WHAT ARE YOU TOLERATING?

From burnt-out light bulbs to a colleague’s body odour and a glove box that won’t stay shut, we’re all tolerating things that are sapping our energy and increasing our stress levels, says Christine Fieldhouse

Tarub’s alarm clock goes off and she starts to wake up, aware that her bed sheets are feeling a little worn and rough. She picks up her dressing gown from the floor. She couldn’t hang it up the night before because the tag at the back has been broken for two months.

Her shower isn’t working properly – it’s like a hosepipe – but Tarub hasn’t called anyone out to look at it yet.

She’s run out of conditioner for her hair and finding something to wear that doesn’t have a button missing, a stain on the front or a tear is a challenge. Finally, she puts her shoes on and she notices that the heels are wearing down.

Every tiny thing that isn’t working well in Tarub’s life – from burnt-out light bulbs to holes in her tights – has an effect on her and will sap some of her energy. Before she has even stepped out of the door, she’s feeling drained, and that’s before she gets to the office, where she’s an administrator.

There’s another long list of issues there – a filing tray that collapses when it’s holding more than three files, a computer mouse that sticks, a colleague who sniffs all day long and a boss who stands over her shoulder as she types and corrects her spellings before she’s even had a chance to check her work.

Annoyances add up

Life coach Talane Miedaner says we tolerate between 60 and 100 things in our everyday lives, and they range from our partner’s bad breath and a friend who calls us after 9pm, to a crammed inbox and pollution.

We may put up with an unsightly mole on our chin, a colleague’s bad body odour, a glove