Viva Lewes Issue #124 January 2017

COLUMN
Chloë King
Outside the comfort zone
As the cod psychology
columnist in a magazine
otherwise engaged with
talking about how great
our town is, life is fraught
with anxiety.
It’s a little known fact
that the first time I met
Viva’s editor, ten years
ago, I threatened to set
up a rival publication entitled
Downs and Frowns.
You could say he got the
last laugh. But January is
the time for change, and as this issue is themed
‘reboot’, what better opportunity to alter the
direction of this here page?
For many, 2016 has been an exceptionally bad
year. I personally wound up on the hypnotherapist’s
recliner, and very comfortable it was
too. I went with the aim of confronting what I
perceive to be an issue with timeliness, but in
the very back of my mind was the apocalypse. I
learnt that, as with many things, ones’ relationship
to time is connected to all sorts of other
goings on. And so, I have more to think about,
but at least now I’m practising ‘the long gaze’.
When one pauses, looking at a spot in the far
distance, it has a calming effect. This, for a
myopic user of digital media like myself, is a
welcome discovery. Another tip I learnt, is that
if you want to quit an ingrained habit, you can
begin doing so by staging interventions. This
might mean smoking your ‘good job’ fag with it
wedged between your big toe and its neighbour
while hunched over the compost bin in minus
two centigrade. It could also mean changing
the direction of one’s magazine column to
reflect the outcome of a
prescribed activity outside
of your normal routine.
I don’t think it’s too bold
to say that New Year
Resolutions tend to centre
around our collective fear
of death. We promise
to replace unhealthy
behaviours with good
and to spend more quality
time with people we
love. Then of course we
have the bucket list, the
most unromantic place in which to scrawl ones’
ultimate desires.
These lists often feature premium experiences
like far-flung travel and, thus, are a marketer’s
dream. The first activities Mr and I discuss are
giving up social media, and survivalism. I do
sometimes wish we would focus on the lure of
a Swiss chalet, perfectly frothed flat whites and
matching pure lambswool sweaters.
Instead, our conversation veers towards George
Orwell. “I knew that I had a facility with words
and a power of facing unpleasant facts,” he says,
in Why I Write. “I felt that this created a sort of
private world in which I could get my own back
for my failure in everyday life.”
What then, if I were to stage a number of
actions designed to make me confront the avoidable
and challenge the comfortable? Would
this make me better appreciate life, act more
positively, write an interesting column?
In any case, I’m willing to give it a go.
If you have an East Sussex-based challenge to
propose costing less than £100, email
chloe@vivamagazines.com
Illustration by Chloë King
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