Learning to relax

For the past 40 years I’ve always been anxious, assumed the worst and allowed small problems to magnify in my mind to the point they distract me completely. You might think that experience would have taught me that things are never as bad as I fear, and that as more often than not, people are helpful, supportive and positive.

One benefit of this gloomy outlook, is that when I’ve taken on projects, I’ve always prepared for things not going quite as planned, and so not surprisingly, have been able to by-pass the pitfalls and deliver more than my client hopes for. (I also challenge the brief, focusing on what is needed, rather than what is asked for).

Moving to the Suffolk coast should be giving me the opportunity to break the habit of overthinking and anticipating catastrophe, but the year thus far has been dogged by dental pain and a few issues around rights of way and land ownership. But the pain is receding and the legal issues are all but resolved. Perhaps the biggest lesson I am learning this year is to be patient and not expect change to happen overnight.