Habits that will positively improve your life forever.
What makes successful people, successful you may ask?
All I can say is, it takes focus, personal discipline, and the will to make things happen frequently. One thing they have in common is the good habits and daily rituals they foster to improve the quality of their life. The truth is, old habits can be difficult to change, but some new essential habits you can adapt can positively improve your life forever! Since we are what we repeatedly do, these habits (if adopted) will improve your mental and physical health. Your overall feeling of well-being will also increase, improving your quality of life substantially. In return, you get to enjoy a happier, less stressed life with fewer health complications. Not such a bad outcome for such little compromise, don't you think?
1.Create a morning ritual.
Waking up early isn’t the only thing that can change your life for the better. It’s also about setting up a morning routine and doing similar things orderly. Having a to-do list as the first thing in the morning will give you the motivation and enthusiasm to take you throughout the day. This will kick out procrastination that sometimes leaves you overwhelmed and paralyzed on what to do as the next step.Aside from a to-do list, some morning exercises such as a run or a healthy breakfast can leave you supercharged. If the great outdoors isn’t for you, then maybe some morning meditation and yoga would do. Maybe read an inspiring book for 30 minutes? You could also take your refreshing shower, read, or listen to the news as you drink your morning cup of coffee. Establishing a meaningful morning ritual helps you kickstart your day on a proactive note that impacts it positively. After all, we are all creatures of habit, why not do them often if they give us pleasure?
2. Follow the 80/20 rule.
As simple as it sounds, this principle suggests that in any situation, 20% of the tasks yield 80% of the results. This means that your to-do list is important, but the tasks that create the biggest impact deserve most of your time and energy. If you focus on this 20%, you’d have maximized productivity and have the freedom to focus on other activities on the same to-do list. This will help people who are easily distracted or rather very overwhelmed with a huge workload.
3. Learn to single-task.
Although you may assume because we live in a busy, bustling city so the art of multi-tasking comes naturally, hate to break it to you, but only 2% of people in the world can multitask successfully. There’s no harm in multitasking occasionally, however, constant juggling between tasks limits your focus. This in return contributes to mental clutter by making it difficult for your brain to filter out irrelevant information making your brain jump from one task to another without being able to focus properly on neither one. A Stanford University study concluded that multitasking lowers efficiency and may impair your cognitive control. Instead of multitasking, choose one thing on your to-do list and give it your full and undivided attention until you are done. One of the immediate visible results is that you’ll feel less stressed and restless decreasing the probability of making mistakes. This in return makes you become more productive. Single-tasking will make you realize you feel less stressed, make fewer mistakes, and become more productive.
4. Appreciate more.
Are you grateful for what you already have? You may be riding a bicycle to work and not that BMW you have been dreaming about, but are you grateful that you have the means to get you to work? Legs to peddle, a job, despite the high rate of unemployment? If you feel bad about complaining about your current quality of life, remember, someone is having it worse than you, and they are equally grateful. Consciously practicing gratitude should be the motto. Tony Robbins said, “When you are grateful, fear disappears, and abundance appears.” Practicing gratitude is a great way to create positivity in your life. It will help reduce stress and improve your mental health. So, how can you cultivate this healthy habit? For a start, you could take ten minutes every day to focus on what you are grateful for—writing down at least three things daily, dwelling in their magnificence, and celebrating their gift. Your existence is a miracle in itself, what are the odds of you being born over 400 quadrillion options?
5. Go for a social media detox.
The digital world comprises over 90% of our planet, and every time something new is trending on social media. Maybe you are catching up on a trip that someone went or someone just bought a new house, some of the information shared can either impact you positively or negatively. It doesn’t matter how positive it is though, sometimes you can get so consumed in social media you lose touch with reality. Not forgetting how time-consuming it is! Research says the average person has five social media accounts and spends almost 2 hours every day checking their social media feed. This has also been linked to increased depression cases due to mental clutter. A social media detox seems to be the only reasonable remedy in such a situation to reduce stress levels. Just switch off your phone or any other device you may use to access social media for a few hours every day to improve your mood and reconnect with the world around you.
