I wonder to what extent it’s possible to choose not to be stressed.  I know you can choose not to dwell on things, choose to do something rather than nothing, choose to think about something else…but can you choose away stress?  I don’t know, and don’t want to stress myself further by worrying about it!

But I do find that while there are times when stress can seem overhwelming, there is often a point where you realise you can still take control.  I am very stressed at the moment about the Tree House – it’s scary starting up a business on your own, despite all the wonderful moral support I get, and worries about finances, whether the project will take off, whether enthusiasm (mine and others’) will translate into actual success, etc, can threaten to overwhelm.  Yet while I have little or limited control over most of these things at the moment, I have realised that the things I can control can make a difference right away.

My big stress-busting decision this evening is that I will start selling books from the shop sooner rather than later.  I still have to do a bit of work before that can happen, but I have a shop, I have enough books to get started, and I need little else to begin with.  Work will carry on around this – fitting out the shop, arranging events, getting projection equipment for films can all be done while the shop is open for trade, even things like getting a proper cash register can wait.  I had a market stall – this is just a glorified version.

I will have a grand opening later in July, with the celebratory bash I mentioned in my previous post and a local grandee to open the shop officially, once all the shelves are in and the shop is properly set up; but there is no reason why I can’t start the core business of selling second-hand books straight away.  Events and activities will need to wait a little bit longer, but I’m now keen to get started.  I need to finish sorting and pricing books, but I really hope that I can start actually selling books by next weekend.  That’s my challenge for the week!  I need to keep raising funds, and the best way to do that is simply to start trading.

So – will keep you informed, but I do hope to have lots of lovely second-hand books for sale very soon!  And I feel less stressed tonight for having made that decision.  It’s all about taking control and focusing on what you can do rather than what you can’t.  I have either swallowed a self-help book or I need to write one…