A Guide for Anxious Humans
Not every month can be great, but last year I had one which was a total disaster. They say a picture tells a thousand words:
After adapting to a national lockdown in January, I found a great productive rhythm. But last month everything went wrong simultaneously. Let’s look back and analyze what happened….
Like seemingly everyone I know, I watched Ted Lasso last year. It’s an Apple TV series about an American football coach being appointed as a manager in real football—or soccer, as it’s also called.
But this isn’t a typical sports show. I’ve seen the premise of Ted described as simply “what if a…
Back in the 1990s, my teenage self always looked forward to Tuesdays. Partly, I just liked them. But Tuesday was also the day when a friend-of-a-friend updated his website, and this was always a treat.
Hello! I’m of average height. My clothing is generally unremarkable. My ability to carry objects is middling.
… yeah, I realize this is an unusual way to greet you. I do that sometimes. So I suppose not everything about me is average.
But, statistically speaking, I have to admit that I am…
When I was nine, I wrote a story about my friends and me fighting giant spiders while we vanquished a great evil. The reviews were spectacular: five stars from both my parents! My literary career was off to a great start.
But a single comment from one reader, a family friend, has stuck…
Every now and then I get sick of the fact that all my goals are massive, overwhelming and scary. It’d be nice to just achieve something, for once. So I had an idea for a small, mini-project to help me recharge, and I thought it’d be fun to share the whole journey with you….
Most of the time I feel I ought to be trying harder. Sometimes, this feeling is correct: there are days when I need to put down the distractions and just get on with it, whatever “it” happens to be.
But often, I have the opposite problem.
It seems hard to believe, but there was a brief time when I was genuinely worried that I’d failed too little.
For years, the universe has refused to respect my wishes. In particular, I often experience things which I didn’t want to happen. And it’s unclear who I’m supposed to complain to about this.
Being skilled is a curse.
I don’t mean to sound conceited. (How could I be? One of my very best features is my world-beating humility.) It’s just that…when you can do something, it’s easy to feel like you should.