Thinking as I walk home in the dark

Walking home from a meeting in Leiston it's nice to be guided past the puddles and towards the warmth by the LED lights that come outside my house on at dusk. They're just one benefit of investing in the expertise of Zara Vaux, who designed the lighting throughout our home.

But returning home on dark afternoons also prompts me to ask why I went out in the first place? Even now, when I should know better, too often the answer is that I've been to a meeting because I've got myself involved in something I thought would be useful, but actually gets is the way of my career as an author.

Yet without exposure to the challenges people face as they strive to make the world a better place, I'd be writing in a vacuum and in danger of veering way of course. For a novelist that might not be a big problem, but writing about life, people and place I value the reality checks these expeditions provide.

The art I think, is not to come back having volunteered to do more than I reasonably have time for. I'm learning not to feel guilty for saying no, and sticking just to what I know I can do, and learn from.

On Monday I'll be chairing a meeting of a trustee board I've volunteered to remain on, even thought I've completed my three year term. I'll be saying early on, that I'm only staying for a while, until they've found a few more trustees and overcome a few obstacles that lie in their path. I need to make sure early on that they don't assume I'll be there until the end of 2028!

As I walk home in the dark from yet another meeting, I realise that success in life is all about how well you can manage the expectations of others. The art I think it so to do enough, and not take on more than is necessary.