We’ve all felt it. The external, invisible power that drives us to do things we don’t really want to, just ‘in case we miss out’. All it takes is a blink, and suddenly our lives are full of over stimulation and information overload. We’re bombarded with marketing messages that tell us all the things that are wrong with us, how we got ourselves into the ‘mess’ we’re in, and of course, the exact steps we need to follow so we can ‘turn our lives around’.

Uncertainty. It’s like a massive black void sitting right in front of us. It’s wide and gaping and terrifying. … What if we take a step in the wrong direction? … What will that mean? … How will it look? … What will people think? We’re so afraid to step out of line, to get things wrong … to fail and have everyone see.

Do you wish your life was simpler? Here’s what you need to know: Most of us have been taught that we have to push ourselves in order to be able to achieve anything significant. The old saying: ‘No pain – no gain’ has morphed into ‘No stress – no success’. We’re driven to achieve, to succeed quickly and in a way that is highly visible, so that we can provide social ‘proof’ of our success. We’re caught in a highly demanding way of living – one where we respond to demands from all corners of life at the same time.

So many of us spent so much of 2020 desperately wishing that the 1st of January 2021 would hurry up and be with us. We were hit – and hit hard – but somehow we held onto the hope that 2021 would be better. Now, here we are … already six months of 2021 gone and we’re experiencing more of the same. Face masks, lockdowns, restricted movement and restraint on life in general.