Find your happy place

If I asked you to go to your happy place, where would you go? Maybe on top of a mountain overlooking the vista, maybe the beach with the sand squishing between your toes and the sound of waves crashing, maybe in a forest sat under an ancient, wise tree or curled up at home surrounded by the familiarity of the things that you love.

The brain can’t differentiate between what is real and what is imaginary. For example, if you feel anxious about a noise in the middle of the night and imagine burglars breaking in, your brain will release the same fear her hormones adrenaline and cortisol in order to prepare you as if it was really happening. Likewise if you spend time thinking about events that make your heart swell, your body releases feel good hormones.

This is why practicing a safe/peaceful place meditation is important. You might not be able to physically travel to your happy place but you can go there in your mind, which is just as restorative for the body. Being able to frequently visit your special place in your mind reaps rewards, every cell in your body will experience the benefits.

There is also evidence to suggest that having your a special place boost happiness and satisfaction and makes us more inclined to be of service to our community, with that be donating time or money, which further increases well-being.

So have a think about where you would go. Once you’ve got your destination, figure out how you can get there regularly. It might be that you wake five minutes early each morning and start your day with a D tour. Do you commit five minutes of your lunch break to a trip? Perhaps it’s the five minutes in the car before you collect the kids from school or maybe taking a little journey becomes part of your evening pre-bedtime ritual.

Don’t take my word for it, test it for yourself. Where are you can fit it in, try it for a week and noticed the difference. Bon voyage and safe travels, I’m now due a little trip to my happy place.....