Develop and maintain close personal relationships

Be connected to your partner, friends and colleagues. This affects happiness more then any other single factor, enabling us to confide and discuss problems and generating a sense of community, trust and belonging. These relationships form a ‘support network’ to avoid emotional isolation. Diener and Seligman (2002), in their study of exceptionally happy people (the upper 10 per cent), found only one main difference between the happiest and the rest of their sample. The very happy people had a rich and fulfilling social life: they spent the least time alone, had good relationships with friends and had a current romantic partner. Having a work-related mentor – a wise and trusted professional friend with whom you can confidentially discuss work-related matters-can also contribute to a sense of relatedness.

Look after your physical health and get enough sleep

Exercise and diet are obviously important, but also plan times of rest and relaxation into each day: even 15 minutes a day can make a difference. A study by Babyak and others (2000) demonstrated that clinically depressed patients who were assigned to a modest aerobic exercise programme were three and a half to four times less likely to relapse 10 months later than those prescribe medication only or, interestingly, even those prescribed a combination of medication and exercise. Optional sleepers (those sleeping an average of six to eight and half hours per night) report fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety, and higher levels of environmental mastery (the extent to which a person feels that he or she has control over life circumstances), personal growth, positive relations with others, purpose in life and self acceptance than suboptimal sleepers (Hamilton and others 2007).

Keep a sense of perspective - does it really matter?

There are negative feelings in life, and experience shows that these pass; we learn from them and begin to enjoy live again. Situations that seem impossibly bad turn out not to be so, while goals that seem incredibly important are only a small part of live. We can experience adversity and come through. Do not be lured into trap of perfectionism (self-defeating thoughts and behaviours associated with high and unrealistic goals). Be satisfied with ‘good enough’-only go for ‘best’ when it really matters.

Engage yourself regularly, preferably daily, in activities that create ‘flow’

That is to say, become so fully immersed in rewarding task that you forget everything else; truly living in the present. Such task will be very specific to you, such as singing in a choir, dancing, playing sport, reading a book and aspects of work. Gradually increase the difficulty or complexity of your flow activities, ensuring that they match your growing skills. Allocate leisure time intelligently, away from passive activities such as watching television, so it contributes to your wellbeing.

Reflect upon, savour and be grateful for the good things in your life

Think about the things in your life for which you grateful, no matter how small they are. Consider keeping a ‘gratitude journal’. Research demonstrates that writing down three good things that took place today and reflecting on your role in them lastingly increases wellbeing and decreases depression(Seligman and others 2005).

Do not expect money to bring you happiness

Material wealth beyond basic subsistence fails to produce enduring happiness; we become habituated, our aspirations rise and we continue to envy those who are even better off (Myers 2000).

Engage in activities that are meaningful to you

In other words, activities that are motivating , offer security, challenge, some autonomy and in which you can take pride. If your work is not a calling ,have a purpose that you pursue elsewhere such as voluntary work or teaching. Embrace your spiritual dimension- a connection to something beyond yourself that is not simply religious affiliation, but strives for inspiration, reverence, awe meaning and purpose. Have peripheral interests too, avoiding the vulnerability of allowing your life to revolve around one issue (Seligman 2003).

Be content with who you are and be yourself

Care solely about other people’s approval and you will forever be their prisoner. Identify your personal talents and strengths and live life in such way that enables you to use them to the fullest extent .You can identify your character strengths by completing a freely available questionnaire on a University of Pennsylvania website, www.aunthentichappiness.org. Give yourself permission to be human: rejecting our emotion, positive or negative, leads to frustration and unhappiness.

Develop a sense of control

It is important to know that you have some influence over what happens to you. There is an extensive body of research linking sense of control with physical and psychological health (Rodin 1986).

Learn to be optimistic

Be positive but remain realistic. Learn to challenge your automatic negative thoughts,dispute pessimistic explanation and reframe situations in positive light (Seligman 1991).

Give yourself regular treats

However, do not be trapped by the shallow sole pursuit of pleasure by doing only those things that bring immediate gratification and pleasurable feelings. Positive emotions expand our capacity to think creatively and see the big picture, but too many of them may result in the experience of languishing-that is, feeling your life is ‘hollow ‘ or ‘empty’ (Fredrickson and Losada 2005).

Simplify

We are, generally, to busy- trying to squeeze more and more activities into less and less time. Quantity influences quality, and we compromise on our happiness by trying to do too much. Learn to say ‘no ‘ without feeling guilty (Schwartz 2005).

Only take time to choose carefully when the decision is important

Decisions have become increasingly complex due to the overwhelming abundance of choice with which we are faced. When presented with many options, happy and unhappy individuals show divergent responses to mundane (eg. choosing a dessert) and profound decisions ( eg. selecting a home). Furthermore , having to many choices results in a simple inability to choose. For relatively inconsequential decisions, try to be satisfied with an option that is merely good enough, rather then seeking to make the absolute best choice. Have the discipline to focus solely on those decisions that are important and ignore the rest to ultimately derive greater satisfaction from the choices you have to make (Schwartz 2005).

Be good to others

Being kind and of service to others on a regular basis is a key ingredient of happiness. There are also health and longevity benefits from helping behaviour that is fulfilling but not overwhelming (Post 2007).Practising so-called random acts of kindness enhances your own well-being (Sheldon and Lyubomirsky 2004).

Wellbeing - a state of mind

Osler (1932), one of the most distinguished physicians of the early 20th century and former professor of medicine at the University of Oxford , made an observation of doctors that could equally apply to veterinary surgeons: “To each one of you the practice of medicine will be very much as you make it- to one a worry, a care a perpetual annoyance; to another a daily joy and a life of as much happiness and usefulness as can well fall to the lot of man.” Therein lies a role for the new science of wellbeing.

Wellbeing is determined more by our state of mind than by our external conditions, circumstances, or events once our basic survival needs are met. It can be achieved through the systematic training of our minds, through reshaping attitudes and outlook. This is not to imply that any suicides could have been or necessarily will be prevented by such strategies. Nor must it be an excuse for failing to help make the veterinary work environment more tolerable , encouraging us to look inwards for the causes of our troubles

Yet this new focus on positive psychology is yielding unprecedented insights into human behaviour and fostering the development of interventions that enhance the lives of ordinary people, not just those with pathology. Individuals aspiring to a level of wellbeing that is higher then their set point must invest time and energy in implementing strategies to enhance wellbeing and making them habitual. The well-being-enhancing strategies under our voluntary control that have been discussed in this article provide us with a compass bearing for our positive mental health. Pursuing wellbeing takes work but it may be the rewarding work we ever do.