Life lessons: Joan Armatrading on what life so far has taught her - Positive News

The English singer-songwriter and musician on mortality, funny animal videos and her disdain for litterers
Life lessons: Joan Armatrading on what life so far has taught her - Positive News

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My morning ritual is …

… to make sure I wake up. Everything after that is a bonus. I don’t drink tea or coffee. I just get up, look out of the window and see what’s happening.

I feel optimistic about …

Life. We’re here, on the planet, so we should enjoy it. I know we get a lot of bad news about the world, but I think the majority of people want the best for themselves and for others. We have a lot of mischievous people in the world and they make people think that the whole world is bad, but it’s not. The majority of people are good. People should know the world is not all bad.

What makes me angry …

I don’t like it when people throw litter on the roads. When I’m driving along the motorway, and I see lots of litter along the road, I just think: ‘Why not just keep it in your car, take it home, put it in the bin?’ It’s so easy. Australian TV used to have a great advert showing a person’s home with the floor full of their litter. The advert said: ‘You wouldn’t rubbish your home – don’t rubbish the streets.’

If I wasn’t a singer-songwriter, I’d have liked to …

… have worked with the law. When I was younger, I was interested in the law, in rights and justice. I might have worked in a solicitor’s office, perhaps. But I’ve been doing music for 52 years. I’m doing something I absolutely love. So it’s hard to even think about what else I might have done.

The habit that has served me best in life is …

… being positive. You can get a lot done with positivity. If you think: ‘I can do this.’ you’re probably going to be able to. There’s a charity called Their World that helps children around the world in education, and it was trying to collect funding. They wanted to educate 300,000 children, so I did a 300,000-step walk to try to raise money for them. Every journey starts with a small step, as the saying goes. The next thing you know, you’ve done 100 steps, 1,000 … Positivity is a really good thing.

The habit I’ve successfully kicked is …

… eating peanuts. I used to eat a lot of peanuts when I was younger. Everything you eat seems to have nuts in them. But I’m allergic to all nuts. It’s a hard thing to deal with: I have to read every label before I eat anything. But originally, I’d be reaching for the peanuts.

Armatrading’s recent album is titled How Did This Happen And What Does It Now Mean

My source of joy is …

… being alive. When you wake up in the morning, what makes you feel good? Your eyes open and your ears hear: they’re great feelings. You don’t need much else apart from being here.

When things get tough I …

… think: ‘How do I get out of this? What will make this better?’ Again, it’s about thinking positively. Life is full of ups and downs, but if you dwell on all the downs, it won’t do you any good. It’s about figuring out what is the thing that will make this better. I’m a very determined person.

The book I wish everyone would read is …

Being Mortal: Illness, Medicine and What Matters in the End by an American surgeon called Atul Gawande. It’s about dying and the preparation for it, but not in a morbid way. It’s a really positive book, about looking after yourself and make sure you are happy in the going. It’s really, really good.

We get a lot of bad news about the world, but I think the majority of people want the best for themselves and for others

The big thing I’ve changed my mind about in life is …

… capital punishment. Imprisonment and trying to bring some sort of reform to the person while they’re in prison, even if not necessarily releasing them back into society, and giving them some sort of purpose is much better than killing them. I don’t see that that’s the answer at all.

What keeps me awake at night is …

… watching funny videos about cats and dogs.

The thing that motivates me most of all is …

… all I need is to be here and I’ll find things to motivate me. All I need is to wake up, go out, meet people, speak to people, see things and hear things.

'Life is full of ups and downs, but if you dwell on all the downs, it won’t do you any good. It’s about figuring out what is the thing that will make this better' said Armatrading

My parents taught me … 

… that it’s possible to achieve things that people might think are not possible. You just have to be yourself, don’t try to be something you’re not, and go after what you want – and you’ll be fine.

I have this theory that …  

… good people need to acknowledge that there are bad people in the world. If they did, we could improve people’s lives. They don’t want to say a person is not good or that a person is hurting others in a way that is incredibly unkind. We need a bit more honesty and to acknowledge that there is good and there is wicked.

I’d like to tell my younger self … 

… to enjoy life and all the surprises it brings. I was super confident when I was younger that I was a good writer. I never questioned that I could write. I just knew I could do it. I didn’t have any angst about what I was doing. I wasn’t nervous about writing or having a career. So I’d just tell my younger self to enjoy the ride. It’s important to enjoy life.

Joan Armatrading’s latest single, a new mix of 25 Kisses from her recent album How Did This Happen And What Does It Now Mean, is out on 31 January

Images: Joel Anderson

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