8 Habits That Will Cause Positive Change In Your Everyday Life

It’s all about perspective

Does life ever seem too ordinary? You’re living for the weekend, or for the first travel plans in 2 years you have coming up next week, dragging through your desk job.

Maybe you wish your life was a little more ordinary, with the amount of Americans burned out soaring to an all-time high recently between demanding work environments(nothing new) and a pandemic that has taken a massive mental toll.

I, for one, have the summer off as I recently took off my hat as a future physician and am taking some time off.

We can run from our problems, but we can’t hide from them or I would be doing that already.

While I don’t miss the grind of trying to get into medical school, I still fall back on habits that don’t support my mental, physical and spiritual health even when I know there are habits that do.

These aforementioned unhealthy habits include:

• staying up until 2 am watching Freeform’s Younger( I will skip a plug about how good it is in an effort to support good habits)
• feeling like I should write or fill my time with something instead of waking up and meditating
• saying “yes” to things I don’t want to
• not having routines in place

For the next 8 or so weeks, I’m going to implement a new habit each week. Shouting into this void every Friday is going to be my accountability buddy(i.e.-you all are my accountability buddies).

Try them with me, or cherry-pick the ones you like.

The beautiful thing about building habits and routines is that you can start small and if you miss a day, or five, or a month, there is no shame in that.

You’re human! Just start over.

#1. Having A Healthy Sleep Routine

For me, this means going to bed every night at 11:30 pm and cutting out TV one hour before bed-this is going to be the real kicker.

This will look very different for everyone, but I don’t think enough sleep should be given the short straw because “ you don’t have time”.

What are you prioritizing?

Sleep hygiene is so important- read more about why here. I do know that without a good night’s sleep, no one is immune to being cranky, irritable and unproductive.

If you’re going to bed at 2 am right now and want to be going to bed at 10 pm, but can’t get tired at 10 pm, you can slowly you move your bedtime back in increments or force yourself to get up early so you’ll be tired by your desired bedtime.

#2. No More Coffee! (Pick Your Poison; Mine is Coffee)

I love coffee as much as the next person; I’ve been addicted in the past, or just loved the feeling of having a cup of coffee in my hands.

I no longer need coffee when I wake up, and I would honestly like to experience life through the eyes of a good cup of black tea.

If this goes well, maybe I’ll cut out caffeine entirely.

I’m not saying you should quit coffee; maybe you hate coffee. So much of our lives are ruled by food, and the effect it has on our bodies and our moods. Sugar is another great example of this. By not drinking coffee, I can:

• save money
• reduce my risk of ulcers in the future(I know they’re coming)
• lower my blood pressure, although probably marginally because if it gets any lower I’ll likely pass out
• reduce stress and anxiety reduced by the stimulating effects
• reduce the likelihood of my dependency on a substance standby to see if I cut caffeine out entirely

I’m a strong believer in everything in moderation, but coffee is one thing that ruled my moods, money, and actions for a long time and I would rather have the reins over my own life.

What are you intaking that is ruling aspects of your life? What could be beneficial to cut back on?

#3. Morning Meditation

This is a big one! A good friend of mine once said,” meditation is addictive; the more you do it, the more you want to do it.”

I find this to be true, and I also think the hardest thing in the world to do is to sit yourself down when you have a thousand things you’re already thinking about doing.

Meditating can look very different depending on how much you’ve done it, and it can seem intimidating. Here are some forms it can take:

• sit in silence for an allotted amount of time and journal about your thoughts afterwards
• download an app(Balance, Calm, Headspace) or listen to a meditation on YouTube
• go to a meditation class

I’m committing to my own meditation practice in the morning, before breakfast and preceded by a glass of warm lemon water and I won’t shame myself if there are days I do it later or don’t do it at all.

I encourage you to take the same compassionate approach.

#4. Cook One Meal A Day

This may seem fairly small to most people, but since I moved back home, meals are often out, cooked by someone else or consist of leftovers.

Cooking used to be a way for me to slow down, decompress and enjoy the food I had prepared.

