What’s one way to change your life? Pay attention to your habits!
Our habits truly do define us!
Habits can be healthy, or unhealthy. Most of us have some of both! But, good or bad, it’s these little behaviors that we continue to repeat - day after day- that create the fabric of our lives.
Since habits play such a profound role in our lives, it behooves us to be mindful and intentional about our habits. As important as they are to the quality of our lives, forming healthy habits is not an easy endeavor for most people.
What habit changes would have the most positive impact on your life? Would it relate to diet, exercise, or maybe sleep? Maybe it would be about how you manage your time, your work, or your parenting. For some, it would be about organization or decluttering in the home. Or, perhaps it’s about less ‘screen time’ in your day.
Since it takes a good bit of effort to implement/change habits, it makes sense to put your energy into practices that will have the most benefit to the quality of your life, health, mood, career and relationships. Think about what you’d most like to focus one.
And know that what motivates one person to adhere to a new habit may be different than what motivates another. Some find that accountability to others is vital. Others are more motivated by their commitment to themselves and don’t benefit from being accountable to others. It’s good to observe yourself and notice what does/does not motivate you.
Another factor to consider for supporting behavior change is if you are a ‘morning’ or ‘night’ person. Some people find that they have their highest energy level in the morning. For them, they will like be more successful at implementing their desired habit in the morning. For others, their energy peaks at night. It’s helpful to recognized our own tendencies and to utilize them to our benefit.
Most people find that monitoring their desired habits helps to implement the new habits. Our current technology makes it easier than ever to accomplish this. The options are endless - from apps on the phone to track our behaviors to ‘Fit Bits’ and smart watches - our options for monitoring are convenient! Utilizing tracking devices to monitor our behavior can help instill motivation.
As we become more intentional with our habits and find some successes with it, we tend to feel better about ourselves. These boosts in self esteem can create positive momentum. One positive step can lead to another!
The challenge in changing habits is not to let ourselves get discouraged with set backs. Perfection is not an achievable goal and those who strive for it find themselves frustrated. Self grace is a much better goal!
So be patient and kind with yourself as you focus on making positive changes in your life. Negative self talk tends to bring out negative behaviors. ; Have grace and compassion for yourself. Know that any steps toward awareness and change are a positive accomplishment!
