There are obviously more than five ways to do wellbeing, but today, let me share my personal favorites.

We loved travelling around Australia with our family. It’s been an absolute privilege to see our country, experience the incredible culture and have the time and space to be together. Throughout the trip I continued reading, learning and revelling in everything wellbeing and wanted to share with you how doing wellbeing has evolved for me.

Here’s five ways to wellbeing that I do each day and how they’ve evolved from life on the road to being settle in a home again.

1) Rise early.

Sunrise soaks you in optimism and breeds hope. It brings out your best and somehow helps you see the best in others too. There’s a little magic in seeing the first light of the day and sets up the rest of the day to be positive. Weather you live near the beach, bush or mountains, it’s always a wonderful time to explore the world around you.

While travelling, getting out early and exploring was exciting and set my day up for feeling calm, connected and curious about what we can see and do. Every day was different and might include a stand-up paddle, a run through red dirt country, a bike ride to the hot springs or a walk through a rainforest. Now we’re home, my early mornings have shifted back to hitting the beach with the puppy. While it’s not as exciting or interesting, there’s also no crocodiles lurking in the water or mine shafts to fall down. Pro’s and con’s right!

2) Get out in nature.

Being outdoors is good for the mind, body and soul. If you’re not convinced, get up, walk outside, and notice how your mind is a little clearer, breathing and heart rate has slowed just a little, optimism is up, and stress has receded. Green and blue space is vital to our wellbeing and here in Australia, we’re blessed with our natural environment.

When we were living in our caravan, we spent the vast majority of our time in the great outdoors. Yes, there was windy days, flies, dirt, sand and searing sun…. but it was almost always better than being indoors. Nature seems to ground us and give us a sense that we belong in this beautiful world. It shifts our perspective from thinking about ourselves, to focusing on the world around us. That’s something that therapists have spent decades trying to teach clients. Life in a house is so very different. While it’s fun to have a toaster and hot water… and more room than we know what to do with, it’s also, well, indoors. To compensate, we’re spending lots of time at the beach, lake, parks and in our own garden and loving being back by the ocean again.

3) Move more.

Our ancestors walked on average between 6 and 16kms each day just to find food, collect timber and gather the essentials they needed to survive. Movement is essential to our wellbeing and doesn’t need to involve lycra, expensive gym memberships or smart watches.

Moving was a natural part of life on the road. We were collecting timber most days and spent a large part of each day walking and exploring. We’re an adventure loving family so when there was an opportunity to hike, ride, surf, paddle, run, swim or skate… we’d always take it. Now we’re home, it seems that it’s easier than ever to move with the beach close by and all our toys on hand. Moving for us isn’t about exercise, it’s about having fun. Chasing the puppy, catching waves, riding to school or just walking down to check the surf, the more we move the better we feel… and the better we sleep (and the more chocolate we can justify. LOL)

4) Nurture others.

When I feel connected to the people that matter most, only then can I be my best. It’s funny how often wellbeing is spoken about without including relationships. Relationships are one of the biggest contributors to wellbeing. Good relationships amplify the positives and mitigate the negatives, they lift you up when you’re down and share the joy of your successes.

Some people cringe when thinking about living in a caravan for years with their family, but we loved it. We grew so close and enjoyed our time together and learned to read each other incredibly well. Now we’re home, it’s taking more conscious effort to nurture my family and has expanded to include friends and my broader family too. Tiny kindnesses build beautiful relationships and each day I try to think about what my ‘people’ need and how I can help them. It could be a thoughtful text, an offer to help or taking the kids for an adventure before school to ease their minds.

5) Be discerning with your time.

More than anything, feeling like you have can choose how to spend your time, creates freedom. Waking up each day and getting to choose what to do is a privilege I’ll always treasure. Most people wait for holidays, but we had years to revel in the freedom of time. In reflection, so much of what we did enabled our wellbeing. Often that wasn’t a conscious decision, but with the time available, it seemed like the fun option.

Travelling gave us time and space to explore, play and rest. It enabled us to listen to ourselves and each other. If my neck got stiff, I noticed and made time to do more yoga. If one of the kids got cranky, we had time to go for a walk and talk… or just walk and reconnect. Time really is the great healer and giving the people you love your time is the ultimate kindness. Now we’re home, time seems to have evaporated somehow. Life has sped up and the weeks seem to be flying by. We’re working to be more discerning with our time. We say no to unnecessary commitments, minimise time wasters like TV and news and keep our sense of freedom alive. It’s the little things. Lying on the trampoline after school with an ice block; Sitting around the campfire in the backyard; Or playing with the puppy at the beach before school that give us the sense that we have all the time in the world.

Five ways to wellbeing

These are just my favorites and like I mentioned, there are lots more than five ways to do wellbeing. Just to recap;

1. Rise early
2. Get out in nature
3. Move more
4. Nurture others and
5. Be discerning with your time.

Wellbeing isn’t a one size fits all pursuit. It’s totally unique, context dependant and has so many hidden complexities.  Positive psychology gives us hundreds of evidence-based interventions and activities that enable and nurture wellbeing. It’s up to you to be curious and playful while exploring the best wellbeing activities for you, your team and your family. Good luck.