I think I would benefit physically and mentally from the feeling of satisfaction I used to get from preparing all of my food if I tried this habit out here at home(not that I didn’t eat leftovers-I was great at making a meal last a long time).

Some challenges I may add to this habit could be

• shopping for groceries we don’t have at home
• not eating meat for a week(or more-I don’t eat that much meat anyway)

#5. Finding Joy Everywhere

This practice was re-introduced to me recently by a friend and coach in CA, and the idea is to make the ordinary extraordinary. Some questions she asked were:

• where do you spend the most time?
• how can you make the environments you’re in the most more enjoyable?
• how can you make the activities you do the most more fun?

This could be anything from work to cooking dinner for your five children to mowing the lawn-whatever it is, what will allow you to experience presence in the moment and truly extract fun out of it?

Some ideas that were generated were music, plants in workspaces, fun pens and organizing tools, a physical change of environment if your work demands that you sit all day, and the smell of a nice cup of tea.

Our lives are overwhelmingly ordinary. Can you extract the extraordinary beauty in the otherwise mundane moments?

#6. Bliss Lists

A bliss list is a slightly more tangible extension of #5. The list itself isn’t the habit but incorporating things from the bliss list is.

A bliss list is exactly what it sounds like: make a list of things that make you happy.

Put on some music, get a pen and paper and write without thinking; what makes you happy?

Whenever you need an escape hatch, look at the list. Tape it above your desk or put it in your mirror. What on that list will serve you in the moment you’re in?

#7. Do Physical Activity 6 of 7 Days Of The Week

I have recently rediscovered that working out makes me feel really good, after I sweat so much I think I’m about to fall right over.

I found a form of physical activity I loved in college, yoga and even got certified as a yoga teacher, but everyone I dismissed as naysayers were right-no matter how hard your yoga class is, it usually doesn’t release the same amount of endorphins as an intense workout.

You will experience some amazing physical and spiritual benefits from this wonderful practice that was shared with us from India that you can read about below.

However, laying in savasana at the end of a yoga class doesn’t leave me feeling like I need to take a shower-which is okay. I can complement my regular yoga practice with going to the gym.

My challenge to myself for #7 is to either get to the gym or do yoga(or both, some days I’m feeling ambitious) 6 out of 7 days of the week, the 7th reserved for just rest.

My ultimate goal is to build up enough strength to go back to gymnastics, which gives me a lot of joy.

See how these habits fit nicely together? Physical activity doesn’t have to be a chore-it can be a walk, a pickup game of basketball or anything that gets you moving for a bit.

#8. Building A Consistent Morning Routine

This is once again one that looks different for everyone, but I’m hoping by the time I get to this habit, will have most of the building blocks for my morning routine in place.

• good night’s sleep
• warm lemon water
• meditation
• healthy breakfast(maybe one that I cook?)
• gym

I’m going to add a few things. One is that with/after breakfast, I want there to be some wiggle room. Maybe I’m going to the gym in the afternoon. Maybe Dad made pancakes, and I want to lounge around and enjoy a weekend morning.

It takes time to get routines in place, and it’s also okay to add new things in or take things out if they aren’t working for you on certain days.

I’m also going to add in Julia Cameron’s “Morning Pages” from her book The Artist’s Way to this routine and the assumption of getting up earlier than I am now(~7:30 am.)

I’ve been wanting to start Morning Pages-10 minutes allotted for someone to just write and write when they first wake up about whatever comes to mind, like a thought dump-as a habit of mine for a long time and never have.

No time like the near future!

Final Thoughts

Life is an overwhelming ordinary experience unless we choose to make it otherwise. I believe we create the life we want, by believing in ourselves and our choices.

It’s easy to believe in choices, however small they may seem, that I know in my gut and have seen in my own life are good for me.

Days of making the same choice leads to a habit, and that habit falls into your routines.

Routines that prioritize your physical, mental and spiritual well-being, bring you joy and empower you to pursue your goals are part of the key to leading the life you want.

I’ll start this weekend/week with my healthy sleep routine, and as I do, ask yourself:

• What are your priorities? Do your actions reflect these priorities?
• What habits/practices/affirmations could support you in leading an extraordinary life?

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