Is it Brexit? Is it the lorry driver shortage? Is it the fuel crisis? No. As usual, it’s the good old tabloid papers. A few days ago the newspapers caught wind of the fact that BP was having trouble sourcing enough drivers to transport their fuel. There is no shortage of fuel, just a shortage of BP tanker drivers…

Well, at least that was the case until the media ran the story. After a year of lockdowns, loo roll shortages and inconsistent food supplies, the people panicked. They flocked to the petrol stations with their vehicles, petrol cans and even carrier bags to fill up. This panic buying led to the very thing they were afraid of occurring… A fuel shortage.

But there isn’t really a shortage of fuel, just an abundance of foolish, panicking people. It’s true we’ve had some issues with lorry drivers since Brexit, but the fuel is still coming into the UK and most petrol stations have no trouble sourcing enough for everyone – if they stop panic buying. But it’s a bit of a mess now. The panic buying people have caused more people to panic, so there’s now more panic buyers creating the very thing they all feared. It’s madness.

But that’s often how life goes isn’t it? The thing you focus your attention and energy on does tend to happen. If you spend your days being thankful for your prosperity and focusing on achieving your goals, you get more done, make more progress and feel happier. If you spend your time concentrating on everything that’s going wrong, more shit seems to happen and the challenges roll in one after the other…

So what’s the solution? Turn off the TV and don’t buy the tabloids. Guard your mind and protect it from the negative influence outside. Buy the fuel you need and leave some for others. And remember, you can’t control what happens in life, but you can control how you respond to it.