I remember back when I first got my licence and my Dad would say “drive carefully” as I left the house. Nowadays, we say more and explain what that means. “Don’t drive too fast, careful of the rain, don’t use your mobile when driving, can you catch an Uber instead…”

When we recognise mental health day/month, we ask “are you ok?” We may not even get a response. When we say look after yourself when things are tough and out of control, what does that mean?  With every external factor bearing down on us from the bad weather, sad news, heavy workloads, financial pressures and so on, there is no better time to stop, reflect and create positive change.

Here are 8 things that may work and explain a little more about what mental wellbeing might be…

1.    Join a gym (I did for the first time pre covid, a few weeks back).
2.    Go for a fast/long walk with a podcast on and engage in it. (Oh and take the dog!)
3.    Journal some of your learnings for the week, what did you learn?
4.    Call a mate and ask them how they are on a scale of 1–10 and ask three questions more. Remember ‘listen to understand don’t listen to respond’. Be prepared to be vulnerable too.
5.    If you have a fireplace, stare at the flames and think about very little other than the heat of the flames and wait for the crackles.
6.    Write a blog post on LinkedIn about something, that will serve somebody else’s needs!
7.    Connect with somebody that has shared something, listened to you or just helped you this month and say a sincere thank you!
8.    From a work perspective, write a list of things to do (that are achievable) and tick them off as you do each one.

Wellbeing is not just the absence of disease or illness. It’s a complex combination of someone’s physical, mental, emotional and social health factors.

What works for you?

James Gallacher, YellowBox Careers