The Mindful Project is a peer support and self-evaluation project centered around the concept of self-compassion and positive psychology. Self-compassion is a concept which puts emphasis on being kind to oneself, recognizing that weakness is a part of humanity, and being mindful of one’s emotions. Positive psychology places emphasis on one’s strengths and potential to thrive. The project emphasizes the importance of being “mindful” of 3 aspects: one’s emotional state, one’s strengths, and others’ emotional needs.

Hong Kong young people are currently under a lot of stress due to the pandemic, academic matters, and difficulty in employment. Self-help has also become particularly important during these hard times since young people often do not receive in-person support from their friends due to social distancing restrictions. So, I would like to promote different self-help measures to encourage their self-awareness of their emotional states and to help them realize their potential.

Before young people can utilize different well-researched methods to improve their mental health, understanding emotional changes is crucial. This allows them to address this matter calmly without feeling confused or scared. Therefore, I would like to introduce different types of thinking patterns that will influence one’s emotional changes through social media, letting them know the possible reasons behind their emotional changes. This process can improve their psychological literacy and allow them to reflect on their daily emotional patterns.

Afterwards, I plan to promote mindfulness practices and gratitude journals through workshops to further improve young people’s self-awareness as well as self-compassion. Mindfulness is the state of being present and being aware of one’s thoughts, feelings and sensations. The practices have improved people’s sensitivity to their own emotions, their resilience against adversities, as well as reduced their anxiety. Since it allows one to be present with themselves, it also improves self-compassion by letting one acknowledge without repression that their weaknesses are what make them human. Practices such as simple breathing exercises, walking exercises, and mindfulness eating are easy and quick to do, but are proven effective. Other than that, gratitude journaling is a great way to not only allow young people to use their creativity, but to also appreciate themselves more and understand their strengths. Gratitude journaling involves one jotting down the things they are grateful for every day in their lives, or to recognize their own achievements. This allows young people to realize their strengths, as well as increase their self-worth and develop a more optimistic view of their lives. However, they may be unfamiliar to both of these practices, so interactive workshops with practitioners of these practices will be a great way to inspire them to start the journey. Practitioners can convey the benefits of doing such practices and boost their confidence in using these exercises in their daily lives. To increase the appeal of these workshops, fun materials, such as glitter jars for mindfulness, and well-designed journals will be prepared.


Despite the pandemic, peer and family support still remains an important element in eliminating self-stigmatization and improving young people’s self-love. While many friends and family members are eager to support their loved ones, they often do not know the means to do so. Hence, I plan to produce a manual to guide family members and friends on appropriate ways to encourage self-compassion and support their loved ones who may be facing emotional distress. Peer support can also be done through trends on social media, having mental health ambassadors on campus, and establishing a peer support network. For example, social media platforms can be utilized through encouraging social media users to start a 7-day trend, recording things they are proud of every day, and inviting their friends to do the same. This forms an atmosphere of self-compassion. A peer support network and school ambassadors can also promote self-compassion through exhibitions around campus, identifying those who are in emotional distress, and sharing of own personal experiences, such as coping strategies and the practice of mindfulness.