Dear LPG, 

As we get older the days can appear to drag on if we are not careful.  Perhaps it is the case that we feel as if we have lived through so many of them that there is very little left that we have not done thousands of times before.  That thought can be quite depressing in itself when you come to think about it.

Anticipation is such an important emotion and, while we often have big goals we are working on, when we’re young we all go through bouts of feeling as if there is nothing left to look forward to later in life. 

Often work offers those goals you are aiming for.  For those driven by their work meeting a target is perhaps what we strive for and being praised for someone else’s job well done, may well be something that you miss once you don’t have a boss anymore.

The big ultimate targets are really important but I also think that having a personal daily focal point makes all the difference to every life.   It could be that afternoon cuppa with your favourite television program or a really long chat with a friend or family member on the phone each evening.  Seeing the progress that you have made with a project might be the thing that you really look forward to, or just being able to sink into a tub of hot bubbly water with some ambient music playing in the background might be your thing.  Perhaps you are the sort of person who likes to watch a film or listen to a particular bit of music repeatedly.

I know that I am now talking about those things that sound really good until you try to explain to someone else the reason that they mean so much to you, so there is another facet to adopting this daily, or at least weekly habit.

Though I am talking about those personal indulgences that mean very little to anyone else, if someone you know spends time telling you about theirs during a conversation, make the time to appreciate that scenario in their life that means practically nothing to you.  

Practising your powers of encouragement, empathy, enthusiasm, and patients may well be another skill that is needed because sharing their personal pleasure may well be part of the highlight of the day of a person that you are talking to, making you part of the focal point of someone else’s day…

And, if you can’t think of anything else, making someone else’s day could well be a really good way of putting a focal point in yours… 

GF, Sydenham

LPG offers a little like minded online advice…

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