The Person I Was. The Person I Am. (reacting vs responding) I’m still me. I’ve just stopped reacting and started responding. I’ve realised there’s a big difference between reacting and responding. Facebook Memories has a habit of introducing me to someone I know very well. Me. Sometimes I smile. Sometimes I cringe. Sometimes I wonder…

Plain English is a Kindness Thoughts on communication, clarity and the small edits that make everyday life easier. Somewhere along the way, we’ve started confusing complicated with clever. Simple emails become “communications.” Problems become “challenges.” Working together becomes “leveraging synergies.” Sometimes I wonder if we’re all expected to carry a corporate phrasebook just to understand…

When everything is a game changer – nothing is…. I spent a few minutes online recently before deciding I’d seen enough. Someone had created a standing desk using a stack of books, a laundry basket and two bent paperclips. There was nothing wrong with it. In fact, it was quite resourceful. What made me smile…

I didn’t sit down one day and decide to have higher standards. It just… happened, slowly, over time. Things I would have tolerated before started to feel off.Conversations that went nowhere.Commitments that drained more than they gave.People who took more than they offered. Nothing dramatic.Just a quiet shift in what felt worth it – and…

I used to think I needed a reason for everything. A good one.Something that made sense to other people.Something that wouldn’t be questioned. Why I couldn’t make something.Why I didn’t want to do something.Why I was stepping back. It felt easier to explain it than to just say it. But at some point, that changed.…

For a long time, work was just… what I did. It filled the week.It gave structure.It gave a sense of purpose. And if I’m honest, I was good at it. Reliable.Capable.The one who got things done. You don’t question that when it’s working.You just carry on. But somewhere along the way, it becomes more than…

I spent years thinking I was just getting on with things. Working, managing, holding it all together – doing what needed to be done.No drama. No fuss. Just life. And for a long time, that felt like strength. What I didn’t realise was how much of it was just… coping. You don’t question it when…

Drink what you actually like. There was a time when I thought I should like certain wines. I’d go to tastings, listen to the descriptions and wonder what on earth everyone else was tasting. Apparently there were notes of blackberry, leather, tobacco and the faint aroma of an oak barrel that had spent twenty years…

A couple of years ago, as I approached sixty.  I realised I wanted to retire early. I’d spent years working at corporate level. I enjoyed parts of it and learned a huge amount, but I was tired. Not just physically tired, mentally tired too. Somewhere along the way I’d become disconnected from how I naturally…

Not everything you’re holding is yours to carry. Knowing what to put down changes everything.