"I'm not happy anymore," they finally say. You knew, but needed to hear it anyway. It's a test: go on. Do it. See if you can hurt me. They do and it stings. Still, you're an independent woman- you've taken bigger knocks than this.

In the last month three male friends have told me not to tag them on facebook. Faced with the prospect of deletion, and guilted by the new-found knowledge that I threaten a fragile relationship with their girlfriend, or their ex, it shines the spotlight on something utterly fascinating: facebook, the network that everybody loves to hate, presents us with a stellar opportunity for personal growth.

To young artists first picking up their pencils and paintbrushes, the idea of creating can seem so daunting. For every ounce of enthusiasm you carry, there creeps a shadow of uncertainty - and with so many masters before you, gazing down from hallowed museum walls, you may be tempted to not bother, to quit before you start!

Whilst we all have responsibilities and we all have to earn enough to put food on the table and pays the bills, it means very little if we don't wake up feeling alive and excited about life.

If you believe the Mayans, 2012 heralds the end of the world. So we might as well enjoy every bit of it.

The personal growth industry is built on the idea that we can get fired up by a walk-on-coals weekend seminar or a new book and then radically change our life. Most of us have been 'motivated' in this way, and I'm not saying it's bad. But what tends to happen? A couple of weeks after the big epiphany we go back to our normal selves and the life we had before.