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THINKING MR
It’s all in the mind Travel anxiety is the fear of visiting an unfamiliar place. It can also involve the stress that comes with planning your travels. Even if you have no history of anxiety, the idea of being outside familiar territory can throw you into panic mode. There’s a lot of life affirming stuff on social media these days. There’s also a stack of people leading us to believe they are leading fruitful and happy lives with not a care in the world. I contend that much of this has the potential to give us a warped view of the world and some unrealistic expectations. In fact, I think much of the life affirming happiness stuff is BS. How do I know? Truth is, I
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No one asks you how you are, expecting a sad or emotional response Mike Phipps, Director, Mike Phipps Finance
don’t, but I have reason to be sceptical. It is true that some poor souls post some prett y sad stuff but for the most part it’s all love, peace and beautiful days ahead. I guess social media was only ever intended to be a window into positive emotions, not a place to spill your guts, so to speak. I reckon it’s also true that while most people are prett y happy to share happiness with virtual strangers, our
darker experiences need to be hidden away. If a wide and sometimes unfathomable range of emotions defines the human condition why is happiness the only one we feel comfortable sharing, or indeed experiencing in any sense. No one asks you how you are, expecting a sad or emotional response. Most of us, me included, just aren’t comfortable with that stuff. More to the point, in this age of expectations of happiness,
MANAGEMENT
how do we manage emotions that occasionally blindside us? All this crossed my mind recently. I was posting a photo from Switzerland during the first week of a planned six week cycling trip. I’d bought a new bike, flown business, hired a nice car and was staying in a very beautiful place. I was living the dream and sharing it all on Facebook. There were many positive comments and life affirming memes. ResortNews | August 2022
