Happiness

Walking upstairs late in the evening, after a sultry warm April day, I am hit by a smell in the air I remember from my childhood. It takes me back in an instant to Saturday mornings, waking up in my single bed with its orange throw and feeling the crisp flat pages of “Tiger & Scorcher” on my … [Read more...] about Why You Have To Work At Happiness

At dinner on Sunday evening my father in law says, from nowhere, that the way to enjoy your work is to make sure it doesn’t involve other human beings. I tell him that, for me at least, the opposite is true. In a way I can understand his jaundiced view because he worked most of his life in the … [Read more...] about How To Enjoy Your Work

A month or so before Christmas a young lady came to see me seeking help with her fear of flying. She was due to go on a trip to visit Poland’s Christmas markets but was terrified by the thought of stepping onto a plane. It reminded me of all the years I struggled with travel. Constantly living out … [Read more...] about Why “Do What You Love” Is Bad Advice

I'm going to London and, standing on the platform, I feel glad that I don't have to do it every day. Hardly anyone looks happy as we wait in the already strengthening summer sunshine. On the train people put bags on the seats next to them in a futile attempt to secure personal space before the … [Read more...] about Why Money Isn’t A Route To Freedom

In “Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance” Pirsig argues that “physical discomfort only matters when the mood is wrong”. He goes on, “Then you fasten on to whatever thing is uncomfortable and call that the cause. But if the mood is right, then physical discomfort doesn't mean much”. It made me … [Read more...] about Why Discomfort Only Matters If Your Mood Is Wrong