3 Positive Habits to Incorporate Into Your Day
Lately I’ve been trying to incorporate a few more positive habits into my day. My 2019 New Year’s Resolution is to be more purposeful, so I figured I in order to do this to my best ability, there were a few things I haven’t been doing that could really assist me in making this happen. Are you ready for them?
READING
The benefits of reading are infinite, but how often do you really find yourself reading? I love to read, but I constantly find myself feeling like I don’t have the time for it. With taking university courses, I feel as though when I do have spare time, I should use that time to catch up on my textbook readings. It usually doesn’t even cross my mind to open up a book for the fun of it. But I’ve realized that when I do sit down and read a book that I WANT to read, whether it be fiction or self-development, my mind goes to a place that I just don’t find myself getting to through any other means. There’s something so calming yet revitalizing about reading a book and genuinely getting wrapped up in it.
For this reason, I’ve begun setting aside 20-30 minutes a few nights a week to sit down with a book and just get into my own headspace. This has been such a positive influence in my day-to-day, and also makes me feel like I’ve done just one more productive thing.
SLEEPING BETTER
I think we all can say that more sleep would be beneficial, but again, who has the time? Well, we say that, but think about all the time you spend scrolling through your phone… now think of the extra sleep you could have if you minimized that time! I find when I get into bed in the evening, I scroll through Instagram or whatever else as a way to “settle down” for the night, meanwhile this does the exact opposite as it tends to A. bring on anxiety or negative thoughts (as social media often does) or B. bring on a million new ideas into my mind, both serving to make my head spin and do the exact opposite of what you should be doing before bed! For this reason, I downloaded an app that has since become a bedtime ritual called “Happy Not Perfect” which guides you through relaxation and very basic meditation. I find this to be the perfect way to calm me down and get me into a better space before bed, minimizing the time I waste on social media when I could be sleeping!
REFLECTING
I’ve always loved the idea of reflecting, but I’ve always been quite bad at it. I think this is because I’m constantly thinking of the next steps, and where I’m headed to instead of recognizing and reflecting on where I was/how I got to where I am. I’ve recently realized that reflection is so essential to getting you to that next step, and for this reason I’ve been practicing it a little more often. Reflection looks different to everyone, but for me it looks like sitting down for a few minutes each day and writing down some current or past feelings, fears, goals, successes, failures, and lessons. I’ve been trying to get more honest with myself, and actually putting this stuff down on paper serves as motivation to keep moving. I think that reflection looks different to everyone, but if you can slow down and reflect once in a while, you’ll quickly see an improvement about how you think about your future altogether.
These little positive habits have really made an impact on my everyday! Whether these exact habits will benefit you or not, taking the time to try new things that you feel just might make a difference to your life are always worth trying! So go ahead and try these, or think about some other habits that may be influential to you, and give them a go—I promise there’s never harm in trying!
