My job provides financial stability but my passion has gone. What do I do?

You don’t have to force passion about a role you find boring, writes Eleanor Gordon-Smith. And it could help by asking if work has to be meaningful at all

It kills two-thirds of lifetime users – so why is smoking cool again?

Australian nicotine consumption is on the rise, the illegal tobacco trade is booming and cigarettes have returned to pop culture – and experts are worried

My rookie era: The Hunger Games made me think I’d be incredible at archery. So I picked up a bow to find out

Inhaling, I lined up an arrow with trembling hands, pulled back the string and launched it

My rookie era: As a working mother, I had forgotten how to have fun. Then I played my first floorball match

I assembled a women’s team of seven players. The minute the game began, it was obvious we had no ball-handling skills or strategy

I want sex more often than my husband does – what can we do?

It sounds like you both see sex the same way, writes advice columnist Eleanor Gordon-Smith – and perhaps that’s part of the problem

My rookie era: In my 40s I attempted my first multi-day hike – and became a walking cliche

Adult beginners are charming when the stakes are low. Learning the piano at 50 is cute – but nobody ever needed to be airlifted out of a piano recital

I’ve finally hit my midlife crisis. How do I know what I’m meant to do?

Knowing time is finite is not easy, writes advice columnist Eleanor Gordon-Smith. But you’re not alone in this feeling

A job that changed me: As an anxious first-time surgical assistant, the casual workplace dynamics surprised me

I was primed to sweat my way through a high-stakes procedure. But once the patient was sedated, a welcome warmth entered the room

My partner sleeps at least 10 hours a night. Should I accept this situation won’t change?

There are so many causes here that aren’t up to him, writes advice columnist Eleanor Gordon-Smith. Rather than trying to change him, change the goal

Kindness of strangers: I was sobbing with pain, then a cashier gave me hot chocolate

He didn’t just buy me a drink, he made me feel understood and seen. I’ve never forgotten his gesture