Would you invest a couple of minutes learning how to increase your lifespan by 7+ years?

For more than 80 years, the Harvard Study of Adult Development has followed people across their lives to understand what contributes to longevity.

One of its most consistent findings?

As we approach R U OK? Day (10 September), here’s how you can go beyond this question for more meaningful conversations.

 You’ve certainly been through this:

- R U OK?

- Yeah, I’m fine.

And the conversation ends.

Try these icebreakers instead:

What if playing with wooden blocks could help someone experiencing depression see possibilities again?

I recently worked with someone who was feeling stuck and hopeless, and struggling to take even small steps towards change.

Instead of starting with the problem, I decided to start by playing. We used a different game in each session and then reflected on the experience.

That caused an interesting change.

When we're angry, we usually go to one of two extremes.

The first is avoidance. We tell ourselves, "They're not worth my time." So we stay quiet... but then we ruminate about the situation over and over again in our minds.

The other extreme is to blow up. We say everything we've been holding back, without a filter. It might feel cathartic for a few seconds, but things can get easily out of control and leave us regretting what we said.

There's a healthier option in the middle: assertive communication.

One of the main reasons people come to therapy is the opportunity to feel truly heard and understood, without judgement.

But you don’t need to be a counsellor to offer that experience to someone.

When we consciously track progress, we change the narrative we operate from. We move from deficit to development, from stagnation to movement. This shift reinforces healthier behaviours and builds momentum, creating an upward spiral. The result is not just a more fulfilling experience of the present, but also a more exciting outlook for the future.

Anxiety is common among high-performing professionals. If you’re an executive, you’ve likely experienced moments where a simple trigger, like your boss asking to “have a word”, spirals into a worst-case scenario in your mind.