Building Rome. Thursday January 19, 2012

If Rome wasn't built in a day, how long did it take?

As I was writing this, Wikipedia was shut for 24 hours, but a spot of Googling other sources suggests it either took around 500 years, or (more precisely) it's actually still being built and so will never be finished.

There's a heck of a lot of difference between a day and 500 years, isn't there?

Historical town-planning ponderings aside, the 'it wasn't built in a day' thought is probably a good one to dig out if you're down in the dumps.

When you feel that way, it would clearly be brilliant for someone to wave a magic wand, making everything immediately wonderful. But it doesn't work like that does it?

Looking at my own Moodscope graph it's clear that recovery after a crash is generally a pretty slow process.

It doesn't stop you being impatient though. And this is not helpful.

So the next time you feel life closing in on you, it's probably best not to expect miracles. Do, however, take small steps - or preferably just ONE small step - each day that has the potential to make you feel just a little better the next.

Connect with other people. Get out in nature. Do something to help someone. Focus on three things for which you feel gratitude. Eat something healthy.

Don't try and do all of the above. It'll be too much.

Do think about that one small step though.

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