Are you someone who springs out of bed before the sun is up and launches into your day with gusto? Or perhaps you prefer to wake up slowly, snuggle under the covers for a while and emerge once your day is fully lit and there’s no chance of catching a glimpse of the moon as it retreats?
And how about bedtime….do you prolong the moment you slip between the sheets, favouring more stimulation and entertainment into the late hours, or are you usually tucked into bed and happily watching nothing but the back of your eyelids by 9pm?
Whether we are ‘early risers’ or ‘night owls’ might be less a part of our character than it is a product of the habits we have formed.
“So much of what we accept as a part of ourselves, or as pertaining to our identity, is really only evidence of the habits we have formed throughout our life. These habits – so many of them! – begin to shape us into how we see ourselves, and what we begin to expect of ourselves stems from the results of the habits we have taken on."
But it’s good to recognise that we have a definite choice in all of this…we can decide and choose for ourselves which of our habitual behaviours are benefiting us and which are having a negative impact on our lives. And in recognising this, we can then make changes to our behaviours if we wish to improve the quality of our lives – our wellbeing – by examining our relationships, the way we operate within our homes and families, our levels of organisation and productivity, our eating and sleeping habits, our activity habits….and making changes to these if we feel it necessary.
So, what are some of the habits which help to keep you feeling your best? That let you get the most out of your days? That support you to complete your daily tasks and enjoy your down time and allow you time with your family and friends?
And, on the other hand, what are some of the habits which are not so useful or positive in your life? Habits which leave you feeling tired, disorganised, lacking motivation or simply not feeling so well? Habits which might be derailing your otherwise positive efforts to improve your health or productivity or efforts of organisation?
When we look with open eyes and hearts at the collection of habits we have adopted and structured our lives around, it is usually easy to determine what might be helpful to us and what might be hindering us.
And the wonderful thing is – we can maintain practices which support us along our path just as we can also choose to do away with those that do not. The choice is ours.
Think about all the daily habits that bring goodness to your life…
Perhaps it’s getting up early enough each morning to see the sun begin to brighten the day;
Maybe it’s eating a balanced breakfast to start you off on a good foundation for the day;
Do you make sure to get active every day, moving your body and relieving tensions as you do so?
Do you prepare and organise as much as you can today to be ready for tomorrow?
Perhaps you meditate/practice yoga/take a gym class?
Do you safeguard and prioritise your sleep, ensuring you are well rested to begin each day?
It’s important to know your positive habits, whatever they are for you, and to cultivate them, supporting your own health in the process.
And, it is just as important to try to minimise those practices which leave you feeling less than healthy, happy and capable…
Maybe that’s regularly not getting adequate sleep of a night time;
Not eating a balanced, varied diet which supports your mind and body ;
Perhaps it’s consuming alcohol a little too often and a little too much?
Or simply working too long hours without breaks or any time for family and friends at the end of the day?
Maybe it’s saying yes to everyone and spreading yourself way too thin and then feeling resentful of all the things you need to do?
Do you forgo a walk outdoors or a quiet session of stretching and movement for a bag of crisps and a night on the couch more often than you’d like to admit?
Whatever they are, you know them – they are the habits that contribute to you feeling not so well, not so on top of things, and possibly result in you yearning for change or improvement in how you feel.
And, again, remember that we have the ability to affect changes if we want to. And, even better – it doesn’t take a monumental shift of our willpower or intention to affect positive change in our lives. It simply requires us to begin…to begin a new practice and allow it the time of consistent practice to settle into our lives – to become a habit. If our daily lives are simply a collection of habitual practices, let’s decide for ourselves and create habits which nourish us, support us, care for us and allow us to be the best version of ourselves each and every day.
Let me share with you some of the daily habits I have found to be beneficial – maybe you already partake in some of them, maybe there will be others you’d like to give a try, and maybe there’s a few you’d never consider incorporating into your daily life. It’s all OK – these are your choices to make! But I do feel it’s always nice to share with others that which you find useful - it’s like a review or a recommendation or advice received. You can take it or leave it!
· I’m an early riser – I’ve always loved to be up before the sun and, as often as possible, to go for a walk outdoors early and catch the sunrise. There’s just something special when I get to witness a pretty sunrise and the sounds and smells and sights of the early morning are unlike any others from throughout the day. It’s the best way I have found to start the day and although I am spending time doing something I enjoy, it tends to set me up for the day ahead a lot better than if I’d have gotten up and started straight into the tasks for the day. My head is clearer, I feel grounded and energised and more alive after an early morning walk. On the days I do have a little lie-in after waking I never seem to fully wake up for day. It just changes the way I feel – not for the better!
· I drink water before anything else….although pretty basic, this is one I have come to realise is really important for me. Hydrating as soon as I’m up and about begins to wake me up, so to speak. I drink a big glass of water – I guess it would be about 700mls – and I always drink it warm. Sometimes I add lemon, sometimes ginger and lemon, but usually it’s just plain old clean filtered water. And, of course, it’s just the first of many glasses of pure water for the day. But it’s a great start!
· I Move! Every day! Whether it’s my morning walk, a quick run or session on the eliptical, a hike with the family, a trip to the beach for a beach run and a swim, dancing in my kitchen like no one is watching (they’re not!!) or swimming laps at the pool – I make sure to give myself time for physical activity that lifts my heartrate and, preferably, earns me at least a light sweat. EVERY DAY! I know there is a whole lot of science behind the call to exercise and I’m sure it’s all true, but for me it’s real simple…I feel better when I do it. Full stop. Mind, body, everything. I just feel better.
