Hugh's story

How the resilience project began

“In 2008, I found myself volunteering in the far north of India in a desert community. There was no running water, no electricity, and I slept on the floor of a mud brick home. Despite the people in this village having very little to call their own, I was constantly blown away by how happy they were. Always smiling, always laughing and always so present.

When I compared this to what it’s like to live in a developed country, I found it confronting. So many of us find it hard to be happy, despite the fact many of us have everything we want and need. I lived in the community for a few months and paid very close attention to what they did. Three things stood out to me.

They practised:

Gratitude

Practising gratitude allows us to pay attention to what we have, increasing feelings of happiness and leading to a more positive outlook on life.

Empathy

Developing empathy fosters deeper connections, increases our likelihood of acting kindly, and helps us experience positive emotions.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness allows us to be responsive to our experiences rather than reactive, and to live with greater balance, presence and connection.

When I returned home, I looked at the research that sat behind these three concepts. It turns out there are decades of research clearly showing that if we want to feel happier, have better mental health and be more resilient, we need to start practising these three things.”

– Hugh van Cuylenburg (Founder, The Resilience Project)