Tag Archives: habits

Change a Habit

Habit– a settled or regular tendency or practice, tough to give up. 

Every life contains within it things that are practiced daily. Some are very good for us and the world in general, but many are not good at all. People make willing choices shortening their lives, harming others, and making the world a worse place for everyone to live. Habits are hard to give up, which is a good thing if the pattern is a good one. It can put your health in jeopardy and prematurely end your life if it is terrible. All the while diminishing the enjoyment one can take daily. It all begins with a conscious awareness of how our actions affect us and those we care about. Notice your actions, how they affect your thoughts, emotions, and the words you use. A good habit will positively impact you, and a bad one will do the opposite. Good habits will allow you to become the best version of yourself, whereas bad habits will stunt your personal growth. It is all a matter of choice.

The Exercise Habit

The great thing about a good habit is that its benefits are universally accepted as positive for your life. Exercise is one of these. No debate developing a practice of training is proper for you. We only get one body, and how we use it determines our longevity, the enjoyment we get from life, and much of the physical pain we experience. God built the human body to move. Developing a habit of regularly allowing it to do this can be hard to do but vital to your long-term success in life.

We live in a world where people work time-consuming and sedentary jobs. People sit on their butts all day long and stare at computer screens. That is the way of it, but a body needs exercise. Exercise allows the body to function at or near its optimum level. It helps regulate blood pressure and keeps your weight down to a healthier level. There is nothing negative. I know about exercise. Still, many ignore this habit because it is too hard. It is much more comfortable in the short term to do nothing, but in the long run, it is not. A lack of exercise results in obesity, heart disease, diabetes, lack of mobility, high blood pressure, and death. Exercise can help cure all of those things.

How to build an exercise habit is not complicated. Find an activity that resonates with you, and participate in it regularly and consistently. Walk, jog, run, lift weights, do yoga, practice martial arts, bike, take aerobic classes or any other physical activity that interests you. One day at a time is how you build a habit, good or bad. Make your life as vibrant and disease-free as possible; develop the habit of exercise.

The Eating Habit

All people have a strange relationship with food. Eating is something we do to place nourishment into our bodies. Unfortunately, there are a lot of other attachments to eating. Some overeat. Some don’t eat enough, and we develop a habit of eating that is not healthy for us and keeping our bodies running at their peak efficiency. The tendencies or practices around what we eat can be a massive part of our lives. Developing healthy food habits can be difficult, but it is possible for everyone.

No matter what direction you take. The five primary food groups or a more modern balanced look at your diet. It is healthy means eating a bit less and sticking with grown and not processed things. In the United States, we are surrounded by processed food with excess chemicals and calories nobody can eat. Sugar is the biggest culprit in our diet. It is addictive, fattening, and can cause any number of diseases which will shorten your life. Develop a healthy eating habit, and you will be rewarded with a lower weight and a body full of energy. That is an excellent habit to get into.

Beating a Bad Habit

We have all had bad habits, and I am no different. There have been habits and addictions throughout my life that were not healthy or good for me. Breaking a habit is as simple as choosing not to do what you know isn’t good for you. Many people will say that it is not accurate or tricky, but you can do it when you decide to leave a bad habit because you want to live a happier, healthier life. The most challenging thing is to reprogram yourself around the activities you used to do.

Once a habit is under your control, it is up to you to ensure that you don’t start back up with that habit again. Addictions are never really gone, and you can’t have just one drink or smoke only one cigarette or any other thing you are addicted to. Focus your thoughts on the choice you have every day to make positive and healthy choices or those detrimental to your health and even endanger your life. Beating a bad habit takes an inner strength fueled by a love of something you love more than that habit. Anyone can do it if they want to.

Habits for Success

If you want to know what habits to adopt, follow someone you view as a success in the field you are interested in. Every successful person develops habits that allow them to make the money they do, create the things they do or achieve the greatness they are striving for. Focus your thoughts on the proper habits and notice when you are practicing a pattern that is not allowing you to be your best you. It begins with a conscious awareness of what you allow yourself to accept and the actions you will enable yourself to take daily. Once you start to notice your thoughts and the actions that they lead, the closer you are to building good habits and ridding yourself of the bad habits that have held you back. Raise your consciousness, and your behavior will follow.

