Wellbeing tip: cultivate gratitude

Peer Supporter Sean Chou shares his top tip

A man with glasses in front of a pond

Sean Chou, Peer Supporter

Everyone needs time to rest in the day. The next time you find a spare 15 minutes or so to yourself, give yourself time to reflect and think about what you feel grateful for.

What's even better is if you have a notebook at hand. Write in the notebook about three or four things you feel grateful for about your day. It could be anything from big to small - someone may have smiled at you while they opened the door for you, or you may have received a nice compliment about your work.

Continue doing this for each day. The point of this exercise is to practise positivity and gratefulness in your life. Epictetus says, 'What disturbs people's minds are not events but their judgements on events'. While this may be a simplistic view, if you approach the day with positivity, others will respond to your positivity in kind. Another quote comes to mind - 'when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you achieve it', Paulo Coelho ( from The Alchemist).

What's really nice is that you can combine this with other positive affirmation activities too. For example, I also write 'positive statements', writing down over and over a positive statement like 'I accept and love myself exactly as I am'. These are simple, easy activities you can do each day: it's a bit like pumping air into the wheels of your bicycle, a small effort goes a long way to making the journey through the rest of your day feel smoother and more self-assured.