You make habits every single day. Sometimes we get lucky and create productive ones — other times, not so much. But it’s important to note:
Your habits dictate who you become.
Are your habits supporting your vision? I encourage you to be mindful of what you’re doing and why you’re doing it, then ask yourself:
- Is this supporting who I want to become?
- Is this going to help me achieve my end goal?
- If not, what can I do to help shift this into a positive-moving habit?
Habits are moments — quick decisions that have been wired by you at one point in time, which means you can change them. To change a habit you must first realize that moment & that decision, and force yourself to relearn that movement/process/thought/etc. to its entirety. This is a process that you may have to do over and over again until that new habit is formed.
You can reshape your life through habits.
When I first started taking a closer look at my habits, I kept a daily log. For one week, I took a notebook around with me and wrote down everything I did. Here’s what I found:
- I had a lot more free time than I had previously thought
- I started taking a little more time making decisions (i.e. should I really just come home and watch Netflix, or should I maybe tidy up the house/workout)
- I started replacing my not-so-good-habits with better, more productive ones
- I started feeling better and even, I dare say, looking forward to my new habits –– even the working out one
Just by simply auditing my day, I started naturally making better decisions. I didn’t want to see “came home, turned on Netflix and demolished a bag of popcorn” in my daily log –– that, in and of itself, motivated me to make better decisions.
There are many habits that go undetected, and even my daily log didn’t pick them up –– how many times I checked my phone, or how long I browsed Instagram. But habits like what I’m eating, how many cups of coffee I’m drinking, or if I’m sitting in front of the tv for hours every night; are those that I could track and therefore start to change.
If you’re anything like me, you strive to be better. I want to show up for my family & friends, and I know the only way I can do that is if I set myself up for success first. I need to have positive & productive habits for my life that gives me the capacity to help those around me.
I know I’m a work-in-progress, but aren’t we all? Let me know if this helps you, or if there’s something you do that helps with habit-making.
Allie Uffda 