How to Start Building Habits that Don’t Suck
Living a healthy lifestyle sounds nice but how can we make the journey suck less?
Last year, I was the unhealthiest I’ve ever been.
I was eating more takeout.
My drinking increased because I thought that was a good way to gain a connection with others.
My sleep schedule was way out of wack. I was going to my 9–6 pm job with six or less hours of sleep (sometimes less than 4).
I smoked cigarettes like a chimney.
I was unmotivated, my self-esteem said smell you later & my confidence was at an all-time low.
Keep in mind this is the same year I received a master's in Organizational leadership, I was in a relationship & got a job as a property manager.
Needless to say, I was not too fond of the situations I was in and I didn’t like who I had become. So I left my job and my relationship within a few days of each other.
Fast forward to today — I’ve lost 35 lbs, quit smoking, I barely drink, I’m in bed by 10 pm & I’m fully comfortable with myself & my skin.
Building Habits
I have my education & background in time management & goal setting. However, once I started healing, I discovered the power of habits.
Habits can elevate our lives or they can cause difficulty in our lives. Therefore, we must integrate as many healthy habits into our lifestyle as possible.
Habits that we don’t have to think about, like breathing.
Today we’re consistently told that we need to eat healthy and commit to physical exercise. However, these types of lifestyles are habits within themselves and no one is saying out loud the elephant in the room.
Developing these habits sucks.
Working out for an hour sucks, eating clean sucks, eating more veggies sucks, drinking an insane amount of water a day sucks, delaying gratification, quitting smoking sucks & getting 10k steps a day sucks.
That’s because these aren’t habits…yet.
The thing about changing a lifestyle is that there's typically a ‘catalyst’, sometimes it’s the doctor telling us we need to, healthcare, a breakup, a divorce, etc.
We are all capable of great change if we keep our minds to it.
So How Do You Build These Habits?
Everyone reading this article will have different ideas of habits they want to incorporate into their life.
For example, I dislike going to the gym but I want to get in exercise. So I began walking. During these walks, I would listen to music or podcasts.
“The less time you spend thinking about the habit the more you will make it a habit”
For example, if you want to increase your water intake, you will succeed if you grow it in small increments daily rather than drinking a gallon of water on day one.
If you want to get exercise but are a couch potato, walk back & forth for ten minutes between your living room and kitchen. Do that daily.
Building habits that incorporate into a lifestyle change takes some time to build. Additionally, you’re going to need to do some self-reflecting, some healing & some accountability.
Think of building habits as a journey without a destination. A marathon with the goal line ever-changing. A goal line that will improve your well—being and wellness.
Habits drive us, consciously and subconsciously. The great thing about habits is that we can make or break any habit we like.
If we want to break bad spending habits, we have the power to do so.
If we want to increase our exercise, we have the power to do that.
If we want to make it a habit to write daily, we have the power to do that.
The great thing about habits is that you don’t need a cataclysmic life event to develop/break a habit. You can start small and gradually build on your habit. Like compound interest.
I highly recommend this book for your journey to a better you.
Thank you for reading!
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Happy growing!
