Each year, I like to consider a major theme, focus or intention for my life. I find it helps me to be clear on how I want to live and work. It gives me a mental criteria for what I prioritise and what I do not.

When we genuinely show others respect and appreciation, we are meeting a basic need and helping them flourish (Fredrickson 2013). Being grateful to someone not only benefits the person, but it helps us as well.

Stress is a state of mental, physical or emotional tension, resulting from demanding circumstances. At different times in our lives, we all experience demanding circumstances resulting in stress – but it is not always a bad thing.

Ikigai is a Japanese word which translates roughly to a reason for being, encompassing joy, a sense of purpose and meaning and a feeling of wellbeing. Its two parts – iki, meaning life and kai, meaning the realisation of hopes and expectations (Better Humans 2017) but it also has the nuance of "the reason for which you wake up in the morning" (The Ascent 2018).