I had never had an anxiety attack. Naturally enough I’d coached plenty of clients who had, and I’m reasonably sure I’d helped them through their various emotional crises, nearly always managing to find a way to reconnect them with their innate wellbeing. I know...

My dinner was bubbling away on the stove. I stood out in the garden looking up at the stars. Something was bugging me but it was a beautiful night and I felt momentarily grateful to be alive. There is something very calming to me about the vastness of the universe....

“Resistance is futile!” It sounds like something out of a Bond film, or maybe the catch phrase of the latest Doctor Who villain. In our fiction the heroes are always putting up a valiant fight against the forces of evil. The odds are overwhelming but the good guys...

What are my earliest experiences? I’m sure they are very similar, if not identical, to yours. Is it fair to assume that like me you were wrapped in cosy blankets, cradled and fussed over, beamed at by adoring adults, mum, dad, uncles and aunts, carers, older siblings...

My father looked pretty good, lying in his coffin. That’s not intended as a sick joke, and it certainly doesn’t reflect my feelings at the time, which were pretty much what you’d expect as I stood over him in the funeral parlour, preparing to lay the old man to rest....

It started out as simple light-headedness. Well I’d been doing pretty well on my diet up to now, cutting out sugar and putting plenty of time in at the gym, at least twice a week. I’d lost a few pounds and felt a whole lot better about myself, with renewed...

I’ve changed my mind about choices. I used to think that I was 100% in charge of my own destiny. In fact I prided myself on my ability to seek out new opportunities, capitalise on my hard-won skills and forge a career for myself. The move from I.T. into personal...

We’re a funny lot, us human beings. We’re walking contradictions, every one of us. Gratitude for the things we’ve achieved is too often outweighed by regret for those we haven’t. Do you know what I mean? It sometimes seems that whatever we’re doing, and however...

I sometimes tell an anecdote against myself concerning an incident many years ago when I worked in sales for a well-known computer company. Called into the boss’s office to give a weekly report I regaled him with a long list of grievances, mostly to do with the...

Be careful what you wish for… A professional guy, a life coach I’ve been acquainted with for many years, had pretty much achieved everything he’d dreamed of way back when he started out. From humble beginnings selling his wares metaphorically from door to door,...

It’s a normal working day for me, so after what is hopefully a peaceful night’s sleep I go through my regular morning ritual. That involves showering (unless I’m off to the gym for an early work-out, in which case there’s very little point) and eating a good hearty...

I was having a routine check-up at my local surgery. There was a delay and as I sat idly in the waiting room I noticed there was a blood pressure machine in the corner. Not one of those rubber and plastic contraptions you strap around your arm, this one looked more...