Counting my blessings: End-of-year reflection
In my post ‘10 tips for better mental health & wellbeing (part 2)’, I wrote that positive thinking and gratitude can help improve our mental health and wellbeing. To help create a more positive mindset, I use a simple yet effective strategy: reflection and gratitude. At the end of each day, I spend some time noting the positive things that happened on that day. I often advise people to do the same by identifying and writing down three positive things about that day. This can enhance positive thinking and help us focus on the positive aspects of our everyday lives, rather than dwell on our shortcomings. As this year is now coming to its end, I would like to take this strategy a step further and reflect on the positive experiences I’ve had in 2018.
I have actually been doing this end-of-the-year reflection for a while now; I tend to reflect on my travels, movies I’ve watched, concerts I’ve been to and books I’ve read. Since I keep a list of the books I’ve read (as well as those I would like to read), it is not difficult to keep track (despite reading on average a book a week). However, I am not the kind of person who keeps a diary; instead I use Instagram as a visual one. So this is the time of the year when I go through my Instagram feed; this will invariably include photos of my travels and concerts I’ve been, but also of places I’ve visited and special moments I’ve experienced.
Reflection on 2018 special moments
On a very cold day at the beginning of 2018, I walked into a bookstore between Leicester Square and Covent Garden in central London. I actually have to thank my mum who discovered it first and took me there. Stanfords has since become one of my favorite bookstores in London (along with Waterstones, Foyles and Daunt Books). After having a cup of coffee in the café area at the back of the store, and whilst browsing the travel books and the globes, my gaze fell upon the book How to be a Travel Writer
‘This is exactly what I want to be’, I thought to myself. I read the book whilst on skiing holidays in Zell-am-See, Austria, in March. Upon my return back home, I enrolled on Peter Carty’s travel-writing course, which I attended in April. In May, I saw my piece ‘Hiking in Amorgos, Cyclades’ published in the Guardian. I was so ecstatic that I didn’t notice that it had actually won the first place in the competition ‘10 great Greek islands: readers’ travel tips’). In June, following a week-long holiday in Norway, I launched my first ever blog: the Traveling Psychiatrist.
Reflection on 2018 travels
In 2018, I was fortunate enough to travel quite a lot; I visited eight different countries, some of which several times. My travels included a week in Norway, a country that I hadn’t visited in 20 years but I was dying to visit again, two weeks island-hopping in Greece, a week skiing in Austria, and a week doing water sports in Martinique. I also went on weekend breaks to several European cities, such as Verona, Munich, Stockholm and Amsterdam.
Some of these places, such as the Norwegian city of Ålesund, the Greek islands of Serifos and Sifnos (posts to be published in 2019), the Austrian ski resort of Zell-am-See, the French island of Martinique, the Italian city of Verona (post also to be published in 2019) and the Bavarian capital Munich, are places that I had never visited before. On the contrary, Oslo, Bergen, Stockholm, Amsterdam and my home island of Skyros were all places I’d already visited before, but I was only too glad to visit again.
I may have not yet written about all these places I’ve visited this year; however, this is something I’m planning to do in 2019, starting with my tips on Skyros in January. Meanwhile, you can read about Norway (‘Fjords & Jazz: Explore Norway in 9 days’) and Martinique (‘7 reasons to fall in love with Martinique’), or the Greek islands I’d visited before (‘Island-hopping in the Cyclades in 2 weeks’).
Reflection on 2018 movies
As a cinephile, I’ve watched a large number of newly released films in 2018. Films that stand out include ‘Downsizing’, the latest Alexander Payne film which largely motivated me to travel to Norway, and ‘Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again’, set in Greece but filmed in Croatia.
However, my ultimate highlight was the 62nd BFI London Film Festival in October. I was fortunate to watch five great movies:
• ‘Non-fiction’ (‘Doubles Vies’), a French film about the recent changes in the publishing world starring Juliette Binoche.
• ‘That Time Of Year’ (Den tid på året), a Danish comedy about an extended family coming together on Christmas Day.
• ‘The Hummingbird Project’, a North-American film about the construction of a fiber-optic cable straight between Kansas and New Jersey; it features an international cast, including Salma Hayek in a Cruella de Vil role, and an unrecognizable unsexy (!) Alexander Skarsgård.
• ‘The Quake’ (‘Skjelvet’), the second ever Scandisaster film, and sequel to ‘The Wave’ (‘Bølgen’). This time, it is the Norwegian capital that gets destroyed by an earthquake.
• ‘The Guilty’ (‘Den Skyldige’), possibly my favorite film of the year. It is a Danish thriller evoking such a strong visual imagery, that I barely realized that it has been filmed in a single location, a police station, whilst the action takes place in the outside world.
Soon afterwards, in November, I briefly returned to Yorkshire for the 32nd Leeds International Film Festival, the largest film festival in England outside London. LIFF is held every November and I used to be a regular when I lived in Leeds. This year, I watched ‘Burning’, a South Korean film based on a Haruki Marukami short story.
Reflection on 2018 music
Every December, Spotify creates a playlist with the 100 songs that I listened the most that year. In 2018, I listened to 6,147 songs on Spotify. Listening to this playlist awakens memories and puts me in the right frame of mind for the end-of-the-year reflection.
