World Mental Health Day 2026

I am an avid runner but have not run for six months. Who am I? This brainteaser would be playing on mind if I were not preoccupied with my career and existentialism.

My injury layoff would have been a perfect time to finish my anthology of running stories and pitch it to literary agents and publishers.

I was too busy polishing my CV and supporting statements to demonstrate how I meet the criteria for vacancies that pay more than I am earning now.

The civil service is getting smaller while I want to grow. Stay or go but where will I run to? Am I ever going to finish my book Why Work Matters? That is a good question because I am an executive coach after passing my City & Guilds coaching course.

2026 is almost over. If I am not running, am I a runner? If I am blogging for free, not writing to earn money, am I a writer? If I have no clients, am I a coach?

Why are we always searching for validation to be who we want to be? There is a running boom. I am an experienced and talented HR and communications professional. The jobs market is picking up. I am writing blogs and starting my fourth podcast. AI destroying the world is becoming tiresome. P(doom) being the probability of existentially catastrophic outcomes because of artificial intelligence is the latest craze.

I am watching DTF St Louis which is a dark drama about midlife malaise and everything that comes with it. It’s relatable, like an extended version of a John Lewis Christmas advert with a twist as the invisible parents realise they can be seen. It is a trending genre for the sandwich generation who are caught between the past they cannot relive and a future they cannot control.

But there is hope running through the show. You’re still growing and learning about the world and still alive. I sense good times are around the corner. On World Mental Health Day 2026 I went for my first run since March. A mile around the park. It felt good. Slow but good. I entered the ballot for next year’s Chicago Marathon.

If the doom and gloom come, there is always the Dead Man’s Shoes “You’re fucking there, mate” scene where Paddy Considine’s antihero drops his enemy into his open palm and then crushes it shut. “So get in that car and fuck off.”

Stay well and keep watching, working and living.

Inspiration

What we talk about when we are working and living

© 2025. All rights reserved.