Do the first hints of spring awaken in you a sense of new possibilities?
If you are wondering how to invest in feeling better about yourself and your life, reflect on how abundant you are in each of the “five ways of wellbeing”, which are:
• Connect: this is not about how many people we know or how often we socialise (we can easily be lonely in a crowd).
The key is connecting authentically with others. Who can you truly be yourself with? Who is completely on your side? Who do you trust to call you on your stuff with honesty and kindness?
• Be active: Take advantage of increasing daylight to find ways to get moving, for both physical and mental health.
That could mean joining an exercise class – or simply committing to a walk round the block each evening to see how the spring flowers are coming on.
• Take notice: we can get so caught up in the busyness of our lives that we miss the moments of loveliness that make it all worthwhile – our child’s excitement, a burst of birdsong, even the parking space that magically opens up just as we come along (it’s easier, isn’t it, to notice when we don’t get what we need?).
• Keep learning: what have you always wanted to know more about, or be able to do?
From learning to cook a new recipe to taking on a new role at work stretching ourselves keeps life interesting and our brains lively.
• Give: a simple way to feel better about ourselves is to be helpful to others, whether that’s helping out a friend or volunteering in the wider community.
That said, if you tend to measure your worth only by what you can do for others, this is an area you may need to ease up on.
Make sure you are balancing all the five elements of wellbeing.
For ideas, check out the Wellbeing College: https://www.wellbeingcollegebanes.co.uk/ or contact MyScript: https://www.dhi-online.org.uk/get-help/community-wellbeing-services/myscript.
Karen Bray (MBACP) is a counsellor with a private practice in Bath. Her website is at www.karenbray.co.uk.