Yesterday, esteemed reader, dear reader, the Magic Mountain would have cleared its throat softly, because it itself knows so much about boredom, time and diversion; but the Magic Mountain was not in the room, only Hans was there, and Hans was the one who always listened.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn everyday life, hyperfocus often means: creating diversion,\u201d said Dr. AuDHS. \u201cExperiencing time in such a way that it passes quickly \u2013 because I am in it. Boredom is the natural enemy of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked into the room as if searching for boredom between the armchairs.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd a surprising trigger of boredom is: lack of organization,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
A few guests twisted their faces as if they had seen a pile of papers.<\/p>\n
\u201cA simple example,\u201d said Dr. AuDHS, \u201cand everyone knows it: Filing papers for a few minutes \u2013 easy. A huge pile of papers after months \u2013 torture.\u201d<\/p>\n
He smiled, this time openly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy? Because the pile is not just work. It is mental burden. It is resistance. It is the moment when our brain says: Too big. Too unclear. Too unrewarding.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said \u201ctoo unrewarding\u201d, and you could tell that he knows the word, that he loves it, that he uses it as a diagnosis.<\/p>\n
\u201cOrganization makes things small,\u201d he said. \u201cOrganization makes things doable. Organization makes life more diverting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hans thought of Dr. Porsche\u2019s ritual notes, of the weighed gram amounts, of the evening measurement of the diastole. Organization, yes. Diversion? Maybe. Or perhaps a new form of prison. But Dr. AuDHS now said something that sounded like an answer to that.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe side effect,\u201d he said, \u201csuccess. Because those who are organized achieve goals more predictably, faster, more reliably. And because organization creates recurring processes, routines arise.\u201d<\/p>\n
He paused briefly.<\/p>\n
\u201cRoutines are not prison,\u201d he said. \u201cThey are freedom. Because they reduce mental burden and create space for what really matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hans thought: Freedom through routine \u2013 that is the sentence that comforts and frightens a deserter at the same time.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo if I want happiness in the here and now,\u201d said Dr. AuDHS, \u201corganization is part of it. Not as control \u2013 but as relief. Not as compulsion \u2013 but as a way to be able to breathe again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hans involuntarily breathed more deeply.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the meaning of my life,\u201d continued Dr. AuDHS, \u201cincludes not only fun now, but also living healthily for a long time, then there is no way around two areas: training and nutrition.\u201d<\/p>\n
Here you could hear a kind of expectation rise in the room: the guests had already suspected this, in a resort like this; they were, strictly speaking, not here by chance.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd fit,\u201d said Dr. AuDHS, \u201cdoes not just mean looking athletic here. Fit is a combination of endurance and resilience, mobility and freedom from pain, musculature and strength \u2013 especially in old age.\u201d<\/p>\n
He paused briefly, as if he wanted to give old age the dignity of not being a threat, but a fact.<\/p>\n
\u201cI personally,\u201d he said, \u201chave decided for myself: strength training is my core. Because it is intense, clearly measurable, and because it can give me euphoria and focus at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hans inwardly saw Zieser\u2019s hands pushing the plate onto the bar as if it were a sacrament.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is simple,\u201d said Dr. AuDHS, \u201cand brutally honest: You lift what you can lift. You grow if you stick with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
You could hear a muscle somewhere in the room agree.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut training is more than sport,\u201d he continued. \u201cTraining can also mean: mastering hygiene and health routines, learning stress management, protecting sleep, and consciously working on your own personality.\u201d<\/p>\n
Here, esteemed reader, dear reader, Morgenstern should have pricked up his ears, and he did: his face became a shade more serious.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo reflect,\u201d said Dr. AuDHS, \u201chow we affect people who are important to us. What we should change. Where we are still too impulsive, too hard, too unclear, too comfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n
The word \u201chard\u201d fell like a weight.<\/p>\n
\u201cNutrition, in turn,\u201d said Dr. AuDHS, \u201cis not a dogma. Nutrition is a system that has to work in everyday life: it should promote health, enable enjoyment, calm digestion, strengthen performance \u2013 without a permanent feeling of renunciation.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked into the room as if he knew that renunciation sounds like an insult in such houses \u2013 and like a longing.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd here,\u201d he said, \u201ca principle applies that saves a lot of arguments: Not perfect wins. But feasible wins.\u201d<\/p>\n
He left the sentence standing as if it were a motto that you could print on mugs \u2013 and for that very reason true.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnyone who wants to change something today,\u201d he continued, \u201cdoes not need an ideology. He needs a routine that holds.\u201d<\/p>\n
He raised his hand as if he wanted to add:<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd yes: With all this, of course \u2013 this is not individual medical advice. Anyone who has health issues belongs in good medical hands.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hans thought of Dr. Porsche, of the warm-professional crack in his voice, of the values, of the recommendation of the longer stay. Good medical hands, yes; but also good hands that weigh, that record, that lead.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will make it concrete,\u201d said Dr. AuDHS now, and you could tell that he was coming to a point where speech tips into the personal; and this tipping is always risky, because it becomes either embarrassing or true.<\/p>\n