Skip to content
  • E-mail
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn

Menno van der Land

Critical Thinker | World Traveler

  • Home
  • About
  • Life
  • Travel
  • Books
12 December 202012 December 2020 mennovanderlandLife

Loneliness is not being alone. It’s the feeling that nobody cares

A journey into the world of loneliness – and how to deal with it In our modern societies having a ‘rich social life’ is widely seen and promoted as anContinue reading

6 November 20206 November 2020 mennovanderlandLife

Is autonomy a myth? (Spoiler: No it is not.)

Are humans autonomous beings or is autonomy a myth? In the debate on this question, two views are often diametrically opposed: on the one hand there are people who believeContinue reading

16 October 202017 October 2020 mennovanderlandLife

Why you should always keep asking ‘why?’

You may have noticed that I refer to myself as a “critical thinker” on the homepage of my website. That is not without reason. In my opinion critical thinking isContinue reading

19 September 202025 September 2020 mennovanderlandTravel

Luxemburg & Belgische Ardennen

13 – 19 september 2020 Via Dinant naar Luxemburg Op zondag rijden we via Antwerpen, Brussel en Namen naar Dinant. Deze niet al te grote stad in het zuidoosten vanContinue reading

6 September 2020 mennovanderlandLife

Perfection is an illusion. Pursuing it is a recipe for unhappiness

There are many ways in which people can make life hard on themselves. One of the best ways to do so, is without a doubt the pursuit of perfection. PerfectionismContinue reading

5 July 20206 July 2020 mennovanderlandTravel

IJsland

25 juni – 5 juli 2020 Best vreemd om op reis te gaan terwijl de wereld kampt met een pandemie en Nederland nog maar net begint te ontwaken na drieContinue reading

6 June 20206 June 2020 mennovanderlandLife

Individuality, conformity and our need for social acceptance

One of the most paradoxical aspects of human behavior, if you ask me, is the universally felt need for freedom to be yourself and the simultaneous tendency to conform toContinue reading

24 May 20206 June 2020 mennovanderlandLife

Hope is not enough

Where there is life is hope, they say. But where there is life, there is also hopelessness. And despair. And cynicism. And wishful thinking, that meaningless hope that will neverContinue reading

7 May 2020 mennovanderlandLife

Why we need to be angry sometimes (regardless what the Stoics say)

I don’t know about you, but I can get quite angry sometimes. It doesn’t happen often, but things like injustice, cheating and disrespectful behavior can really piss me off. ItContinue reading

30 April 20203 May 2020 mennovanderlandLife

Do you want what you wish?

“You don’t have to learn to want,” said Greek philosopher Seneca. And indeed, we humans seem very good at wanting. We want all kinds of things. And there are thingsContinue reading

19 April 20203 May 2020 mennovanderlandLife

Forget being who you are. Life’s about becoming who you want to be

You may recognize this: To friends, family or colleagues you can’t refrain from stressing that you “want to be yourself”, and meanwhile you silently ask yourself, “Who am I actually?”Continue reading

12 April 20203 May 2020 mennovanderlandLife

5 misunderstandings about being introverted

If someone asks you whether you are an introvert or an extrovert, do you immediately know the answer? I myself do not identify with either; I always say that IContinue reading

2 April 20203 May 2020 mennovanderlandLife

Authenticity: your values, your choice

If you buy an age-old painting for a lot of money, you probably want a certificate that guarantees the authenticity of the painting, so that you can be sure thatContinue reading

7 March 20207 March 2020 mennovanderlandTravel

Chili

15 februari – 7 maart 2020 Santiago Of het bewust gedaan is, weet ik niet, maar Chili heeft wel wat weg van een chilipeper. Het beslaat een smalle strook land,Continue reading

31 December 201919 April 2020 mennovanderlandLife

End of a decade

These days you hear and read a lot about this new year’s being the start of a new decade. And it does feel like that, doesn’t it? We tend toContinue reading

25 December 201919 April 2020 mennovanderlandLife

Rollo May on choosing to live

“It is doubtful whether anyone really begins to live, until he has frankly confronted the terrifying fact that he could wipe out his existence but chooses not to. Since oneContinue reading

