Put human connection and community at the heart of your life to achieve overall well-being, as humans evolved to be part of a tribe.
Prioritize cultivating high-quality relationships for significant benefits to your mental and physical health, comparable to avoiding smoking or obesity.
Cultivate at least one or two securely attached relationships where you feel someone will be there for you in trouble, providing a crucial sense of security and support.
Understand depression and anxiety as signals of unmet psychological needs, rather than personal weakness or biological defect, to make sense of your pain and address its root causes.
Actively seek and maintain a sense of purpose and meaning within a social group, as this is critical for brain health and overall well-being, telling your body it’s worth being alive.
Incorporate small, consistent practices of kindness and compassion into your daily life to make them habitual, leading to gentler, warmer interactions and a more compassionate personal demeanor.
Participate in activities involving synchronized collective movement, such as dancing or cheering at games, to experience ‘collective effervescence,’ fostering shared consciousness and unity.
Identify your hobbies or passions and seek out local in-person classes or groups related to them, as this is an effective way to meet like-minded people and build community.
Actively curate a close circle of four or five dependable friends, offering and receiving mutual support during difficult times, and choose friends who share healthy activities and challenge your mind.
Establish ‘opt-out events’ – regularly scheduled social gatherings with friends that are assumed attendance unless you explicitly opt out – to ensure consistent connection and prioritize friendships.
Cultivate a collection of friends to fulfill various needs for support, fun, and self-discovery, rather than investing solely in a single primary relationship.
Be intentional about scheduling social interactions, such as walks or dinners, to maintain and strengthen relationships, especially during life stages like middle age or retirement.
Reach out to missed friends or acquaintances with a simple text, email, or call, expressing that you were thinking of them, as this gesture is often well-received and can revive connections.
Foster true intimacy by showing up as your authentic self and being vulnerable in interactions, rather than being performative or guarding who you are.
Make an effort to initiate conversations and make new social connections, even with strangers during your commute, as this significantly boosts your well-being despite initial hesitation.
Engage in small, gentle chats with people you encounter daily, such as at shops, to experience heartwarming moments that provide emotional sustenance and connection.
Leverage strong relationships to regulate negative emotions and reduce stress by having someone to talk to who helps your body calm down and return to equilibrium.
Utilize strong, supportive relationships as a foundation to gain confidence and encouragement for trying new experiences and taking risks, as they provide a secure base.
Prioritize adequate sleep, physical movement, and real-life social interactions, as these are crucial protective factors against depression and anxiety, often eroded by excessive screen time.
Create physical distance from smartphones and other highly stimulating devices by not having them around all the time, as their constant presence steals mental bandwidth and attention.
Practice mindful phone use by asking yourself ‘What for? Why now? What else?’ before engaging with your device, to become more intentional and reduce mindless scrolling.
Remove phones from your immediate vicinity during conversations, as their mere presence, even if unused, can diminish the quality of interaction and steal mental bandwidth.
Utilize digital platforms to organize and invite people to real-world, in-person activities, transforming online connections into physical community engagement and fostering a sense of belonging.
Engage in cold water therapy, such as sea swimming, to bring you back to the present moment, invigorate your immune system, and improve mental health, despite initial reluctance.
When participating in group activities, value the social interaction and conversations that happen alongside the main activity, as they are equally important for your overall well-being.
Cultivate an ‘other-oriented’ mindset by giving your money or time to charities and focusing on helping others, as this is strongly correlated with higher happiness levels.
Intentionally perform acts of kindness for others, even small ones, as this directly boosts your own well-being more than selfish pursuits and generates beneficial hormones.
Practice empathy and compassion in your interactions, as feeling cared for can significantly boost immune response and overall physical health, generating feelings of warmth and connection.
Shift your mindset from an individualistic ‘I’ perspective to a collective ‘we’ perspective, recognizing that personal health is interconnected with the health of the planet and community.
Prioritize working together and helping others over the constant pursuit of profit or material acquisition, as this collective approach improves society and community well-being.
Challenge the cultural belief that material acquisition leads to happiness; instead, recognize that true fulfillment comes from love, care, and friendship.
After consuming information, identify one actionable insight to apply to your own life and one to teach to someone else, as teaching aids learning and retention.