How to Start a Healthy Habit and Stick With It For a Healthier You! Learn Healthy Lifestyle Habits to Start Today for a Happier Life.
How To Develop Healthy Habits
We all have habits. Whether they are good or bad. Preferably, we would all like to have more good habits than bad. What we do EVERYDAY, matters more than what we do every once and while. Habits can make us, or break us. It’s time to start HEALTHY LIFESTYLE HABITS and stick with them!
“Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” — Aristotle
We all want to be the best versions of ourselves. There are so many great habits we can incorporate in daily routines that will make a huge difference in overall lives. Let’s just be honest though, we are busy creatures. Of course we have the best intentions to be the best versions of ourselves, but it can take awhile to actually get around to doing it. To commit!
We all know the things we should be doing more of: drinking water, exercising, saving money, reading more… But like I said, we are busy and we will continue to KNOW that we need to incorporate more healthy habits in our lives, but without making a conscious daily HABIT, we will never be our best.
Healthy Habits Involve Changing Our Mindset
There are many healthy habits we should all start doing, and it can be a bit overwhelming to figure out how to start. Keep it simple and start small. Once it is a daily routine then we can incorporate a new goal. Research shows that starting a new habit can take anywhere from 19 days to 6 months. Many experts have proven the popular myth it takes 21 days to form a habit to not be true for everyone. Everyone is different and it all depends on the habit you are trying to start. Of course, small and simple habits will be easier to achieve.
Healthy Habits You Should Start TODAY
- Drink more water. Try to drink a glass of water upon waking every morning.
- Exercise more: Take the stairs instead of the elevator, park in the back of the parking lot, take a brisk walk everyday.
- Start a gratitude journal. I have some great tips on how to Cultivate an Attitude of Gratitude that includes a free 30 Day plan and journal prompts.
- Eat healthier: Less processed and more REAL food.
- Live more INTENTIONALLY! Grab your FREE 5 Day Guide to a More Intentional Life.
- LOVE YOURSELF MORE. Practice self-love. Remember you owe yourself the love that you freely give to other people.
- Start a daily routine to give your life some BALANCE. Life balance is important to keep you from feeling overwhelmed. If you feel like your life is out of balance then here is 3 Strategies to Stop Feeling So Overwhelmed (FREE Webinar).
How to Start a Healthy Lifestyle Habit
- So first make a list of all the things you would like incorporate into your daily routine.
- Then pick ONE. Yes, JUST ONE. Choose something simple. Aim small, miss small. You will have a much better chance at making this into an actual lifestyle habit if it’s small and simple.
- Then do this EVERYDAY. Make no excuses and hold yourself accountable. Write a reminder everyday if you need too. Use an alarm on your phone. Or use sticky notes or a habit tracker printable, and put it on your refrigerator or put it in your planner. Remind yourself EVERYDAY.
At first you will need to be reminded, but in as little as 1 month of doing this everyday, you will no longer need that reminder. YOU WILL HAVE MADE A HABIT. A HEALTHY HABIT that will reap future benefits!
What are some habits you have been able to incorporate and keep?
I have a habit of not drinking enough water, but I’m trying to rectify that. I’ve been drinking more water than I used to, because now I have a health issue or two, and water is one of the requirements, that’s for sure! I still don’t drink enough water, but I’m getting better, I swear!
That is a great habit to start, because everyone needs to drink enough water each day. That is something I haven’t had a problem with because water is my favorite drink. However, someone close to me, has an alert on their phone to remind them to drink water several times throughout the day. Good luck to you!
Some rules I need to follow, I’m easily distracted from my healthy intentions sometimes. lol
Some rules I need to follow, I’m easily distracted from my healthy intentions sometimes. lol
My own habits have become healthier over the past six months but staying the course is always tricky. I recently assembled a three ring binder for planning purposes, with one section to log foods and another for tracking a set of health related activities. If I get lazy and don’t meet my goals, I probably won’t document the shameful truth but at least there will be those blank spaces scowling at me! BTW, I looked at a lot of planning tools before deciding that a three ring binder with a combination of DIY inserts and free downloadable printouts was not only the most cost effective but the most useful planning tool. You can spend a small fortune on planners and planning accessories (what is it with all those stickers?) that don’t meet your specific requirements.