Tag: mental-health
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The First Quote
Do you have a quote you live your life by or think of often? There are too many quotes to choose from. Some stay with us because they are beautiful. Some because they are useful. Some because someone we loved used to say them. And some because they arrive at a particular moment and never…
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When I feel most productive
When do you feel most productive? In a recent reflection on circadian rhythms and work, Lisa Leong makes a simple but important point: not everyone does their best thinking at the same time of day. Some people are sharp early. Some gather speed later. Some can make good decisions in the morning but should not…
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On Risk and Honesty
When is the last time you took a risk? How did it work out? The last time I took a risk was a couple of days ago, when I wrote in my blog about a time I should have said no. Writing about it felt risky. Not dramatically risky. But still, it was a risk…
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Letting the Day Wear Off
How do you unwind after a demanding day? First, I come home and take the dog to the local forest for a while. It is not really a forest. It is a park. But people call it The Forest, which makes it sound much more impressive. I throw the ball for her to catch. Not…
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The Places That Leave Me Cold
What place in the world do you never want to visit? Why? I love visiting new places. Often they are not the places other people expect. I have travelled on every continent, including Antarctica, and some of the places that have most moved me were not the polished or well-known ones. They were places with…
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In Ten Years’ Time
Where do you see yourself in 10 years? In ten years’ time I will be long retired. People will no longer be coming to my office each day looking for feedback, advice, or a decision. I will have joined the long line of those who have gone before me: remembered by some, unknown to those…
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Five Things That Bring Me Happiness
What are 5 everyday things that bring you happiness? What brings me happiness is not usually anything dramatic. More often, it is the ordinary things I return to again and again, the parts of life that make me feel most alive. Nature is one of them. I love bushland. Bushwalking is a great source of…
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Learning to End the Day
Describe one positive change you have made in your life The most important changes are not always the ones that announce themselves. Some arrive quietly and only later do you realise how much good they have done. Learning to go to bed earlier was like that for me. It does not sound like much, but…
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Telling the Truth Well
How would you improve your community? One way to improve our community is to help people tell the truth more gently and more clearly. That may sound like a small thing, but it matters a great deal. In any close community, people will talk. They will notice tensions, mistakes, weaknesses and struggles. Some information does…
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Going Deeper by Saying No
How often do you say “no” to things that would interfere with your goals? Probably not often enough. My mother’s summation of my life is that I take on too much. I have come to think she is right. I have spent much of my life assuming that I can fit one more thing in,…
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The Things I Come Back To
What strategies do you use to cope with negative feelings? I don’t have a toolkit for coping with negative feelings, at least not in any formal sense, but I do know what fits the way I am wired. Over time I have learned to return to a few simple things. Prayer is one of them.…
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A Kind of Flow
What activities do you lose yourself in? I lose myself in writing, walking, and sport, and each of them impacts me in a different way. Writing often gets hold of me. It can be an idea, a life story, a poem, a short story. Something catches, and once it does I can lose all track…
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The Loss That Changed Me
What experiences in life helped you grow the most? I grew a lot the day I realised I had been scammed. I was older when I bought an apartment as an investment, and I trusted advice that seemed sensible at the time. A friend had recommended a financial adviser, and he showed me a number…
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What He Needed Wasn’t a Lecture
What advice would I give my teenage self? I don’t think I’d give him a grand speech. I’d try to be a person he could trust. Older me: You don’t need a lecture.Teenage me: Then what do I need?Older me: People who will listen properly. People with wisdom. People who take you seriously and help…
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Tall, Dark, and Silent
If there were a biography about you, what would the title be? The first thing that comes to mind is something someone said about me years ago: “Tall, dark and silent.” It was meant playfully, not cruelly, but it probably caught something true about how I occupy a room. I’m naturally reserved. I don’t speak…
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Hunting for Gems
Are there any activities or hobbies you’ve outgrownor lost interest in over time? I used to spend hours in the city, moving from one second-hand record store to another, scanning the shelves for comedy albums. Not music this time—comedy. Victor Borge. Peter Sellers. Shelley Berman. Bob Newhart. They were old even then, and that was…
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The Hinge
Describe your most ideal day from beginning to end I’m a person with simple tastes. I don’t need much to have a good day. My ideal day is made of a handful of small scenes that, put together, feel like enough. I’m up at 4:30 or 5:00am. The house is quiet. I feed the animals…
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What Each Decade Taught Me
How do significant life events or the passage of timeinfluence your perspective on life? When I was 17, I thought focus was a virtue. Cut out distractions, study hard, give yourself to the things you valued. I did that. I achieved. But I also felt empty. In my twenties I worked at a major bank.…
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A Measured No
What’s the thing you’re most scared to do?What would it take to get you to do it? Every now and then someone says they went skydiving on the weekend like it’s a normal weekend activity. They’ll say it casually—like it’s on the same level as trying a new café. I’m always interested and usually ask…
The Afterword 