You don't need to join a gym or start meditating everyday to make a difference to your wellbeing: you can start with little changes to the way you think and building positive practices into your everyday life.

A new way of thinking 

The two darts model of thinking is a way to react differently when something bad happens.  

It can be thought of like this:

Something unpleasant happens to you. It might be an unpleasant text or email, or your bus being late, or receiving bad news about a medical condition. This is the first dart. You have to accept it because it has happened.

But what we often do is then fire a second dart ourselves. We ruminate for hours about how awful the text/email was. We feel more and more tense as we wait at the bus stop. We think the worst about the medical news we have received.

We may not even realise that there are two separate things – two separate darts – involved. But we can try to separate them and then choose not to fire the second dart.

John, who leads the national online u3a mindfulness and meditation events 

Where to start?

• Begin by exploring the groups at your local u3a. You may already have access to yoga, tai chi, or mindfulness and meditation - a relaxed, low-pressure way to try something new while supporting your wellbeing.

• If you’re curious about mindfulness, John, alongside colleagues Mike and Ruth, runs a series of online u3a Mindfulness and Meditation events, making it easy to get involved from anywhere. The next series is a six-week course, starting on Wednesday 25 February. Book now.

• Looking to start or develop a yoga group? Patricia is on hand to support both new and established groups, with practical guidance and resources available on the Yoga Subject Advice page.

• Peter offers support for Tai Chi groups - find more on the Tai Chi Subject Advice page.