Habits determine who and what we become. They are often subconscious and happen without much consideration. Habits also determine if we are successful in achieving our life goals.
I was first encouraged to re-evaluate my daily habits by a senior executive in early 2017. He suggested that I replace sports talk radio with NPR and television with books. I took his advice and began the process of discovering healthy habits.
Start Small
One habit I struggled with was exercising regularly. I took the book’s instruction and began small. I started with 10 push-ups each morning. Slowly my strength grew and could add 10 sit-ups to my morning routine. After push-ups and sit-ups, I started lifting weights at the gym after work. This evolved to going to the gym before work to lift weights and run for 10 minutes. I am currently training for a 5K race in May, all thanks to doing 10 push-ups in the beginning.
Extracurricular Activities
After successfully adding regular exercise to my daily routine, I wanted to continue the positive momentum. My next focus was to add meditation. Before micro-habits, I was mortified by the thought of sitting in one place and BREATHING for extended periods of time. My micro-habit was to set a timer for 2 minutes and meditate. After a few successful sessions at 2 minutes, I graduated to 3, 4, and then 5 minutes. I am currently meditating for 10 minutes with the goal of twenty minutes within the next three months.
Daily Improvement
As time went on, I kept adding healthy habits into my daily routine through the micro-habit concept. I am getting closer to my ideal daily routine that will improve my mind, body, and spirit. It constantly amazes me how healthy habits can change your life and lead to other positive impacts throughout your day. I went from 10 push-ups each morning to applying meditation, journaling, prayer, lifting weights, running, reading, and playing guitar into my daily routine.
You can share the same results if you stick to it!
