Barbara Geier: Practical German wisdoms

TEXT & PHOTOS: BARBARA GEIER

It’s still the beginning of the year, kind of. So, in the spirit of belated New Year’s resolutions, let’s dive into three German wisdoms that have the potential to bring some structure and matter-of-factness into your life, if followed…

Number one: “Ordnung ist das halbe Leben.” Or “order is half of life.” Very simple, very clear, very German. The idea is to bring structure to your life to avoid chaos, which equals losing time and causing stress. And few things upset the German mind more than things not running smoothly in daily life when they could if only some order would be adhered to.

The saying also ties in with another key German concept, which is the belief that organising things in the first place avoids problems later. How boring, you might say. How about spontaneity, adventure and improvisation? I’m with you but…although I wasn’t born with the in-built order desire that seems to be typical German, I do appreciate it and know, for a fact, that at least some order makes my life easier. So, maybe we can settle on order is a quarter of life!

The next German wisdom is a wake-up call for all the procrastinators out there (again, I’m with you) because the lovely rhyme of “Was du heute kannst besorgen, das verschiebe nicht auf morgen” simply means “Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today.” And who could argue with that. You’ll also notice the close connection to our first wisdom. Little tasks, admin and the likes that are handled quickly before, ultimately, some kind of deadline looms, support order – and reduce stress.

Should you now think that it’s all just about order, organisation and never lapsing on your well-structured path, here’s a German proverb offering a different perspective: “Wer nicht wagt, der nicht gewinnt,” meaning “If you don’t dare, you don’t win.” Yes, there’s room for taking a risk. But only – we’re talking Germany here after all – after you’ve carefully analysed the situation at hand so that you can make an informed decision. Reckless chance-taking is, obviously, not covered by this wisdom.

Now, pick and choose which of the three you might benefit most from this year and do the practice test in the coming months. And as a bonus, I’ll wrap this up with a German saying that’s not in the wisdom category but has a direct equivalent in English and is one of my favourites to show how language and the people who speak it approach the same thing in different ways: “Zwei Dumme, ein Gedanke” – literally “two stupid people, one thought” – which is in German used like the English “Great minds think alike.” One is flattering, while the other must sound quite harsh to non-German (speaking) ears. Only, it’s not but instead spoken with self-irony and meant – and understood – that way. So, when using this in German, don’t worry about calling someone a fool. We won’t be offended.

Barbara Geier is a London-based freelance writer, translator and communications consultant. She is also the face behind www.germanyiswunderbar.com, a German travel and tourism guide and blog that was set up together with UK travel writer Andrew Eames in 2010.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Discover Germany, Switzerland & Austria.

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