Reflecting on the concerts, gigs and festivals I attended, the one that stands out is Nana Mouskouri’s concert that took place in October at the Royal Festive Hall in London. Having been born in Greece in 1934, Nana has had a truly international career spanning six decades! She has released songs in at least twelve different languages, including Greek, English, French and German, and holds the title of the biggest-selling female artist of all time. At the age of 84, she gave such an unforgettable performance!
I was also fortunate enough to attend a number of music festivals, all held in London. These included the C2C Country to Country Festival in March (where I saw one of my all-time-favorite artists: the fabulous Faith Hill), All Points East in May (with Bjork’s performance being my personal highlight), Lovebox/Citadel in July, and the London Jazz Festival in November. In 2019, I hope I get tickets for Glastonbury to see Kylie…
Reflection on 2018 books – fiction
Every year I tend to read a combination of fiction (mostly crime novels) and non-fiction books.
In 2018, I read crime mysteries from every Scandinavian country except for Finland. It was actually the first time I read Icelandic and Danish crime novels, but it won’t certainly be the last. I particularly enjoyed Ragnar Jónasson’s books, with Rupture
If you want to become familiar with Scandinavian crime novelists, check out my posts ‘Crime & Fjords: 9 Scandinavian writers you should read’ and ‘X-mas Book Flood: Jólabókaflóðið, Yule & Murder’.
A non-Scandinavian fiction book I’ve read and particularly enjoyed was The President is Missing
Reflection on 2018 books – non-fiction
I also read and reviewed a number of non-fiction books; these included books on the Scandinavian and Japanese concepts of hygge, lagom and ikigai, self-help books (post to be published in 2019), and books on nutrition and mental wellbeing. Of the latter, I particularly enjoyed the following three:
- The Happy Kitchen
by Rachel Kelly.
- The Kefir Solution: Natural Healing for IBS, Depression and Anxiety
by Shann Nix Jones.
- Gene Eating: The science of obesity and the truth about diets
Giles Yeo’s brand new book, which was only published on the 27th of December 2018.
by Rachel Kelly.
by Shann Nix Jones.
Giles Yeo’s brand new book, which was only published on the 27th of December 2018.If you want to read more about nutrition and mental wellbeing, check out my post ‘Better nutrition. Better health. Better wellbeing.’
To read more about the value of reading to support health and wellbeing, check out my post ‘10 tips for better mental health & wellbeing (part 2)’.
In 2019, I would like to continue on this momentum. Inspired by James Clear, I also plan to write very brief summaries for each and every book I’ll read. I already have a list of books I’d like to read; on the top of the pile, I have Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2019
Reflection, positivity, gratitude and neuroplasticity
In 2018, I read a number of books by Gill Hasson, including the books Positive Thinking
Positive thinking and gratitude is a skill that can be practised, learned and become an effective stress management strategy. If this sounds like psychobabble, I assure you it is not. A large number of published studies indeed confirm the strong association between positive thinking and gratitude on the one hand and wellbeing on the other; they also explain the reason for this. Neuroplasticity, or brain plasticity, refers to the ability of the brain to change (both its structure and its function) throughout one’s life. This is commonly called rewiring and involves creating and strengthening brain pathways (neural circuits). Neuroscience research shows that positive thinking strategies, including reflection and gratitude journals, are effective ways to improve one’s mental wellbeing for this very reason; they contribute to the rewiring of the brain. The same is true of mindfulness and meditation.
Reflection, positivity, gratitude and wellbeing
Positive thinking, optimism and gratitude have been associated not only with mental wellbeing, but also physical health benefits. In a nutshell, these benefits include:
• Better coping skills during hardships and times of stress
• Lower rates of depression
• Lower levels of distress
• Better mental and physical wellbeing
• Greater resistance to the common cold
• Better cardiovascular health and reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease
• Increased life span
In Ikigai: The Japanese secret to a long and happy life
This exemplifies the interplay between physical and mental health. Thinking positively enables us to cope better with stressful situations; this not only enhances our mental wellbeing (reducing depression and distress), but also reduces the harmful health effects of stress on our body.
Reflection and happiness
In Happiness Gill Hasson debates the question ‘can money buy happiness?’; she then writes that experiences can last longer than things. Spending money on things can certainly lift our mood. However, once the initial thrill that follows a purchase wears off, things no longer contribute to our happiness. In contrast, experiences often do, even years later. Happiness can linger on for a long time after the experience is over. This is because experiences can create happy memories; it is the recollection and reliving of those memories that can fuel happiness long afterwards. Furthermore, even beforehand, experiences can contribute to happiness. For example, planning and anticipating an experience, such as traveling or going to a concert, often has that mood-boosting effect. So, by looking forward to or reminiscing an experience, you can make yourself a bit happier. By actively reflecting on that experience, you can enhance your happiness even more.
Further reading
If you’d like to check out Barack Obama’s year-end lists of his favorite books, films and music of 2018, you can follow on him on Facebook or read this article on the Guardian.
If you want to read more about the neuroplasticity and the rewiring of the brain, check out the book The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science
For a holistic approach and practical tips to improve physical and mental wellbeing, check out my posts:
10 tips for better mental health & wellbeing (part 1)
10 tips for better mental health & wellbeing (part 2)
Beyond traveling: Collecting beautiful moments of pleasure
Acknowledgements
I’d like to thank Gill Hasson for sending me a copy of ‘Happiness’ for read and review.
To follow my travels around the world, simply subscribe to the Traveling Psychiatrist (just click on the menu on the left hand side).
Have a Happy New Year!
Alex
(the Traveling Psychiatrist)
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