· I practise yoga. Again, every day. It may not be 90 min sessions every day, but I always make time for even a half hour of mindful stretching and movement, connecting with my breath and listening to my body, giving it what it needs. Again, so much science to support the myriad of health benefits associated with a regular yoga practice but for me it just comes down to evidence. When I practise regularly I feel better. I tend to be calmer, have better digestion, better sleep, have higher tolerance and patience levels for those I love and for the things that crop up in my world. Everything improves when I maintain my regular yoga practice so for me, it’s a daily habit I’m not willing to trade on.
· I eat food that nourishes me at every meal. This is a habit that has been borne from recognising that I really don’t feel so great if I don’t feed my body properly. I have learned that processed foods simply don’t fuel me the way I need to be fuelled, so I simply avoid them. I opt for whole foods instead. A balanced and varied diet rich in vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds, wholegrains, fish and meats and eggs. That’s what works for me, so I stick to it. I love to cook and create interesting meals and snacks and treats which use whole foods as their basis, so this is something that adds interest and variety to what I eat and what I feed my family.
· I prioritise my sleep…as I rise early, I also aim to get to bed to ensure I get about 8 hours sleep each night. Like most of us, all sorts of things conspire to disrupt my plans and sometimes this isn’t achieved….but it’s always the goal and man, do I ever feel so much more zest for life when I get it right! Sleep is when our bodies repair and regenerate and when our minds set down all our intake for the day as memories and stored information. It’s so important!
· I take a few sessions throughout my day to breathe deeply. Yep, you read it right….I breathe. Sounds simple enough – and it is! – but once you try it you’ll understand where I’m coming from. This, for me, is another habit I will not trade on! So often we find ourselves breathing very shallowly, barely bringing in enough oxygen to get by. It is incredible the difference you will feel if you simply take 10 slow, conscious breaths – deeply and fully inhaling to full capacity and then completely exhaling to empty. And I do this any number of times throughout the day. There’s no need to stop whatever you are doing – it can happen while you work, drive, walk, play with your children – whenever and whatever you are doing, give it try! I automatically feel energised, calm, clearer in the mind, open in the heart and chest, taller and stronger. It just feels good – and it’s so easy – surely worth a try?! The science behind it is interesting but also straightforward, and it helps us to understand why this simple practice has such a big impact on the way we feel. Our body performs many different vital functions, minute by minute, most of which are automatic functions – we don’t need to consciously be directing the body to pump blood to all our cells, or to produce and secrete certain hormones at certain times, or to regulate our temperature as we move through our day and our environment – in fact, we can’t control these things. We don’t need to direct the body to inhale and exhale for every breath we take or to increase or decrease our heartrate as we move from rest to effort and back again. These vital functions are automatic processes which we usually don’t (and mostly cannot) control.
But the breath is a little different to the other vital processes because we can choose to exert some conscious control over the breath. And, when we do begin to control the way we breathe, our body responds to the different breath techniques we use. We can consciously change the rate, rhythm and quality of our breathing and the changes we make directly impact our autonomic nervous system response. By slowing and deepening the breath we are signalling our system that we are safe, there is no perceived threat or danger and we have no need to fight or flight. A short time spent in this style of breathing and you will have most likely flicked your internal switch from sympathetic (run! defend!) to para-sympathetic (rest, repair, renew). The more often we can do this, the better for our health- and so I encourage you to take a few minutes a few times a day to give it a try. It takes very little effort, it’s completely free and you needn’t even stop what you are doing – although great benefit is gained from taking those few minutes seated and still and really tuning in to your breath as you practise the technique!
· I spend as much time as I can outdoors…sometimes this is difficult, as there are lots of demands on our time. Work, housework, grocery shopping, kid’s activities – a multitude of tasks to be completed each day and often these take us indoors. But whether it’s my morning walk, a quick afternoon run, lunch outside in the sun (especially during the winter months) or spending some time in the vege garden after work – I make sure to spend whatever time I can outdoors each day. For me, it’s like a re-charge. I really notice a difference in my mood and motivation levels when I am running low on sunshine and fresh air!
· Quality time with my family. A big one for me! Time spent all together, chatting about the day or something interesting one of us heard or saw, doing a joint activity or seeing new sights together…it doesn’t matter what we are doing, as long as we’ve had time together to connect, be present for each other, listen and support one another. During the week it’s often as simple as sharing our evening meal around the table, talking and joking and planning and questioning. Weekends might make room for beach walks together, a coffee and a chat out at a café, a project we work on together in the yard or the paddock…again, it’s usually just simple stuff but it’s in these times together that we feel a part of something, and realise the importance of our connections.
· I get organised. Literally. I write lists and I prepare as much as I can for the following day. It’s such a basic thing, but something that I have put into practice and find great benefit from. It’s just thinking ahead, really. Being aware of what you have coming up in the days ahead and organising yourself to be prepared for them. Each night I make sure I know what the plan is for the next day(s) and I write my to-do list accordingly. I use a diary (yes, the old-fashioned paper variety!) and I have a weekly planner I scribble all the things I plan to do on each day according to what we have going on in our week. It’s a habit that helps to keep me motivated and up to date (and sane!) and I’m definitely not going to surrender this one!
It’s funny, when you start to think about all the habits you have formed, there are a great many….far too many to mention here, but still interesting to consider them all and to give thought to whether or not they are having a positive impact on the way you feel. I encourage you to do just that – evaluate the habits which form the fabric of your daily life and perhaps begin to choose those that make you feel good and maybe even take steps to ditch the ones that don’t. Life is too short to keep doing the same things without getting the results you want!
And, at least in my life, I have come to appreciate that it’s all these little habits which begin to create positive results out into my life and into the lives of people around me. Our decision, actions, thoughts and habits generate a flow-on effect. We are powerless to halt that ripple which reaches out into the world, once it is in play, but we do get to choose whether or not it’s a positive one.
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