inactivity or not doing anything. It's about getting the job done using minimal effort.

"...Then isn't that lazy?"

Yeah, I guess. But at the end of the day, the task is accomplished and everyone is happy.

"...How about the quality of the results then?"

The way I think they see it, it isn't about working hard. It's about working smart. The Dutch are renowned worldwide for their efficiency. I bet this is the reason behind it. There really is no sense in wasting unnecessary effort.


2. Look at the (attainable) end goal first.

This may not be as "dutch" as the one above, nevertheless, this is vital. The other option is to look at what you have first and think of what you can do about it. This, however, will drive an average person crazy.  If you start to look at what you have and try to think of what you can do with it, you may be faced with an almost infinite number of possibilities.

My head... it hurts...

But when we look at the end goal first, we know what we need. We know what we have to do. It's like shooting an arrow straight to a target you chose rather than blasting a shot gun hoping it will hit something. If you know what you need and what you have to do. There is no other way but to go straight to your target.  You don't have to stray from the path because you know exactly where you are supposed to go.

Also, if you have your goal you will know when...


3. Sufficient is enough.
  

"You must be messing with me now with all your synonyms and whatnot."

Kidding aside, this is perhaps one of the most useful lessons I learned. I apologize for I am not a man of words hence I may not be able to convey my thoughts on this idea well, but I will try to use an illustration:

Take a college student. Obviously, his goal is to get his degree. To achieve that, he needs only to pass all subjects.  Whether he gets straight A's or just barely passes, if he gets all the credits, he is given a diploma nonetheless. So he need only to exert minimum effort (pass subjects) to achieve his goal (diploma).

"So...you're saying the Dutch are contented with mediocrity?"

No. Not at all. This is why I believe setting an attainable goal is important. For the illustration above, we assumed that this certain college student only wants to get a diploma. What if he wants to graduate with Latin honors? The definition of "sufficient" then will vary greatly.

Also, if you think about it, if your goal is only to get a diploma, then why should you kill yourself to ace all subjects? The college experience is much more than marks given by teachers who assess your performance using their standards. It really depends on your goals as to how much effort you should put into something.

I believe thinking along these lines allow the Dutch people to find balance in their lives. A balance between work and play; not a compromise but a balance. This would probably explain why they are such happy people! :)

Hopefully in the next few months, I will get to know the culture and the people better. This is my story for now. 'til the next post. :D




P.S. I know the matrix image is perhaps one of the most inappropriate uses of an image you have ever seen but it was the best I could find.
P.P.S. I do not own any of images in this post.