11 December 201919 April 2020 mennovanderlandLife

Nicolas Bommarito on modesty

We tend to think we are the centre of the universe, which is true only in the sense that we are the centre of our own experiences. And what happensContinue reading

2 December 201919 April 2020 mennovanderlandLife

Rebecca Solnit on progress

“Every act is an act of faith, because you don’t know what will happen. Nobody can know the full consequences of their actions. You just hope and employ whatever wisdomContinue reading

21 November 201919 April 2020 mennovanderlandLife

‘Man’s search for meaning’ in 10 quotes

I just finished reading ‘Man’s search for meaning’ by Viktor Frankl. Here are my 10 favorite quotes from this highly recommended book: 1. Happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue.Continue reading

27 October 201919 April 2020 mennovanderlandLife

Karim Benammar on meaning

Yesterday, I went to the Brainwash Festival in Amsterdam, a philosophy event co-hosted by The School of Life Amsterdam. At the festival I attended a lecture by Karim Benammar, whoContinue reading

11 October 201919 April 2020 mennovanderlandLife

Maria Popova on critical thinking and hope

“To live with sincerity in our culture of cynicism is a difficult dance, one that comes easily only to the very young and the very old. The rest of usContinue reading

8 October 201922 December 2019 mennovanderlandLife

On success

Let others worry about winning, fame and popularity. You, instead, are free to choose your own values and therefore your own standards by which you measure success.

7 October 201919 April 2020 mennovanderlandLife

Balance, nuance and moderation

Things are hardly ever black and white. There are always different sides to a story. Upsides and downsides to a proposition. When it comes to ideas and values there areContinue reading

5 October 201919 April 2020 mennovanderlandLife

Eleanor Roosevelt on life

“It’s your life, but only if you make it so. The standards by which you live must be your own standards, your own values, your own convictions in regard toContinue reading

4 October 201919 April 2020 mennovanderlandLife

On distinguishing feelings from thoughts

How many times do we say or think: I feel powerless I feel guilty I feel disappointed I feel misunderstood I feel jealous I feel resentful I feel inferior ProbablyContinue reading

3 October 201921 December 2019 mennovanderlandLife

On regret

You should never regret choices you made which, based on your knowledge, experience and options available, you thought to be the best choice at that point in time. What youContinue reading

22 September 20192 January 2020 mennovanderlandTravel

Baltische staten

6 – 22 september 2019 Als ik de drie Baltische staten, Estland, Letland en Litouwen, moet samenvatten dan zou ik zeggen: een roerige geschiedenis, prachtige oude steden en rustige natuurgebieden.Continue reading

9 September 201919 April 2020 mennovanderlandLife

Tim Fransen on morality

“Morality should not be about truth, but about values. Danger arises as soon as the concept of ‘truth’ is introduced in a domain where it does not belong, namely theContinue reading

9 June 20192 January 2020 mennovanderlandTravel

Canada – Ontario & Québec

24 mei – 9 juni 2019 Canada is het op één na grootste land ter wereld (na Rusland), maar heeft slechts 35 miljoen inwoners. Ik reis twee weken rond inContinue reading

29 April 201919 April 2020 mennovanderlandLife

Fromm’s ‘The Art of Loving’

My favorite quote from Erich Fromm’s book ‘The Art of Loving’ is this one: “There is hardly any activity, any enterprise, which is started with such tremendous hopes and expectations,Continue reading

28 April 201919 April 2020 mennovanderlandLife

Optimistic nihilism (Is life worth living?)

Whether we consider our life worth living is indeed the ultimate existential question. And I am in constant doubt about the answer… Existentialism is hard, imho, because we have toContinue reading

24 April 201921 December 2019 mennovanderlandLife

Happiness as mental disorder

The DSM – often referred to as “The Bible of Psychiatry” – lists over 300 (!) mental disorders. Remarkably, I learned today, happiness is not one of them. Turns outContinue reading

20 April 201919 April 2020 mennovanderlandLife

The Zizek – Peterson debate

It was kind of a thing. A big and well advertised debate between two popular as well as controversial thinkers: Slavoj Zizek and Jordan Peterson. Many people were looking forwardContinue reading

20 March 201919 April 2020 mennovanderlandLife

The golden rule

The so-called ‘Golden Rule’ is one of the most well-known ethical standards. It states that you should treat others as you would wish to be treated yourself. I have alwaysContinue reading

17 March 201919 April 2020 mennovanderlandLife

Are we like hamsters?

