When trying to be a better person whether it’s mentally, emotionally, or physically, It all starts in the habits. Habits can come in two forms: a healthy or unhealthy habit. To decide whether a habit is unhealthy or healthy depends on how much good or bad it does for your life.
Habits! What are they again?
Habits are something you do regularly. Maybe so regularly it’s like muscle memory. You don’t think about it, you just get up and do it. Like brushing your teeth, letting the dog out in the morning, etc. All these little habits build up our day to day routine and even build our life. Without habits we would just stay in bed and do absolutely nothing. Everything could be considered a habit like how you put on your clothes, when you wake up, just things we don’t really think about.
Reflecting on current habits
Start off with identifying your daily routine. What current habits do you have? What habits are slowly improving your life and what habits that aren’t really doing you much good. Take the unhealthy habits and find a different habit that you could replace it with. For example, when you are stressed you take your mind off it by smoking. If this is a habit you want to break and replace, replace it with something that could take your mind off your stress. Like reading or drawing or even going for a run. When replacing a bad habit with a better habit they should both last around the same amount of time and give you the same rewards, which in this case would be taking your mind off of your stressor.
Habit Forming
Tips about forming a habit. Habits are hard to break but they are just as hard to start. One tip most people have about building a habit is to stack it on another habit. For example, if you want to replace the habit of being on your phone before you go to sleep and you also want to build the habit of reading as much as you can, replace the habit with the habit you are trying to build. Another tip I would suggest is to use a reminders app, or use alarms to remind you of your habit. The thing I use to build habits is to have a good routine with all the habits I would like to incorporate in my day. This gives me a set time to do this habit and nothing else. Remember it takes around 60 days to form a habit.
Healthy Habits to consider
Now what habits do you want to build? This is only a question you can answer but I can give some tips on the subjects. Some popular healthy habits are:
- Drink water first thing when you get up
- Read nightly
- Exercise regularly
- Take a daily walk
- Meal prep healthy meals
Overall whatever you choose your new habits to be, remember that it takes time and energy to build a habit and more importantly consistency. Improve your life with every habit and you will soon reach your goals!