I was chatting with a neighbour over the weekend about nothing in particular when he started to explain how his son, a university student, had visited a dentist in Lyon last May without his all important Carte Vitale - the credit card-like microchip card that doesn't just prove you're fully entitled to your healthcare here in France - it's the means by which your medical bills are managed at the point of treatment: visiting your healthcare professional without it is like trying to get into heaven dressed up with a tail and horns, armed with a picthfork! The result of my friend's son's misadventure was that his treatment cost €250 - payable on the spot... his son had 'phoned him, from the detist's surgery, after his treatment, to ask him to transfer the money into his bank account!! No big deal - the cost can be reclaimed and it doesn't take very long, assuming you have the right claim forms... and my friend's son hasn't got around to that simple task yet!!

As my friend explained how exasperated he was with his son's laziness, his "couldn't give a damn" attitude, his whole body tensed up, his hands became fists, his blood pressure visibly rose...

Now, no doubt, sooner or later, this storm in a teacup will be resolved... all things pass. Consider this: what were you worrying about this day four years ago? If you remember, you need something a little stronger than the medicine admistered every week in this Ezine!!! My point is, however, that an enormous amount of energy was being expended in recounting the story - vast amounts of energy have been consumed since May thinking about it (after all, my friend could go and get the claim forms himself if he's that upset).

It's a simple example - an example about precious little really - but it encapsulates the extent to which we make life difficult for ourselves. Life throws all kinds of real problems our way but, because we get buried up our backside with the least provocation, we're never up to the task of taking the appropriate action - just the appropriate action - when it needs to be taken. We are masters in the art of making things worse rather than better.

This is simply because we are not in control of what's going on in our own head, we cannot manage our own state of mind... we end up "in a state". Nobody can manage your state of mind but you - and if you don't, you're a waste of space! If you're finding life difficult at this moment in time, it's entirely your own fault. Yes, you may have problems, but how are you going to be able to handle them if you're not able to handle yourself?

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