Lebenslust – German for “joy of life” – is the podcast, book and journal by Aitekin Bertelsen. Honest and personal, about how to rediscover curiosity, joy and aliveness when everyday life has turned into just functioning.
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Honest conversations about curiosity, courage and finding your way back to yourself. In German.
How I rediscovered my curiosity – in three phases. German edition.
The companion book: 100 days, a few minutes a day – just for you.
I asked myself this question shortly before my 34th birthday. Raised in Azerbaijan and Russia, moved to Germany at 24, a successful career as a DJ, then a safe 9-to-5 job. Somewhere along the way I lost my cheerful, life-loving self – and set out to find it again.
Honestly, with humour and very personally, I tell how I leave perfectionism, people pleasing and self-sabotage behind. In three phases, this book invites you to rediscover your own curiosity.
“Brave like grown-ups, curious like children.”
@miaamare_musicThe joy of life is rarely lost with a bang. It disappears quietly, year after year – and most of the time we only notice when the emptiness has grown too big. As children we played because we were curious. At some point, life became a series of days to be managed: appointments, obligations, routines. All sensible, all necessary – and yet something essential is missing: the ability to feel joy and to feel ourselves.
That is exactly what Lebenslust is about. In the podcast, Aitekin Bertelsen speaks honestly about masks, self-sabotage and the way back to yourself – and talks with guests about what makes people shine, even after setbacks. The book tells her own journey; the journal accompanies you on yours for 100 days.
Where has the curious child we once were gone? That curiosity never disappears – we have only learned not to hear it anymore.
The best version of you is not the one who never makes mistakes, but the one who dares to be imperfect.
People pleasing drains your own energy. Healthy boundaries are not selfish – they are a gift to honest relationships.
Reparenting and loving boundaries: how we give ourselves the safety we may not have received back then.
Drinking your coffee mindfully instead of checking emails right away. Great happiness is made of small, slow moments.
The quiet voice within that knows what the soul really wants – and the courage to follow it.
Scrolling is not living. When something comes to life through your own personality, the energy starts flowing again.
Soft, but not weak: intuition, creativity and connection as a complement to your own strength.
Lebenslust (German for “joy of life”) is a German-language podcast and a book by Aitekin Bertelsen. It is about how to rediscover your own curiosity, joy and aliveness when everyday life has turned into just functioning – honest, humorous and very personal.
The podcast is available on Spotify. So far there are ten solo episodes; now Lebenslust is becoming a video podcast with guests who work on themselves and talk openly about how they keep their joy of life and how they found their way out of low points. The podcast is in German; international guests are welcome.
In three phases – Recognising, The Transition and Rediscovering the Joy of Life – the book tells how Aitekin leaves perfectionism, people pleasing and self-sabotage behind. It contains small exercises for everyday life and is available as a paperback on Amazon (German edition).
For women and men, roughly in their late twenties to late fifties, who are going through a midlife crisis or feel lost and want to find their way back to themselves and their curiosity.
The companion book to Lebenslust: a 100-day journaling challenge. Each day has a quote and “my sentence for today”, plus a daily page with date, cycle, mood, “my focus today”, three feelings, “this gave me joy of life today” and ten minutes of free writing. Coming soon.
Aitekin grew up in Azerbaijan and Russia, moved to Germany at 24 and was a successful DJ. Today she writes and talks in the Lebenslust podcast about how to go through life brave like a grown-up and curious like a child.
No. Lebenslust is a personal account and self-help guide, not therapy. Aitekin is not a doctor, psychologist or psychotherapist. Anyone who needs mental or physical support should turn to a doctor or a psychotherapist; in an acute crisis in Germany, the TelefonSeelsorge helps at 0800 111 0 111 or 0800 111 0 222, elsewhere your local emergency number.
Lebenslust – podcast, book and journal – is a personal account and self-help guide. I share my own story and what helped me. I am not a doctor, psychologist or psychotherapist. The content does not replace medical, psychological or psychotherapeutic advice, diagnosis or treatment.
You use the suggestions and exercises at your own responsibility. To the extent permitted by law, no liability is accepted for any consequences of their use.
If you are not feeling well, mentally or physically, please seek professional help – from your doctor or a psychotherapist. In an acute crisis in Germany, the TelefonSeelsorge is available around the clock, free of charge and anonymously, at 0800 111 0 111 or 0800 111 0 222. In an emergency, call 112 (EU) or your local emergency number.
