“On those mornings you struggle with getting up, keep this thought in mind – I am awakening to the work of a human being. Why then am I annoyed that I am going to do what I am made for, the very things for which I was put into this world? Or was I made for this, to snuggle under the covers and keep warm? It’s so pleasurable. Were you then made for pleasure? In short, to be coddled or to exert yourself?” Marcus Aurelius, Meditations.

With today’s stresses, strains and uncertainties, perhaps lying in bed for an extra half-hour might not seem too bad or indulgent a thing to do. Even thinking about having a short holiday in warmer climes is something possibly too torturous to consider. Better to lie in bed. But the world doesn’t stop turning and there are still things that you can do today – for the good of you and others around you. You have potential. That drum isn’t going to beat itself.