Pushing through is something that a lot of type A personalities do. The concussion experience has taught me that there are some situations where that approach is the wrong one. Learning things like this well into your fifties is a surprise. It is very difficult, but real change is.
I have struggled similarly with mental health. Which, in its recent form may be related to the head injury. Long term pain increases the frequency of the black dog as Winston Churchill referred to it, and it has been on my doorstep for a while now. Keeping to routines, trying to exercise, getting outside and above all giving myself a break from the need to feel like I am improving is what works for me, in the long term anyway.
Writing has been hard. Not much getting done on that front this week. Some, but not much. And marketing the books I am trying to sell is almost distasteful to me at this point. Hoping that will go away soon.
Re-reading the Master and Commander novel, ‘Post Captain’ set in the era of the Napoleonic Wars. In these books, the author jumps from one conversation or setting to another as abruptly as an amateur. And the sailing jargon is so thick in some places that the book seems to be almost in another language. But Patrick O'Brien makes it work beautifully, he knows people, and to me it is comfort food for the mind.
I went to the Auto Show in Toronto last weekend. It's incredible how big the new half-ton pickups are. Huge. Tesla is in trouble as all the big boys will be in the market in the next year or two with fiercely competitive electric and probably more reliable vehicles. Jeep will sell a zillion of their new Gladiator pickups. And judging from the crowds, people still love their cars. As do I, although I hated the drive home as Toronto traffic is nearly paralyzed. Even on Saturday afternoons.
Have a great week!