Call off the search parties, I’m alive and well! I know, I’ve been missing for ages. Life got the better of me. The lowest point of the last 6 months was when the Hamm family found itself in the vulnerable position of being evicted from our apartment. Our landlord wanted his apartment back so we had no choice but to leave. It was impossible to find accommodation in Dublin within our notice period, and without the generous help and support of family, we would have been in emergency accommodation. But thankfully, we found somewhere to live a little further outside of Dublin and frankly, we are better off. Despite having to get used to longer days and M50 traffic jams, it’s nice to have so much extra space and feel part of a community.
So between landlords, bosses and bank managers I was feeling the weight of the world. Basically, I could give you a litany of excuses for not writing anything before now, but at this point it’s irrelevant. I have a new home (still have a landlord), a new job (still have a boss) and life is feeling a lot more positive. I realised that I can’t control what happens in life, but one thing I can control is my reaction. I’ve heard it said thousands of times before, but sometimes it takes real life experience to get the message.
I have chosen to be positive, or at least to try to be positive. It does take a bit more effort but it’s worth it. Take, for example, a difficult colleague I used to have. She was very needy and needed a lot of hand-holding. She would often come to my office “for a chat” when I’d be swamped trying to meet deadlines, and she always wanted to talk about politics whereas I’d prefer to chat about who was on First Dates last night. She was draining and I would dread being stuck sitting with her at lunchtime, to the point where I started to eat my lunch quickly at my desk and then go out and wander the streets for the remainder of the hour.
But one day I stopped to think why this colleague would hang around my office or hog the table at lunchtime, and I realised that she might just be lonely. She was away from her family all week, so maybe she just genuinely needed someone to talk to. So I changed my attitude. I decided to make an effort to chat to her instead of brushing her aside. I found areas of common ground (a bit of eye-rolling about the boss was a good one), and gradually I stopped dreading bumping into her and actually began to enjoy her company. It made such a difference to my day. Instead of feeling like she had ruined my lunchtime, I felt uplifted and happier at work. I was surprised how something so small could have such a big impact on my life.
So I come to you now, with this new-found positive outlook. Since becoming a commuter time has become much more precious to me. I have decided to return to all the good habits and things that make me happy, and let go of those that take up too much time and energy for very little reward. I know, I’m a total hippy now. But calmer and happier and feeling more in control, and looking forward to diving back into the world of Unbeatable.