8 Wellbeing experts share tips for a happy, healthy 2023
3rd Jan 2023 Life

Starting the new year on the right foot is all about adopting a healthy mindset. Here's how to have a successful start to 2023, according to wellness experts
Start daydeaming
Focused daydreaming (a state induced by mind wandering while focusing on "mindless" tasks such as walking or chores) allows you to start thinking more creatively.
"Daydreaming breaks are associated with increased brain activity"
Daydreaming breaks are associated with increased brain activity, so making them a part of your daily routine this year guarantees more creativity and innovation in all areas of your life.
Chris Griffiths is the founder of leading mind mapping app Ayoa, and the author of The Creative Thinking Handbook
Do something different every day
Switch up your routine by trying some new activities, like going to a jazz club
Bring more variety into your life by trying something different every day.
Deliberately change your routine. Eat a different breakfast, sit in another place at the table, take a different route to work. Read a newspaper that you never read. Watch a TV documentary on something unusual. If you normally go to the bridge club then go to the jazz club.
Variety is the spice of life, so add some spice. You will find that it gives you new experiences and fresh ideas.
Paul Sloane is a lateral thinking expert and author of new book Lateral Thinking for Every Day (Kogan Page, £12.99, available to purchase on January 3rd)
Make a NOT-to-do list
We’re all so bound up and ultimately strangled by everything we keep throwing on that ever growing to-do list, we forget that most of it is not critical to our lives or happiness.
Will it really matter in a week or a month if many of those tasks come off your to-do-list? If the answer is a resounding No, then move it without doubt to your NOT-to-do list—this list will your BFF in 2023.
Jill Bausch is a coach, philanthropic strategist, facilitator, social impact advisor and author of Why Brave Women Win, published by Leaders Press
Focus on what you have and not what you lack
So often in our lives we find ourselves come from a place of scarcity—we don’t have what we want, things aren’t going as well as we’d like. This year, turn your mind to what you do have.
"Build a practice of appreciating that who you are, what you do and what you have is enough"
Whether it’s internal confidence or external resources, focus on what you have that you are grateful for.
Build a practice of appreciating that who you are, what you do and what you have is enough. This will set you free to stop striving and start thriving.
Becky Hall is an accredited life coach, leadership consultant and is the author of The Art of Enough
Focus on forming healthy habits
Create a schedule to help you develop good habits such as reading more in 2023
New year, new feelings, new goals? Yes, and the most important part is that every change, in order to be effective, should come from our gut and our own, self-motivated driver.
Try to focus on one to three things that you would like to improve in 2023, and from there, set simple habits for each one. For example, I would like to read more.
Then, set a schedule for how you will incorporate these new habits inside your daily routine. Always start slow and with a short amount of allotted time so it won’t require too much motivation to perform it.
Constantly seek more information about that new habit you are performing so you can feed yourself with the “why” you are doing it. And remember: it’s never too late to start something great.
Adrian Gonzalez is a life coach and author of Morning Zen
Take a look in the mirror
As a leader, when was the last time you looked in the mirror and considered how you are seen by others? What it is really like to work with you, or be managed by you?
Self-awareness in leaders has always been important, but it will be key to success in 2023, as organisations build a new reality after a turbulent few years.
Research by Gallup found an enormous 70 per cent of the variance in team engagement is determined solely by the manager, so your impact on the motivation, wellbeing and productivity of your team is pivotal.
As we begin a new year, start by reflecting on the leader you see in the mirror. Acknowledge and celebrate the personal behaviours you are proud of and be honest about the aspects you’d like to develop.
Consider what is most important to you, personally and professionally, create a vision of the person you want to see in the mirror and build a plan for how to get there.
Rosie Nice is a workplace coach and author of The Magic Happens in the Silence: A Guide to the Art of Reflective Coaching
Try Reiki or energy healing modalities
Reiki is an energy healing technique that promotes relaxation and reduces stress and anxiety through gentle touch.
The word Reiki comes from the word (Rei) which means "universal life" and (Ki) which means “energy”. This means Reiki involves helping to heal an individual’s life force energy. Reiki energy helps to bring awareness and healing to our imbalances.
Everyone has the ability to connect with their own healing energy and use it to strengthen energy within themselves.
A Reiki session can help ease tension and stress and can facilitate an environment for healing on all levels—physical, mental and emotional. A session is pleasant and calming, and is often utilised for one’s personal wellness. It’s an incredible tool to introduce into your life in 2023.
Sophie Elliott is a wellbeing and Reiki expert and founder of Present-Beings, the wellbeing subscription box company.
Grow your willpower muscle
Strengthen your willpower by organising your goals into "will"s and "won't"s
Throughout our day we make thousands of decisions both consciously and subconsciously. When it comes to understanding willpower, we have things that we would like to be doing and things that we definitely want to stop doing.
We can divide these into "will"-power challenges and "won’t"-power challenges.
For example, if you want to limit eating junk food or stop watching so much TV in the new year, these would be termed "won’t"-power challenges.
"If you want to limit eating junk food or watching TV in the new year, these would be termed "won’t"-power challenges"
On the other hand if you want to exercise or floss your teeth everyday these would be "will"-power challenges.
The first step in your willpower success is to divide these mentally into things that you want to be doing and things that you want to stop doing. With this list divided appropriately, you can then start the process towards happy and healthy change.
Dr Adam Greenfield is a leading chiropractor and co-founder of WorkLifeWell
Read more: Why New Year's resolutions are a bad idea
Read more: Make journaling your New Year's resolution
Keep up with the top stories from Reader's Digest by subscribing to our weekly newsletter
*This post contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.