Happy Mondays
Leading life and happiness coach
THEY say you can’t buy love but just look at the rise of dating agencies and matchmaking websites and you will hear “kerr-ching” quicker than the twang of Cupid’s bow.
Having a GSOH (Good Sense Of Humour) is often flagged up as a desirable trait, though how do you measure mirth when one person’s Benny Hill is another’s sexist, outdated claptrap that should be filed in Room 101?
If you want to find a soulmate then come at it from a different angle: instead of shared interests and hobbies look to connection via mutual annoyances. These can be the deal breakers. The little things that irk, jar, rile and stress can be the cement of a long-term relationship.
It is modern-day peeves such as whether the toilet seat is left up, slow driving in the fast lane, snoring, off-key singing, whistling, excessive perfume or aftershave or plain bad breath in common that seal the deal.
Life’s little aggravations can unite or untie a relationship and like a death by a thousand cuts the small add up to bliss or bedlam.
We are assaulted on a daily basis by mosquito-like things that miff us and mess up our wellbeing.
The dinner interrupted by an automated PPI telephone call, or finding that yet again you are in the slowest queue at the checkouts and someone in front is undertaking a complex return and exchange transaction, can induce a silent scream.
If you live with a Zen-like calm person who can’t relate to your fury at forgetting one of your million different internet passwords or who thinks it’s reasonable that you read out the whole menu on account they have forgotten (yet again) their reading glasses then it’s just not going to work.
The contemporary curmudgeon is never short of material. So if your fuse runs short for people who literally use the word “literally” in the wrong way or you feel murderous when the aircraft passenger reclines the seat in front so your knees are under your chin for a 22-hour flight, you will need a very understanding life partner.
A new book – The Pocket Encyclopedia Of Aggravation by Laura Lee – could soothe your brow and help you de-stress from niggles and narks that darken your day.
The book has been designed to explain scientifically annoyances such as toast always falling butter side down (it doesn’t always and it’s to do with the height of the drop). The knowledge has been proved to go some way to lessen the irritation.
Knowing why someone snores or leaves the loo seat up is satisfying. Feeling less victimised when you find out the scientific reason someone “trolled” you or unfriended you on Facebook can soothe a brow and keep things happy and harmonious.
By the way, “presbyopia” – the need for reading glasses and the habit of forgetting them – is remedied by having several pairs of cheap ones and having them in different locations, such as a jacket pocket or handbag.
If what we have in common is curses and cries at least you will never run out of fuel for your passions.