You had your day all mapped out, and then something throws a spanner in the works. What's your usual reaction?

I've never been particularly 'good' at waiting 😂. Anyone who knows me will probably have a laugh at that! I've always been someone who likes to get things moving, my body included!! If there's somewhere to be or something to organise, I'd much rather get on with it than sit around waiting. I headed home to Melbourne over the weekend and it was a reminder of how travelling has become a good test of my patience. Like having to wait until everyone else has left the plane before I can disembark in my wheelchair. I understand why, and the airline staff are always helpful, but watching everyone else walk off while I'm still sitting there isn't exactly my idea of fun! Living with MND has meant accepting that plenty of things now happen at someone else's pace rather than mine. And while I've become pretty good at adapting to the practical side of that, it hasn't magically made me a patient person. I'm a work in progress, I guess! I think that's something we sometimes overlook when we talk about adapting to change. You can understand why something needs to happen, accept that you can't do much about it, and still find it incredibly annoying! I'm curious, what's one everyday situation that really tests your patience? Traffic? Waiting on hold? People who take forever to get organised? Or are you one of those wonderfully patient people who just takes it all in their stride?

I've noticed how difficult it can be for some of us to sit down and do absolutely nothing without feeling like we should be doing something useful. Even when we've finished everything that needs doing, there's usually something else waiting. The washing, an email to answer, a cupboard that could do with a clean. And if we're not physically doing something, our minds are often busy planning what needs to happen next. Somewhere along the way, I think we've become very good at measuring our days by how much we've achieved. I spent over 30 years working in the fitness industry, where being active, motivated and productive was very much part of my everyday life. I've always been someone who likes to keep busy, and I still am. So I understand that switching off isn't necessarily easy, even when you have a perfectly good reason to rest. And I wonder how much of that comes from genuinely enjoying being productive, and how much comes from feeling uncomfortable when we're not. There's nothing wrong with enjoying a busy life. But surely we shouldn't have to earn the right to put our feet up? I'm curious, can you sit down and do absolutely nothing without feeling guilty, or does that little voice start reminding you of everything you could be doing?

Have you ever been having a lovely time, only to catch yourself thinking about how quickly it's going to be over? Like when you're halfway through a holiday and already dreading going back to work. Or you're enjoying a relaxing Sunday afternoon, but Monday morning has somehow crept into your thoughts. It's funny how our minds can take something we're genuinely enjoying and start worrying about what comes next. I think most of us have done it. We spend ages looking forward to something, and then when it finally arrives, part of our attention is already on what happens afterwards. Of course, a little forward planning is useful. But there's a difference between being organised and mentally cutting short an experience before it's even finished. I'm someone who likes to have things planned and know what's coming next (living with MND makes that a necessary evil!), so I can certainly appreciate how easy it is to get ahead of yourself. Are you good at switching off and enjoying what's happening right now, or does your mind have a habit of jumping ahead to what's next? Let me know if you have any tricks to make sure you don't deviate from enjoying the moment?

I think I've touched on this before but I often come back to it, thinking about how much uncertainty we've become accustomed to living with. Cost of living pressures, wars, political tensions, technology changing faster than we can keep up with, and a constant stream of news telling us what else we should be worried about. And somehow, we just get on with things. We go to work, make dinner, organise our lives and carry on as though all of this is perfectly normal. I've had to become pretty comfortable with uncertainty over the past nine years living with MND. And I've certainly found that we can adapt to circumstances we never imagined we'd face. But I also wonder whether there's a downside to becoming so good at adapting. When we're constantly adjusting to the next challenge, do we sometimes stop noticing how much it's taking out of us? I'm not suggesting we should all stop reading the news or retreat from the world. Being informed is important... to a degree. I think there's a difference between knowing what's happening and feeling responsible for keeping up with absolutely everything!! Do you think we're becoming more resilient in today's world, or have we simply become better at functioning under constant pressure?