At work
You say the thing everyone was walking around, and afterwards the air is clear.
What it costs
Long stretches where the honest thing is not sayable, until it arrives all at once.
How you notice it early
Small things start landing much harder than their size.
One thing
Before you reply to anything today, write the calm version first and read it once.
If you want to show someone
Come back to it an hour later. During is the worst time; after is fine.
With the people closest to you
Nothing rots between you and other people. It gets said.
What it costs
It arrives bigger than the moment deserved, and then the moment is about the size.
How you notice it early
You are apologising for how you said it, not for what you said.
One thing
Tonight, say the small thing while it is still small.
If you want to show someone
The size is the backlog, not the moment. Answer the thing underneath it.
The other seven
Written for you to read about yourself, not for anyone deciding about you. It describes what tends to cost and what tends to feed — it is not a diagnosis, a test, or a medical opinion, and it does not tell you what work to take or who to be with.