Stop, pause, or take a moment to look around you. What can you see, feel, smell or even taste? Look for beautiful, new, unusual or extraordinary things in your everyday life and think about how that makes you feel.

Research has shown that being trained to be aware of senses, thoughts and feelings over 8-12 weeks has resulted in improved wellbeing for several years2. Being aware of what is taking place in the present leads to a more positive state of mind. Heightened awareness enhances an individual’s self-understanding and allows an individual to make choices in alignment with his/her own values and intrinsic motivations. Perhaps, unsurprisingly, research into actions that aim to enhance wellbeing have similarly found that goals for behaviour change need to be aligned with personal values to be successful.