Global Wellness Day – 12th June 2021

This is the 10th year of Global Wellness Day and it’s going to be celebrated in more than 130 countries and in over 5,000 different locations!  Its an entirely not-for-profit project which is dedicated to ‘living well’ and bringing the attention to different ways in which people can live healthier and better lives.

So, this got me thinking …… how can we increase our happiness?  We all know that when we feel happy, we feel good and everybody wants to be happy, don’t they?  The $64,000 question is what’s the best way to increase happiness?  There are lots of views that simply trying to think positively just doesn’t work – we need to engage in something regularly which will uplift our sense of wellbeing in a more authentic way. 

I read an article the other day about how positive psychologists (scientists who study happiness) think that mindfulness is the answer.  Mindfulness seems to train the brain to naturally become more positive and increases our resilience.  So, what is resilience, you may ask!  It’s the capacity to cope with stress and catastrophe in a healthy way.  It helps us to bounce back to our happy selves sooner rather than later after we’ve experienced difficult times.  It also helps to strengthen our capacity to cope with difficulties in the future.  Regular mindfulness exercises change the very structure of your brain, helping to increase your resilience in difficult times.

If you practice mindfulness on a regular basis, you may also begin to discover that happiness is an inside job!  You can have all the money and power in the world, but if your thoughts are very negative and you believe your thoughts to be true, then the chances are you’re not going to be happy.  On the other hand, you can have very few possessions or money but if your mind is naturally open, receptive and positive you’re bound to experience a deeper sense of wellbeing.

We often hear how smiling is good for you and it’s true. No matter how you feel, when you smile (go on – try it now as you’re reading this – just a gentle little smile) something happens to make you feel good.  Combine this with being aware of your own breathing and you’re on to a winner.  Try and apply this technique of being aware of your breathing and smiling gently in a systematic way every day for a few minutes, or while you’re going about your daily activities.  Think of it as yoga for your mouth!!  In this way you can be mindful doing whatever you’re doing …….. washing the dishes, writing a report (and yes, I’m smiling as I write this) or just waiting in a queue.  Each moment is an opportunity to come back to the here and now, the present moment.  And how great is this – you don’t need any other equipment – nothing extra required – your breath and smile are all you need and highly portable

You may feel reluctant to want to smile right now because you may feel that your smile is not genuine.  You know you’ll smile when you’re happy; but why not give it a go; you may feel strange, but what have you got to lose?

Remember that mindfulness is not about forcing yourself to feel better – it’s more about being curious about your thoughts and feelings and gaining information from them.  Being aware of your thoughts and feelings is so much more important than trying to change your thoughts or feelings.

Finally, I want to share a lovely little poem I read the other day: