After speaking on Goodzing’s Happiness Panel at The Hoxton, Holborn last year, I was thrilled when public speaker and bestselling mental health author, Rachel Kelly asked me to contribute on her blog. She asked me what I did to maintain and boost my own happiness and emotional fitness, and this is what I shared:

• A gratitude moment before sleeping, where my partner and I name 3 things we are grateful of during the day. Gratitude actually ‘trains’ your brain to see and look for positive moments in your life, adding to your overall satisfaction.
• Taking moments throughout the day where I ground myself, become aware and stay in the moment. Mindfulness actually shrinks the flight and fear response of the brain, making you more resilient to stress and less prone to anxiety.
• Working out as often as I can get myself to. Working out completes the flight or fight response cycle and helps reduce stress hormones in your body.
• Being careful about what kind of media I consume. Watching too much negative news doesn’t inform you more, it changes the way you process information and gives you a more negative outlook on the world. We actually have a historical low on domestic violence, crime and war deaths, but we feel like we’re living in the dark ages due to consuming too much news.

Please visit Rachel Kelly’s site for more great tips from people like SANE Charity worker and author Antalia Terblanche.