All of the therapies I am aware of involve developing greater self awareness in one way or another. Greater physical self awareness helps to reduce the likelihood of injury from strain, unhelpful postures or repetitive movements, because you attend to your body's signals that you need to adjust or rest.

Greater emotional self awareness helps you to address problems in your life and relationships before they become overwhelming. It also helps you to be aware of which choices feel good over the long term, and which feel less good and need to be revised.

Greater awareness of your own behaviour gives you opportunities to attend to problems, and choose actions that you are happy to own.

Mindfulness is a way of training your attention to focus your whole mind on one thing at a time with a non-judgmental and curious attitude. Regular mindfulness practice helps you to deepen your self awareness, which gives you better self control.

There is evidence that people who practice mindfulness regularly have different patterns of brain activation than those who don't practice it, and correspondingly enjoy a greater sense of wellbeing.

Mindfulness practice is also helpful to manage enduring difficulties that are not within your control, like hardships or chronic pain.

Many people focus on self esteem when they think about having a healthy self concept, but I prefer to look at two other components of a healthy self concept that describe how you relate to yourself: Self-Compassion, and Internal Harmony:

Self-Compassion

People who adopt a compassionate view of themselves enjoy greater wellbeing for several reasons. For one, they are less likely to be harsh and punitive with themselves in private when they make a mistake or suffer a hardship.

Do you criticise yourself or insult yourself when you are struggling? These habits are known to compound your suffering.

Self-compassion enables you to care for yourself and take steps to alleviate your own suffering through self-care and kindness. If you treat yourself as a friend, and are kind and steady in your commitment to your own wellbeing, you may notice that you enjoy more of it.

Internal Harmony

Many of us experience a great deal of internal conflict without realising it. Sometimes, we are aware of our abilities and qualities, and at other times, we are aware only of our limitations. To complicate things further, these different focuses we have sometimes blatantly contradict each other, and we may engage in internal debates or arguments about who we really are.

The reality is likely to require some nuance; in some situations or relationships, we can make use of our abilities, and in others, we have more difficulty accessing them. Recognising your abilities and limitations, and identifying the situations and relationships that allow you to engage your abilities is part of establishing internal harmony.

Working cooperatively within yourself to mobilise your resources towards your goals, and overcome your limitations is helpful for maintaining a positive self-concept.

By choosing habits that help you to feel well, and avoiding habits that make you feel unwell, your wellbeing is enhanced. This can operate on a very practical level; for example, choosing food that makes you feel good in a lasting way, and avoiding the tasty stuff that later gives you heartburn means that you feel better more of the time.

Getting into the habit of getting enough sleep means that you can enjoy optimal emotional regulation and thinking, and you will get sick less frequently. Getting the right amount and type of exercise for your body will bolster your energy level, mood and physical wellbeing, and keep you fit enough to do what you want to do when you want to do it.

Paying attention to how your pass-times make you feel and gravitating towards those that are satisfying will help. Finding the right balance between activity and relaxation will optimise your energy levels. All of these practical things can have a huge impact on your sense of wellbeing.

The way that we think, and what we think about can have an effect on our wellbeing. There are two key aspects of our thinking that can assist with wellbeing:

Flexibility

Things don't always work out the way we'd planned, and this can lead to frustration and disappointment if we have a rigid view of how things should be. The more fixed our expectations, the more we are vulnerable to not having them met. The world is such a complex place, it's difficult to predict the future.

By holding looser expectations, and being flexible about the details, you can increase the likelihood of enjoying yourself and having your expectations met (within reason of course – an absence of expectations may indicate poor self-esteem or under-developed self concept, which is unhelpful in itself).

Realistic Positivity

Like the yin yang, the world is composed of the opposing presence of good and bad, of ease and hardship, in constant conversation. If we focus on what is bad, we will surely find it, and there is some evidence that our nervous systems are biased towards threatening information, as threats have more survival relevance – you have to deal with a hungry lion, but you can afford to ignore a pleasant view. It is, however, equally true that if we focus on what is good, we will find it too.

If we cultivate habits of looking for positivity around us, and enhance positivity in our lives, we will find that it builds on itself. Learning to enhance positivity is one key element to wellbeing.

We all have a past, and we all have some things from our past that trouble us. Resolving whatever difficulties you have survived, and moving forward with your life in the way that you choose is foundational for wellbeing – it's hard to enjoy the present when you are preoccupied with what didn't work out in the past. There may be challenges that were hard to overcome, and resentments that have lasted with you.

If you are aware that your past is overwhelming to you, then it may be wise to see some assistance in resolving it. Coming to a balanced understanding of your past, and figuring out how to resolve its legacy is central to your wellbeing.

Human beings are social mammals. The vast majority of us are happier when we have close connections with others, although different people crave different numbers of close connections. Participating in the communities that matter to you and connecting with others is an important part of wellbeing that is often lacking in our busy society.

Spending some time thinking about how to find like-minded people and working on developing your face-to-face social connections is a good way to enhance your wellbeing.

Finding meaning in your life and investing most of your energy in meaningful activities is central to enjoying wellbeing. Meaning will come in many forms and places in your life, and it is important to nurture what is meaningful, and spend less energy on things that trap you in a sense of meaninglessness.

Meaning may be present in your relationships, your work, your creative, social or political activities. Wherever it exists, you will find that there, you are more resilient to challenges and more energetic and interested in your activities. Focusing on this helps wellbeing to grow in your life.

Over the course of a lifetime, if we reflect on our experiences and connect deeply with our feelings, we have the opportunity to develop wisdom.

Wisdom enables us to trust ourselves to make decisions and choose actions that are consistent with our values. Wisdom also saves time; as you become more self aware, you need to spend less time and energy working out if something is right for you, as you can feel your way through it.

The greater your wisdom, the more balanced your perspective, your emotions and your actions become- this is a perfect recipe for enjoying greater wellbeing.