6. Exercise often.
One should set aside at least 15 to 30 minutes within a day for exercises. I mean, countless benefits come with exercising. Other than the physical improvement, regular workouts regularly pump up creativity and enhance your cognitive skills. Exercise also helps decrease the risk of developing some serious health issues such as type 2 diabetes. Exercising doesn’t have to be boring, nor does it have to involve lifting heavy equipment at the gym. It could involve fun activities that you do for fun such as dancing around the house, playing with your pet, or even taking a walk with a friend. Even for the greatest of fitness gurus, they can attest that starting was the hardest task. The first month of creating a new fitness habit may seem demanding but committing yourself will help in the long run. Your social behavior will improve, appetite will be normal, digestion will be seamless, better sleep, improved memory, the list of benefits goes on and on! If you are not currently in the habit of exercising, you can start gradually with minor achievable exercises. Imagine if you only did 10 jumping jacks before you shower every day? What happens if you did this for a year, where would you be? Here’s a tip, exercising outside will not only bring you extra benefits for the body but also the mind and soul.
7. Invest in self-care.
Sometimes we get absorbed with work that we forget to simply take a break. It could be school, looking after the family, running our business, or even a job keeping you preoccupied. However, sometimes it is a good idea to just sit back and relax. Taking some time off to unwind can do wonders for your mood and mental health but also self-esteem. This can be doing at least one thing that makes you feel good daily. Watch some vlogs, listen to music, learn a new skill online, take a long bubble bath, DIY something cool, or even prepare a nice meal! Just take some time off and have fun.
8. Read Books There are great benefits to stimulating your brain daily, though some aren’t instantly obvious, science is proving that our brain changes as we learn. Without exercising the brain, our brains tend to slow down and become less responsive and more prone to disease over time. Reading books is an amazing way to gain knowledge and stimulate creativity. Just like meditation, reading books gives a calming effect and also improves focus. Not all books have the same effect, non-fiction books are excellent for broadening the horizon by motivating you and helping you develop new ideas. Since they are based on real-life experiences, they offer actionable advice on how to overcome all kinds of challenging situations. It has been proven that people who continuously learn have faster responses, better social skills, and have greater overall wellbeing. It can help to fight dementia, improve memory skills, make it easier to process new information, and makes you more productive. Also, the idea of learning something new gives you a sense of purpose and makes you a more interesting person. To help you ease into this habit, opt to read a book rather than social media or tv. You can even set a reminder on your phone twenty minutes before you plan to sleep and make time for this habit. Turn off your devices, take a real book, and hold it in your hands. Become absorbed into its wonder!
9. Create social connections with positive people.
As much as you may enjoy some alone time, did you know that if you want to add more days into your life, you should add some strong social ties and community support? Social connections not only give us pleasure, but they also influence our long-term health. It’s as important as nutrition, sleep, and exercise. Relationships are as important to us as food to our bodies or sunlight on our souls. As you do this, be mindful of the individuals you are associating yourself with. They should also have a positive approach towards life or on the journey towards one. You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with so you shouldn't pick up some bad habits in the name of socializing. The ones you love and care for should be somewhere on top of that list since they are the ones we lean on when stress arrives or life becomes hectic. It doesn’t matter what you are working on or focusing on in life, as long as you organize priorities. Think of it this way, do you remember to say “I love you” and “I appreciate you”? Do you have a bad habit of pushing your loved ones away when more ‘important’ things come up? Time set aside for your loved ones must be treasured. You don’t have to wait until a problem arises. Most new relationships and friendships start with fun, excitement, and the desire to show love and enjoy life. That’s not all, being mindful to make every human interaction positive is key. When your time on earth comes to an end, how will you be remembered? Be in the habit of leaving people in a more joyous state than when you found them instead of lowering them.
10. Practice Minimalism Don’t worry, I am not saying clear out all your stuff and live a hippie lifestyle. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. All I’m saying is that you may have a lot of stuff and that can negatively impact our lives. We have a habit of collecting, displaying, moving, cleaning, and finally storing stuff. You will come to know that this stuff does not necessarily make us happy but instead just wastes our time sorting them out. Minimalism is a health and wealth thing. As you get rid of things you do not use or need, you are left with an uncluttered simple environment and life. It’s the art of using simple tools, keeping a simple wardrobe, carrying less, and living lightly. Life is short and it can be hectic with sensory overload. Imagine all the distractions of “stuff”, relationships, work, and the stress of bills all at once! Minimalism offers you the opportunity to move the focus from possessions and tasks to family and enjoyment. It’s not a get happy quick scam, minimalism does declutter your life giving you more room for more important things that make you happy.
As you spend less on buying and replacing things, you are in return saving more. Your wealth will increase but in the same vein, so will your time. A minimalist lifestyle will make your home easier to clean, your time easier to manage, and essentially your life easier to live! The bonus takeaway is to determine your priorities. Getting your priorities straight will help you live a life you love. It’s not always easy to figure things out but if you stop trying to solve many issues simultaneously, you can have a starting point and improve gradually. Now, how about you pull up your socks, it's time to win at life!
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