Switch Off

Part II When to switch off

At my wedding my dad stood up to deliver his father-of-the-bride speech. He looked so proud to be able to share his stories and memories of me as a child. I can still remember his handsome face, sharp suit and shiny black shoes. Dad has always had a way with words and always knows just what to say right when you need to hear it. He spoke beautifully, and thankfully made no mention of the worry I had given him throughout my childhood! ‘One thing about Ange,' he shared, ‘if you can't keep up with her you will get left behind.'

At the time I laughed. I knew he was right, but it was only years later that I really reflected on that comment and recognised that was how I have lived my whole life. Full throttle, full steam ahead, 100 miles an hour — I've heard them all. I have always approached life like a bull at a gate. As a child I never lived in fear, never thought, ‘I wonder if …' If I wanted to do something or try something I just did. I was either all in or not in at all.

Throughout my childhood, taking charge of my life, making choices, and setting and achieving my goals at full throttle seemed to work for me. But with more life experience, more decisions made and opportunities lost, I came to realise that fast is not always best. When we live life at full tilt we get a lot done but we also tire, we get distracted, at times we even crash and burn.

When writing my first book, The Power of Conscious Choice, I was living life in overdrive. I was working, ...