“Quality is not an act. It is a habit. “-Aristotle

“Make it a habit to tell people thank you. To express your appreciation sincerely and without the expectation of anything in return. Truly appreciate those around you, and you’ll soon find many others around you. Truly appreciate life, and you’ll find that you have more of it.”- Ralph Marston

“Ninety-nine percent of the failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses.” George Washington Carver

 

Better

I believe that all challenges in life bring with them the opportunity to grow and become better.  The pandemic times of today get an excellent chance to become better people. In the way, we think, act, and in the amount of compassion we show others.  One of the things I am working on today is understanding my mind to bring my best to the table, should this isolation ever end, and I am allowed to venture freely out into the world again.  I want to share four habits I am trying to practice in all areas of life to become a better person and to have the sacrifices we have all made have some intrinsic value.

I read about these habits as they apply to Navy SEALs training, which is some of the most difficult mental and physical challenges any person can face.  Looking at those that passed and those that dropped out, there are four mental habits that you can apply to your life and become mentally and physically more demanding.

  1. Focus on the Now

When you are doing a task, painful or not, focus on completing that as best you can and don’t time looking to the past, thinking of past failures.  It is also defeating to look at the 52 other things you have to do once this task is complete. Focus on the right now. If you are on a three-mile run with a full pack, focus on this one step, then the next, not the distance you still have to cover.

You can apply this idea to tasks in your life by focusing solidly on what you are doing right now and giving it your best effort.  I work in production right now, and it doesn’t do any good to complain about how long the day is when you are just getting started. It does do good to focus on completing the task at hand, one thing at a time.  Our focus is powerful when you do this. It can be challenging as others place demands on you but move methodically through your tasks one at a time, and soon you will have everything done and done well. Focus on the right now.

2. Imagine Joy

Challenges are complicated, and to complete them and maintain your positive attitude. It will help you remember accomplishments from your past and how good it felt when you finished them.  Just as you focus on the now, break your immense task down into smaller steps on a list and have an inner celebration as you check them off your list. Learning to transfer feelings of success from our experiences onto today will allow you to move with vitality and purpose through the functions of the day.

Each accomplishment gives your brain a hit of positivity, and this will fuel you through your day. Rather than look at the tasks you are facing and diminishing them or yourself, which will only bring you a negative attitude and a bad day along with it.  The more you practice the mental exercise of putting joy, success, and accomplishment in all things you do, the easier it will be for you in all areas of your life.

3.  Breathe

Breath in for 6, hold for two, out for 6, two between

When everything seems to be falling apart, and the pressure is getting to you, and you feel overwhelmed, take a moment and breathe.  Breath deeply for a count of six.  Then pause for a count of two and then exhale for a count of six. Pause for two seconds and do it again.  Do this three or four times.  Each in-breath will increase the oxygen to your brain and give you a chance to catch your breath.

It is a fact that deep, controlled breathing is a powerful method of improving your mood, thoughts, and attitude in just a short amount of time.  Try it right now and see what it does for you.  Too often, we are so wrapped up in our thoughts we forget to take the control we have in our breathing and focus our minds on the things we can do right now to become better.

4. Be Your #1 Fan

Too often, people let their negative thoughts about themselves and their abilities rise to the top of their thinking. Rather than allowing your thoughts to go into a negative spiral about life, thinking every aspect of your existence is terrible or boring, you can actively work from your greatness.   Instead of doubting yourself or the path life is taking you, have confidence it is taking you in a direction needed for growth. If you make a mistake, you will learn from it and be even more remarkable because of it.

Instead of listing all of your problems and challenges, make a mental list of everything that feels good in your day.  There are always things that feel good if you look for them.  It could be enjoying the people you work with, being better than you were the day before, doing something new, or just going home at the end of the day. Find the positives and think about them. It will improve your attitude and allow you to accomplish more than you ever believed you could.

The next time you face a difficult challenge in your mind, give these four habits a try, focus on the moment, Imagine how good you will feel, breathe deeply and be your own best cheerleader.  It is easy to dismiss these practices as so dull they will never work, but you have to decide if you want to struggle continually in life or take proactive steps to be more confident and find success in all that you do.

“Depending on what they are, our habits will either make us or break us. We become what we repeatedly do.” ―Sean Covey

“It is “easier to prevent bad habits than to break them.” ―Benjamin Franklin

“Our character is basically a composite of our habits. Because they are consistent, often unconscious patterns, they constantly, daily, express our character.” ―Ste “hen Covey

 “I have learned that champions aren’t born; champions can be made when they embrace and commit to life-changing positive habits.” ―Lewis Howes.

“You leave old habits bd by starting out with the thought; I release the need for this in my life.'” ―Wayne Dyer