Morning Pogue,

Another letter on your door mat from me. Make coffee, find a comfy seat and sit down to read. It’s Monday.

Do you ever come face-to-face with your shortcomings?

I have been this week and it has made me realise that I’m not the person that I’d like to think I am. I am taking the whole experience as a good exercise in character development, hard though it is at the moment (and I’m guessing that if I didn’t I could become quite depressed, consumed by my own sense of failure🥺).

To be aware of a single shortcoming within oneself is more useful than to be aware of a thousand in someone else.

Dalia Lama

You see I am finding that I am not the long suffering person I would like to think I am, or, perhaps more correctly, I can be long suffering up to a point but this week I have gone beyond that and…I am face-to-face with a sense of failing. I’m hoping that you have been there as has anyone else who reads this letter.

The question has to be: “What do I do?”

The options are to let myself become consumed by the sense of failing or to find some way to come though and progress (I guess I could always walk away as well). I think I am reasonably pragmatic about life and so am able to realise that becoming consumed, whilst pampering a sense of self pity (and I know, after a failure I always say: “Allow yourself 24 hours of self pity”) I will achieve nothing, just spend life very cheaply. So do I walk away or face the situation? Me, I’ll face the situation whilst I still have power to bring about change because I want to continue to grow and improve. Plus if I walk away I will inevitably be back here again someday.

The fears we don’t face become our limits

Robin Sharam

So I’m facing my own shortcomings and making plans and building contingencies to progress. It is really small steps because it’s a challenging place and unchartered territory. But don’t we all, deep inside, want to be better people? Please tell me we do because that is the only hope for the world beyond a divine intervention! And it’s not easy, because, like an athlete pushing for a new personal best, I’m having to reach beyond what I’ve previously achieved, believing it’s possible, but not 100% sure until it’s achieved.

Will I become more long suffering, more patient, a better version of myself? Well here’s hoping, because when we cease to want to be better people life begins to lose purpose.

Yours, on a consistent exercise programme,

Wic