The Mental Health Foundation suggests resisting the urge to strive for an entirely ‘new you’ and instead thinking of the new year as being for self-improvement can be a positive thing to benefit your wellbeing. They suggest some helpful tips to get you started, which include: 

Accept who you are – Accept who you are last year, today and tomorrow. The relationship you have with yourself is critical to your own wellbeing and in creating positive relationships with others. Ways to improve the relationship with you in 2024: 

• Take 15-30 minutes each day doing something you enjoy. 
• For all the faults your inner critic says about yourself, write down a positive to counteract them.  
• Be your own best friend and be kind and supportive to yourself especially when you are struggling or feel as if you have failed. 
• Practice gratitude and take a few minutes each day to appreciate the small wins you have achieved. 

Nourish your body – You will see many fitness and diet ads across the media this month but resist the urge to jump on the next fad. Pause and think about what ways you can nourish your body and mind. Whatever your fitness goals might be for this year, the top priority should be a healthy body and mind. Before diving into a new fitness hobby, make sure your plan is realistic for you, works for you, and is something that you actually enjoy doing.  

Bring intention into your actions – Use mindfulness as a tool to bring intention to your actions this year. Techniques such as meditation, breathing exercises and yoga can help you to pay attention to the present moment. Practicing mindfulness can help you to be more aware of your thoughts and feelings so that instead of being overwhelmed by them, you can manage them. Mindfulness is shown to have positive effects on whole-person health, including the mind, brain, body and behaviour, as well as relationships with others. 

Take time for yourself – Many of us will be back to work after the holidays with plenty to catch up on, but when you feel overwhelmed or stressed it’s important to pause and be a friend to yourself. Remember to be kind to yourself, take time out if needed and try to get some rest and sleep. Some ways you can alleviate stress: 

• Take a walk in nature. 
• Watch a funny movie. 
• Express your feelings by journalling.  
• Set aside 10 minutes to collect your thoughts. 
• Paint, draw, doodle or do something creative,  
• Spend time with positive people. 

Learn something new – 2024 might be the year you want to further your knowledge on a certain topic or learn a new skill. At Living Made Easy we deliver some brilliant courses to upskill you in supporting your own, and other’s wellbeing, such as our Understanding Mental Health courses (Adult and Youth), Mental Health First Aid and Resilience training – just to name a few! Please click here to read more about these on our website.