Suddenly you're someone else....

16 years ago, I was sitting at home with a friend having a good time. A little nattering, joking around and sometimes we had deep conversations. You probably know these evenings.

I went to bed around 2:30 and at 3:00 my girlfriend woke me up. We had been dating for about a year. 'Ed, it started...'

'Well honey you can't, just go to sleep,' I said half drunk.

I was also hoping it hadn't started yet and that I could get some sleep, but at six o'clock I really had to get out.

The contractions had really started. At 10:30 we drove to the hospital and at 1:30 my son was born. We entered the hospital with an empty Maxi-Cosi and came home with a filled one.

And I had no idea what to do.

"The maternity nurse is coming tomorrow...," I still heard echoing somewhere in my head.

That first night, I went out seven times. Each time I thought, either he's hungry or he's farted. Seven times I changed him that night.

The next morning, the maternity nurse came and looked at the pile of diapers. 'This one is none, this one is none, yes this one is, this one is none, this one is none, here a little...'

Two diapers were "good diapers," so some had been put in them and the rest were just empty. Little did I know...

Many roles I already had. I was a construction worker, a son, a partygoer, pub tiger, user, depression sufferer, happy egg, but father? I didn't have that role yet, but the moment my son was born, I got that role.

Anyway, you are it then, but how do you do it?

However, working in that direction is much more convenient. This week I received an insight. We teach people hypnosis. You can of course do hypnosis but then you are not a hypnotist per se. You may even doubt whether you can do it at all. But hypnotists do not doubt.

Who believe that hypnosis works, that it exists, that they can do it. I mean, you have to believe all those things for you to be able to say, "I'm a hypnotist.

However, when you start claiming that role at this early stage, things move crazy much faster. I was assigned that role. Now I could have empathized for nine months but I hadn't. But yes when you are a father you start acting like one. At least rather than being one. So you can do that with any role.

Just claim that new identity you want (e.g., I'm an entrepreneur) and your behavior adapts faster than if you did it the other way around. I undertake and I'll see when I am an entrepreneur then (may take years).

Now we're sixteen years on and it's his birthday. This afternoon we are going to the University because he is among the twelve percent smartest math students in the Netherlands. Super proud I am of that boy. That's what fathers do, take pride in their children.

I'm also sure he has that math talent of mine....

Because I'm out of it 😂.

Enjoy your day, we're going to do the same here!