You may recall that Cooke Towers is having a bit of a refit, and, for the past weeks, that we have had more vans in our drive that a Transit dealership. They are all shiny and new and high spec’ vehicles, so times are good for Britain’s tradesmen.

I have been writing more cheques in the last month than I have done in the rest of the year. I was talking to my darling wife yesterday and we both had noticed an odd phenomenon; when we hand over the cheques which invariably seems to be £200 per day, plus vast amounts for materials, we both notice feeling an odd, almost visceral feeling in our guts, as if we are parting with something more vital than a bit of cash.

What an odd response! We all need money to live on, but it isn’t blood, and yet…. My body ‘knows’ it has roughly 8 pints of blood to keep it going and does a great job of not only keeping it in the right places, but it also repairs and renews it. Our bank balances seem to be altogether more fragile. They certainly don’t self-repair! And when you are running your own business one can never guarantee the income flow. So it leaves one feeling a bit like own is swimming underwater and hording precious oxygen.

The reality is, of course, this is part of a carefully planned strategy, and there really is no need for this kind of emotional response, but of course, our emotions make their own ‘decisions’. The trouble is that others can pick up these odd cues that we give off and feel that we are somehow unhappy with them or their work, and of course, this can lead to defensiveness and all sorts of counter-responses. The good ole Flight / Fight response is doing its job again.

By being aware of these emotional responses we can own them and communicate more ‘cleanly’ with others. Give it a go and see what happens…

“I have enough money to last me the rest of my life, unless I buy something.” Jackie Mason
“Money can’t buy friends, but it can get you a better class of enemy.” Spike Milligan