first, we make the beast beautiful: A New Story About Anxiety

Uge tells me that we then feel where our inside peeps are at. Try saying to yourself, as he does, ‘Are we good? Are we comfortable? Is this where we should be? Is it making sense?’ ‘Don’t think or plan in this space, just check in,’ he says. Then let stuff happen.

That’s the thing with my important life moments, they always seem to emerge slowly, like a Polaroid picture.

That is, running too hard at the wrong priorities, compromising ourselves, force-fitting ourselves into ways of living we know aren’t right … all of which is highly abrasive and inflammatory.

And when we veer or we deviate from the truth, anxiety steps in and forcibly tells us ‘Wrong Way Go Back’.

But it gets worse, you see. We then try to cope by revving up the angst, don’t we? We use coffee and fast-speak and sugar and staying back at work longer. We grind harder. Try harder. Think harder. We should be able to work our way through this. We think this is what will fire us up out of our funk and get us back on our game. It’s a self-perpetuat

Turns out Chalmers went on to become a leading disrupter in consciousness research.

I rise at 6am. Non-negotiable. And drink hot water and lemon. I attend to ablutions. Then I slide straight into sneakers and move. I keep a bucket by my door with one pair of running shoes, one sports bra, one pair of green shorts. Every day (non-negotiable) I put on my one outfit (no room for faffing over what I’ll wear) and get out the door. I’ll

Louise Hay told me when we met, ‘The first hour of your day is crucial.’ She starts by thanking her bed for the sleep (!), stretches, has tea, then goes back to bed to read. Because she likes it. She even made a great bed-head so she can be at the best angle to read.

All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not.