“Don’t act grudgingly, selfishly, without due diligence or be a contrarian. Don’t dress up your thought in fine language. Don’t be a person of too many words and too many deeds. Be cheerful, not wanting outside help or the relief that others might bring. A person needs to stand on their own and not be propped up.” Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

Strip back what you think you need to the very bare minimum. If tempted to over-eat, try a day of fasting: the 5:2 diet has tremendous physical results for managing weight and blood sugar. The psychological results are equally as impressive: if you can abstain from your usual full menu for one day (whilst making sure you still drink 2-3 litres of water), you’ll experience going without and will notice that it wasn’t that bad after all.

Do the same with those things that your ego might have become used to needing: bigging it up, seeking approval, relying on praise or even simply being noticed. Notice yourself for a change…as you are in your stripped-back form, natural, in the here-and-now.