Many of us are working to improve their emotional well-being by addressing past experiences and traumas, either by themselves or guided by a therapist. Let me be clear that IContinue reading

11 March 201919 April 2020 mennovanderlandLife

Guy Winch on rejection

At some point in our lives, all of us have to deal with rejection (either romantically or professional or otherwise). Now, I am currently reading a book by psychologist GuyContinue reading

9 March 20192 January 2020 mennovanderlandTravel

Valencia

6 – 9 maart 2019 Cuidad Vieja Halverwege de oostkust van Spanje, aan de Middellandse Zee, ligt Valencia. Het is de op twee na grootste stad van Spanje en heeftContinue reading

3 March 201921 December 2019 mennovanderlandLife

On expectations

Yesterday at The School of Life Festival I attended a mini class on ‘expectations’. You know, those tricky imaginations that we all have about what future events are supposed toContinue reading

24 February 201919 April 2020 mennovanderlandLife

Still the echo

“Still the echo, so that you don’t allow an event, however unpleasant or momentous, to claim any more time than it took for it to occur. Because what your foesContinue reading

22 February 201919 April 2020 mennovanderlandLife

Existential road trip

Life is an existential road trip. You are free to drive where you want. There are no ultimate reasons for taking one road over another. You may crash, and youContinue reading

20 February 201919 April 2020 mennovanderlandLife

On time (and why ‘living in the now’ is b*s*)

“Temporality is evidently an organised structure. The three so-called “elements” of time, past, present, and future,  should not be considered as collection of “givens” for us to sum up –Continue reading

17 February 201919 April 2020 mennovanderlandLife

On free will

I think the whole free will – determinism discussion is pointless, because it’s about two extremes neither of which represents reality. Free will advocates that claim our will is completeleyContinue reading

17 February 201919 April 2020 mennovanderlandLife

Kurzgesagt on loneliness

This video by Kurzgesagt / In a Nutshell explains perfectly what loneliness is and how we can deal with it.

15 February 201921 December 2019 mennovanderlandLife

On hypocricy

Are you a hypocrite? I think I am. Some say we all are. So here’s a question: What values do you propagate that you do not (always) live by yourself?Continue reading

14 February 201921 December 2019 mennovanderlandLife

Desire management

One of the teachers at The School of Life Amsterdam, Lammert Kamphuis, once explained what he called ‘desire management’. He said, whenever you feel a certain desire, ask yourself 2Continue reading

11 February 201919 April 2020 mennovanderlandLife

On suicide

In a recent discussion on how people might deal with suicidal thoughts, somebody stated that life has its ups and downs and that people with suicidal thoughts may not alwaysContinue reading

9 February 20192 January 2020 mennovanderlandTravel

Colombia

15 januari – 1 februari 2019 Een land met een bewogen verleden “Colombia? Is het daar wel veilig?” Dat was de meest gehoorde reactie toen ik besloot naar Colombia teContinue reading

8 February 201919 April 2020 mennovanderlandLife

On failing

When something goes wrong, a lot of people blame themselves. They feel they have failed, they are to blame. Does that sound familiar? In that case I would like toContinue reading

Posts navigation

Older posts

Quick facts

Home base: Leiden, The Netherlands

Education: PhD in political science

Philosophy: existentialism & pragmatism

Personality type: INTJ-A, critical thinker & ambivert

Political orientation: liberal-minded democrat

Into: travel, philosophy, photography, politics, wine, good food & good conversation

Recent Posts

  • Loneliness is not being alone. It’s the feeling that nobody cares
  • Is autonomy a myth? (Spoiler: No it is not.)
  • Why you should always keep asking ‘why?’
  • Luxemburg & Belgische Ardennen
  • Perfection is an illusion. Pursuing it is a recipe for unhappiness

Subscribe

Receive posts and updates in your email:

Powered by WordPress | Design by Oria & Liberty Lane | Copyright & Disclaimer | © Menno van der Land