Take notice
“Look at everything as though you were seeing it for the first time” – Betty Smith
Be more aware of the present moment, including your feelings and thoughts, your body and the world around you. Be curious. Catch sight of the beautiful. Remark on the unusual. Notice the changing seasons. Savour the moment, whether you are walking to work, eating lunch or talking to friends. Be aware of the world around you and what you are feeling. Reflecting on your experiences will help you appreciate what matters to you.
Some people call this awareness ‘mindfulness’, and it can positively change the way you feel about life and how you approach challenges.
Studies have shown that being aware of what is taking place in the present (through your sensations, thoughts and feelings) directly enhances wellbeing.
Local parks and services
- Warwickshire Country Parks
- Foundry Wood
- Draycote Water
- Shustoke Water
- Warwickshire Wildlife Trust Nature Reserves
- Go Sky Ride (cycling)
- Woodland Trust
- North Warwickshire Borough Council
- Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council
- Rugby Borough Council
- Stratford-on-Avon District Council
- Warwick District Council
- Warwickshire Libraries
Research
Research suggests that being aware of what is taking place in the present directly enhances wellbeing. Savouring an experience can help to reinstate or restore life’s priorities. Being trained to be aware of sensations, thoughts and feelings for eight to 12 weeks has been shown to enhance wellbeing for several years.
Open awareness is particularly valuable for choosing behaviours that are in line with your needs, values and interests, which in turn is thought to be important for wellbeing. Mindfulness is about being attentive to, and aware of what is taking place in the present or knowing directly what is going on inside and outside moment by moment. The more mindful you are, the more likely you are to have a positive mental state, and increased self-knowledge.
Increased awareness enhances an individual’s self-understanding and allows an individual to make choices that are in line with your own values and intrinsic motivations. Intrinsic motivation is that which is driven by an interest or enjoyment in the task itself.