It's Peru, Baby.

Spent the morning lying in bed reading 'The 7 Habits of Effective People' (yes, I am aware of the irony) and have now come to realise that I really must stop worrying about things that I have no control over. Basically, the author explains how we all have a big 'circle of concern' containing a smaller 'circle of influence' and that we need to recognise what belongs where. I know we've all heard this before in one form or another, but the challenging thing is actually doing it. So, I must be very strict and not allow myself to wallow in random niggling worries of whether my doggy Wanpi misses us too much, my vague yet overwhelming fear of having children, or even my abstract wondering about if I will ever have a house and a car and nice holidays and a proper career. No! I cannot indulge myself in the luxury of pointless preoccupation. What I need to do is work on things that I can indeed do something about. Fancy that! It's great to drop all those crappy regrets about things that happened the past, fears for the future of the world and just concentrate on me, myself, now, in the present... eating well starts today, do the exercise now, listen better immediately, make that phone call, plan that article, write that letter. Change is constant, embrace it and allow yourself to evolve. I haven't read a great deal of 'self-improvement' literature, but what I have read I've taken very seriously (ever since Alan Carr's magnificent book stopped me smoking three years ago), though I know it's quite easy to scorn such writing. But scorn away, people who are locked into negative/incorrect/harmful ways of behaviour and thinking always will do so... whilst I'm well on my way to becoming a Supreme Being. Or, at least, rather good.