(The 4 Keys to a) Happy New Year!

One thing is certain, this year, like every other year, will bring both things we like and those we don’t. We will gain some and lose some (think: wealth, status, opportunities, relationships), there will be meetings and there will be partings (including of the most radical type: births and deaths), we will receive some good feedback and some not so good (sometimes for the same deed!) and our popularity may improve or deteriorate or both at different times.

The truth is we have limited influence on what will happen to us, we cannot fully control our environment, the economy, our health or other people. The only thing we can truly aim to manage and cultivate is our mind.  But we need to know how to do that and frankly, most of us don’t. As many sages throughout history realised, the mind can be our greatest ally but, more often than not, it is also our fiercest enemy. In the words of John Milton: “The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heav’n of hell, a hell of heav’n.” We can make ourselves utterly miserable without any help from outside, even when others might consider us lucky.

Yet there are four keys that can help us develop greater mental health and balance:

1. We can learn to cultivate desires and aspirations that are more conducive to our wellbeing rather than follow our impulses or old habits that haven’t served us well. In this way we can create a truly meaningful life of purpose and fulfilment.
2. We can train our minds to focus and sustain our attention on what we need to take care of (not least the wise aspirations mentioned above!) rather than fall prey to attentional hyperactivity or deficit which are endemic to our fast-paced, digital culture. This is not just a matter of personal effectiveness but crucially, it is a way caringly to watch over, look after and attend to (these being the etymological connotations of the word attention) ourselves, each other and the world at large.
3. We can hone our capacity for greater objectivity and freedom from bias in order to see reality as it really is rather than through our subjective and often distorted filters. Wisdom can only be founded on truth and never on delusion.
4. Last but not least, we can train our ability to respond rather than react automatically to situations by learning to regulate our emotions, not just through top-down cognitive control but through inner growth and transformation.

No matter what life will throw at us today, this year and beyond, we can ensure that we respond to it in the most skilful and wise manner by having our mental house in order in the four ways outlined above. But I’m talking about more than just a coping mechanism: if there is a Happy New Year to be experienced, that is not simply contingent on favourable circumstances arising for us, we will never realise it without these four elements of a balanced and healthy mind firmly in place. So if you’re looking for sustainable wellbeing, stop hoping for good fortune and start developing your mind.

Learning to meditate is one of the most effective, experiential ways of doing this and discovering a sense of authentic wellbeing right where we live. This is why I practise meditation, and this is why I teach it. Find out more at my upcoming workshop.

Meditations for a Balanced Mind – A 2-Day Workshop for Cultivating Sustainable Wellbeing