Yesterday's email (I'm sad and this is what I am doing about it) seems to have struck a chord with people in the way I hoped it would.

I have never had so many replies from you all. Thank you.

They all seemed grateful that I articulated something they needed to read or feel. I'm really glad I sent it. I did have to be a bit "brave" (thanks Jenny), but I wrote it after realising that me sharing my feelings helped a client. They felt less alone.

And so I got to thinking, what else do I know from working with my clients that it might be helpful to share. Here's a few random thoughts:

• The most competent people at work sometimes have very dysfunctional lives out of work. Someone told me recently that work was a safe place from the chaos of their family situation.
• Almost everyone feels like an imposter some of the time. I work with some absolutely brilliant people, who are worried they will be found out.
• Balance is illusive to most people in the middle part of life. It's really hard to give attention to careers, finances, spouses, kids, parents, friends, health, nutrition and domestic admin. No matter who you are.
• The people who do have all of those things dialled in (the ones with the gardener, PT, cleaner and Elle Decoration homes) can suffer from a crisis of meaning. Maybe life gets easier, but emptier.
• Most people dwell too much on the past and worry too much about the future. The ones that live in the now, rarely get anything done.
• Nobody, genuinely, truly, honestly means it when they say, "I don't care what anyone thinks." We're social animals. Of course we care.
• We're all playing status games all of the time. Just the rules of the game change when our circumstances change. That's why early career people wear suits and billionaires dress like tramps. If you think you don't care about status, you are wrong.

Finally, there are not many people, no matter how successful, who feel inside like fully functioning adults. The podcaster Chris Williamson reflected on this recently when talking about the 1,000 people he's interviewed. When it comes to being an adult, he said, "It's idiots all the way up."

Hope this raises a smile for you today.

Take care, Stephen

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