[this article was originally written for Puttylike] As a child I was confused by a story about a kid torturing himself by trying not to think about orange penguins. The intended moral was that it’s impossible to not think about something. But I never understood why you wouldn’t want to think about orange penguins. They […]
Tag: brains
Feeling Scared as Lockdown Ends? An Anxious Human Explores Some Feelings
It’s June, 2020, and here in the UK the coronavirus lockdown is relaxing. (Actually, it’s not at all relaxing, it’s extremely stress-inducing, but you know what I mean.) Like most people, I’ve struggled with isolation and stress during these early stages of the pandemic but now that some aspects of daily life are returning to […]
Making Good Choices
[this article was originally written for Puttylike] Making good choices is hard. In fact, there’s only one thing I hate more than not having any choice, and that’s having to make one at all. I feel trapped when I have too few options, and overwhelmed when I have too many. Why are choices so difficult?
A Simple Trick to Sidestep Self-Criticism
[this article was originally written for Puttylike] Sometimes I’m ashamed to share my work. You might think that’s understandable (particularly if you’ve been exposed to many of my posts before!) but this isn’t just a healthy sense of shame at my evident limitations. Often, it’s fear of my own unoriginality. That inner voice of shame […]
How to Change Your Life with One Small Move
[This post was originally written for puttylike.com] Recently, the principles of Feng Shui—an ancient Chinese art which advocates a system of placement within a space to harmonise various energies—became incredibly important to me. (By sheer coincidence, there was an unpleasant job I didn’t want to do, and spending the afternoon rearranging my office seemed preferable.) After some […]
A Simple Idea to Help With Repetitive Anxiety
How many times have I felt this anxiety before? And how many times was the anxiety ‘correct’?!
When Should We Run Away From Our Problems?
[status: pretty obvious stuff, but may be helpful to people – like me – who tend to overthink things] Recently, somebody asked me for advice about making a big decision. Obviously, the fact they were asking me demonstrates terrible judgement, so I told them whatever decision they THOUGHT they should make, they should probably do […]
Why Good Advice Might Be Bad Advice (and vice versa)
[post status: a little rough, but there’s something useful buried in here!] Here’s some advice you might hear if you’re dealing with anxiety: “It doesn’t matter WHY you’re struggling, accept the feelings and focus instead on the present” Sounds great. But, then, so does this: “we should confront and heal our past traumas so they […]
You Can’t Not Do Things, You Can Only Do Them
Trying not to do something is a trap. If you’re stuck, reframe it as a positive action.
Sort of Fake It till you Sort of Make It
[post status: a quick & messy throwaway thought] It’s a two-way street between our feelings and our actions. Sometimes we perform well because we’re confident, but acting confident also helps our performance. Hence the popular advice: “Fake it till you make it!”