H is for . . .

Where's your Happy Place?

A simple question with so many answers! Have a think now and see where your mind goes. Outdoors - indoors - abroad? Where does your mind not race? Where can you take a breath and just enjoy. Be calm, at peace and just take a moment out of your day to day thoughts.

Or not; some people need the buzz and busy times to feel at peace. The rush from going from place to place and jumping from thought to thought can bring about clarity and relaxation… not me! It sounds hectic and like hard work, but it's true.

Just knowing you own method is the important bit - being able to connect and reset is an incredibly powerful tool for our well being.

Asking ourselves questions like, “What am I grateful for?” “What would bring more joy into my life?”, “What has gone well today?”

Give yourself a chance. Stop and breathe. You can sit or lie, and try to breathe deeply - listen to your breath, try to feel your heartbeat. Just hitting pause on our bodies and minds for 5 minutes will benefit us.

Do it - set a timer every day for a week for a timeout. It'll be lovely, and soon enough a habit that you can rely on to help you every day.

Pets play a huge part in bringing us joy and happiness, so no wonder this was the chosen spot for one of our staff team. Looks like it might be the dogs happy place too!

What a view! This is an amazing 'happy place' pictured was submitted by another staff member who has this stunning outlook from her allotment! Not jealous at all!!

Another allotment choice, which is hardly surprising - lockdown made green-fingers of many of us and the amazing colours in this shed really evoke happy thoughts and positivity. A lovely example from another team member for their 'happy place'.

A bit of colour can really brighten your day - this project was done with leftover tester pots - so why not dust off your creative side and let yourself paint, draw or bring some colour into your surroundings?

And finally, lucky me on one of our local walks last summer. The views around roll for miles and I take such pleasure in getting out and taking it all in. Walking is lovely in the sunshine with blue skies, but to be honest even on the grey days there's beauty somewhere - you just have to stop for a moment to find it

Fearne Cotton's HAPPY PLACE podcast, now in its ninth series with over 40 million downloads, builds on the success of the top 10 bestseller HAPPY, where Fearne draws on her own experiences and shares advice from experts on how to work through feeling blue to finding joy each and every day.

Whatever your reason may be for feeling lost or frazzled from the pressures of this fast paced life, there are ways to put one foot in front of the other and help you unlock that inner happiness.

In this series Fearne delves into this subject further through chatting to inspiring individuals who have either made a change in their own lives or who help people every day to find a different way of looking at life.

Have a look at the full range of interviews here and why not have a listen . . .