Healthy habits are a great way to fall into a routine that is beneficial for your overall quality of life. It can be easy to stick to old patterns, but you may find it more difficult to grow as a person by repeating what you’re used to. To expand your mind and health, try following some of these healthy habits and watch the improvement happen!
Creating a gratitude list every single day, or as often as you can, can go a long way when it comes to optimism. If you’re someone who often gets stuck in the negative cycle of thinking bad thoughts, creating a gratitude list of 5-10 things or people you’re grateful for can help you to look on the brighter side of life. Doing this will allow you to soak in all the little parts of life, and soon you’ll find yourself searching for new scenarios throughout your day to be grateful for!
This may sound daunting at first, but once you get into the swing of things, you’ll find yourself reading books left and right. The most important part of participating in this challenge is to find books that you’re actually interested in. Don’t force yourself to pick up a book and read it just for the sake of reading. Find books that intrigue you. Research their plots and try to read a preview of the book before you actually purchase or grab it. The point of reading is to have fun while doing it, and if you aren’t having fun, you’ll never finish the book in your hands. Figure out which genres interest you the most, and try setting a goal for yourself! The sense of accomplishment you’ll feel once you’re done will be worth it.
Each night, try your best to get 8 hours of sleep. Getting at least 8 hours of sleep will help your body reset and prepare for the next day. It can be difficult to get the hang of this, but try to pick a time that works for you to go to bed and do your best to stay away from distracting electronics. You’ll find that you are much more energized throughout the day once you make this a habit.
Going hand-in-hand with getting 8 hours of sleep, try to wake up earlier than you normally would! For some people, waking up at 7am is early. For others, waking up at 10am is early. Whatever that version of early looks like to you, try to achieve that! It’ll definitely be difficult to fall into this pattern at first, but once you start doing it, you’ll realize that your productivity has increased along with your overall happiness. Of course, you don’t have to wake up early every single day because, realistically, we all have days where we sleep in. Allow yourself those couple of days out of the week to get the extra rest, but when you’re feeling highly motivated, do your best to get up and moving!
Music is a great way to escape from reality for a little while, or even to just bask in reality itself. Try starting your mornings by listening to music! You could listen to your favorite dance playlist, some vibey background noise, or even your best bad bitch songs. Whatever gets you feeling good and motivated – put it on! This will lift your mood instantly and set you up for an amazing day where you’ll be able to tackle anything that comes your way.
If you take medication and/or vitamins, you have to admit that there are certain days where you just forget to do it. To avoid this, try setting medication reminders on your phone. Setting a reminder for the time you’re supposed to take it will help you to remember, especially if you mark it off afterwards. Since we tend to always have our phones with us, sometimes putting important reminders on our phones is the only way we’ll truly remember to do something – and medication is definitely one of those cases.
Cardio raises our heart rate and releases endorphins. No matter how you spin it, doing some form of cardio for at least 30 minutes out of the day will help you to feel happier and more accomplished. Whether you want to make it a habit to start going to the gym or you simply want to go for a walk or run, taking 30 minutes out of your day to get your heart rate up is a great habit to incorporate! This is also a great excuse to take some time out of your busy day to get out in nature.
Eating healthier meals can be difficult to accomplish, so try to start off slow. Explore different recipes online, and find something that really interests you. After finding that recipe, give it a try and see if you’re into it! As you start to slowly include healthier meal options throughout the day, you’ll realize that this is a healthy habit you can stick to. Eating healthy is all about finding meals that are still delicious enough to satisfy your taste buds. You should get excited to eat these meals, rather than absolutely dreading them. Experiment with different meal options and see what works best for you!
This may sound tedious, but think about all those mornings you spend taking an unnecessary chunk out of your day by searching for the perfect outfit. To save yourself the hassle of panicking and trying to put something together, try to plan your outfit the night before! Look at the weather for the next day beforehand, and put an outfit together. That way, you can take your time diligently planning, and you won’t feel rushed the next morning. You’ll find that something as small as this will contribute greatly to your overall happiness.
As we are thrown into the busyness of life, it can be difficult to remember our friends. Try to reach out and check in on your besties as often as you can. Whether it’s a quick phone call or text, they’ll really appreciate the effort. You should also try your best to find the time to hang out with them! There’s only so much isolation we can handle – we need connection, and you’ll find that hanging out with your best friends feels like a breath of fresh air at the end of those long weeks.
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