Here’s a simple guide to staying well. Staying well means that you feel generally good about yourself and in yourself. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you are objectively in the best of health, because subjective health is more important.

To quote one piece of research, “subjective health – as measured by self-reported evaluations of general or physical health – is positively correlated with measures of subjective well-being”.

How we feel we are healthwise is more significant than how we test on some objective scale.

I can’t guarantee that the following will change your life. At best it might give pause for thought, at worst you’ll disregard it. If a post is a call to action than it would be a result either way, I suppose.

A simple guide to staying well

Not that I think anyone should ignore sensible advice about wellbeing. Though our media-saturated world screams ‘good advice’ at us daily, it is precisely because of this overload that succinct quick reads like blog posts become so important. They have a way of cutting through the hype by distilling the key points we can make use of.

So here is my simple guide to staying well. It’s simple because these ideas require no special equipment, training, or ability. We can all do them:

Things to do each day:

• Dance; a little dancing goes a long way, and you don’t need a partner. You can always dance by yourself
• Breathe easily; however hard it usually is, practice being at one with your breath for a few minutes each day
• Tell someone you love, that you do
• Practice compassion. Do something kind and understanding, especially if you don’t have time/want to
• Review your successes. Never mind the failures, others will remind you of those soon enough.

Things to do each week:

• Look at goats (or any other animals if no goats are available), preferably outside, close enough to smell them, and to interact with them if you know how to do it safely
• Give thanks; take time to acknowledge what you have with a little ritual. Gratitude changes how the mind works and is good for wellbeing
• Produce something; use your hands to make something using practical skills
• Walk to work (or somewhere you travel to regularly by another means), the further the better. Exercise is a lifter of mood.
• Do something different, something that you don’t normally dare to do, especially if you think it’ll make you feel uncomfortable or stupid.

There you go! These are all evidence-based, and even if they weren’t, they are simple and fun. Try them for a week and let me know ho you get on.