5 Ways to Well-Being 

Keep Learning:

Challenge yourself to keep the old grey matter in shape. Don’t let the moss and algae form over your most valuable asset. Your brain.

Learn new skills. Maybe things that you’ve had a vague interest in days gone by. It could be DIY, painting and decorating, gardening, cooking, sewing, making things.

Alternatively, sign up for an Open University course and learn in depth about a subject that may have interested you in the past. For example, history or geography, science, creative writing, art classes, learning a new language, playing a musical instrument and the list is endless.

Maybe it could be nature that floats your boat. Perhaps you live in the country and are surrounded by beautiful trees, wild flowers, birds, butterflies, fungi. It could be anything. Learn to identify the different species that are around you. Where are they from? What is their story?

Give

For many, as their career hits a plateau, people turn their attention and time to giving back to others maybe less fortunate than ourselves, or simply to support our local communities in whatever guise that may take.  

The pandemic has provided a number of opportunities for people to give something back to the communities in which they live. Ranging from volunteering to supporting the NHS, shopping for the elderly or vulnerable, using their skills to provide PPE for health professionals etc, etc.

Alternatively, in a work context, you may wish to fully utilise your skills and experience and pass them on to others by being a mentor. There is huge satisfaction to be gained by sharing your knowledge with the next generation and watching them grow.

The rewards of giving to others can be a source of huge personal satisfaction, especially if suddenly you find yourself with more time than you have previously had in your life and career.

Take notice

 The emergence of mindfulness in recent years has enabled people to take notice of their surroundings, environment, feelings and thoughts.

I am fortunate to live on the boundary of Sherwood forest, where for years I would walk along the forest trails and whilst enjoying the exercise, never really stopped to take in the wonderful nature that I was surrounded by.

Whether it be the wonderous ancient oaks, all with their own individual character, or the variety of birds and their songs. By taking notice, it stimulated the creative side of my brain, which in turn gave rise to such positivity about everything connected with my life.

 Be Active

 We have known for many years that there is a connection between physical and mental fitness. For years, Doctors have talked to us about the value of regular exercise and the release of endorphins which contribute to our state of mind. Exercise comes in many forms, and we all have our favourite methods for keeping fit.

Find something that works best for you and do more of it.

Going for a run, a walk, a swim, a bike ride, a dance class there is something out there for you. We all love that feeling of fatigue at the end of it, in the satisfaction of having achieved a personal target, or simply having done something productive with our day.

Connect

 Connecting with others gives us a stimulus that is almost like a drug. We feed off other people’s positivity. Whether they be long standing friends or brand new acquaintances at a networking meeting, we are enthused by their company. Their view of the world, even though it may be different to ours. We listen to different points of view, opinions, humour, stories and so our knowledge is broadened and enriched.

The pandemic provided us with the greatest of challenges in that we were prevented from physical connection outside of our own households and so we improvised in our desire to stay connected.

Many learnt the use of how technology has progressed through the use of Zoom, Facetime, Whatsapp, and different forms of social media.

Think back to that time and how much more positive we felt after those virtual encounters and then subsequently when we were actually allowed to physically renew those relationships again.

Never before in recent history has the value of staying connected been so dramatically demonstrated as with the virus.

In summary, we can see that if we embark on a personal strategy of combining all five of these components together, what a positive impact it has on our overall state of mind and subsequently our well being.

Failure to follow these components, can see us retreat into an ever decreasing comfort zone. We become isolated, we lose our motivation and drive. This impacts on our mood, which subsequently impacts on our relationships. If we are not careful, this leads to a downward spiral commonly known as depression.

Halting this downward spiral can be very difficult and often involves professional help and occasionally medication.

The best thing to do is to avoid it happening in the first place.

LOOK POSITIVE, FEEL POSITIVE, STAY POSITIVE AND YOU’LL BE POSITIVE  

David Revuelta – Wonderful Life Coach