Welcome to the Peaceful Power Podcast I’m your host Andrea Claassen. Today I will be discussing one of my favorite topics how to develop better habits.
Habits are something we do every day whether you realize it or not. Our lives are run by habits. Just think what do you do every morning when you get out of bed? Go to the bathroom, brush your teeth, start getting ready for the day? Maybe you have a meditation practice next, you make coffee & grab breakfast as you run out the door. Then you have a certain drive to work every morning, routine people you talk to at work. Then you stop by the gym on your way, you eat at a certain time, and watch tv to finish your day. That is an example of many ingrained habits we do on a daily basis.
Habit #1
Breaking a habit can hurt! Think about your evening tv habit (something I’m working on myself) I enjoy watching an hour of tv at night to zone out and do nothing. Really I’m not doing nothing I’m also on my phone, have my computer out sending emails all while “watching” tv. Trying to break that habit can be awful those first few days. It’s deeply ingrained in me to do that after so many years. I started that habit when I lived alone. It was nice to have something on so I don’t hear the silence of my apartment at the time. Now it’s changed greatly as my husband works at night so it’s my chance to watch whatever show I want to without complaining and my son is asleep so I can just relax. Really that habit is not serving me. It’s stopping me from reading at night, taking a bath & relaxing some nights, sometimes I stay up to late & miss my morning meditation practice or morning 20 minutes of movement. I have to ask myself is this habit really worth it. Plus as my son is getting older it stops me from working presently on my business. This is the time for me to squeeze out a few more uninterrupted hours of work so I’m not half in when my son is awake. I can be truly present with him. So here are some things on how I’m breaking the old tv habit. I give myself 1 night a week that I can watch a tv show. I then realized my new favorite is This is us. I also enjoy a 9pm bedtime so that show finishes when I’m suppose to be in bed. So this has to be something I let go of watching in real time and watch it on demand. I then went to my goals for 2017. I want to focus my business more this year as it was neglected a bit with the birth of my son last year. I now have more of a grasp of life being a mom and what that looks like. I now can create a better balance going forward. That is one example of breaking a bad habit. Let’s work on how to stick with a habit.
Habit #2
You go to the gym typically everyday after work you miss the gym for a few days and decide that you should throw the towel in on that goal. You decide I will try again next week. Next week comes & goes and it is already out of your routine & that habit seems to be lost. Is it actually though or was it ever a habit at all? If you notice this with any goal you have it might not be as habitual as you thought it was. I do this with my meditation practice all the time. I go one day and practice then didn’t feel like it, or my son got up earlier then usual and I skip it that day. I really don’t think it’s as habitual as I thought it was. I still have to make myself do it each day. I know when I haven’t I get more out of sorts and scattered. So I know the benefits I just have to get better the next day. That is the same with skipping a workout. Think of the benefits or results you want to achieve and focus on that to get you back in the habit of going to the gym. Nobody ever regrets a workout.
Habit #3
Last habit trigger is developing a brand new habit one you’ve wanted to achieve but haven’t quite got there yet. Let’s frame this habit around nutrition. 2017 is going to be the year you eat better. First you have to define what eat better means. I don’t recommend following any diet so know what even clean eating means to you. After you have laser focused your goal such as I will eat early, lighter dinners by 6pm consisting of soups or salads 5-6 days a week. That is focused and measurable. First don’t set it for something you know you cannot achieve. If weekend are still going to be to tough for you reframe that goal. If you know you have a meeting or two and don’t get home to eat dinner by 6pm how can you eat earlier at work or adjust your goal. Track it. I love to use calendars or tracking tools to help assist with goals. I have sticker sheets leftover from when I was a teacher that I’ve been using this year to track my goals. I do love them and I can see which goal is giving me a tough time (no snacking) and I can evaluate why and see if that is a goal I truly want to achieve or am I doing it just because. If your why is not deep enough at this time the goal might be something you will feel good about doing later. Maybe later this year, or even a few years from now. I was introduced to Ayurvedic habits a year and half ago and I couldn’t make them stick. I now am loving them and it is making my life easier when I follow them. Sometimes just the introduction to something is all you need to succeed with that habit later on in your life.
My challenge to you this week is think about what habit you want to add to your life this year. I currently am running a 7 day habits challenge that started yesterday and you can join by heading over to https://safiretraining.leadpages.co/habits-challenge/ to join today! Let me know over on instagram how your habits are going so far almost a month into the new year.
Go out there & spread your peaceful power.
Andrea
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