Don't flap, focus

No matter how well organised our lives are, we all get into a flap from time to time. What's a flap? It's a tizz, a stew, a state of panic where we feel we can't cope and there's too much to do in too little time. We end up running around aimlessly, no idea what to do next or how to get back on top of things. At times like this we lose all perspective on life. A temporary mini-crisis becomes a disaster and everything else suddenly feels overwhelming and out of control. We simply can't see clearly any more and have no idea what to do next or how to get back in charge.

In this state we're either pathetically sorry for ourselves and weepy, taking it out venemously on the nearest person or flouncing irritably about imagining that the whole world will grind to a halt if we don't struggle on. Recognise yourself or someone you know?

It's intimidating and horribly uncomfortable being around someone lost in a flap. Yet a huge number of people get caught up in one so often that it becomes habitual behaviour. Sitcom characters like Frasier and Ally McBeal may make being in a tizz seem funny but the reality of living your life in a permanent flap is exhausting and destructive. You may feel you can't help it or even that you get more done that way. Neither is true. Give up getting in a flap and it'll be a huge relief for you, not to mention the people around you.