“Your beliefs become your thoughts, your thoughts become your words, your words become your actions, your actions become your habits, your habits become your values, your values become your destiny” ~Ghandi
When you hear the word “habits”, what’s the first thing that comes to your mind? For me, I’d say a major key to determining the progress of one’s life. Habits are like little seeds that germinate from the insides of our souls to becomes fruits of our physical identities. And knowing how to change your life with the simple act of adopting certain habits is very key.
Keeping bad habits have a way of running you, maybe not immediately, but in the long run. I am a very keen promoter of living a disciplined life. I know the benefits of having your life hinged on great principles and this is why I always seek for opportunities to push the personal development mantra.
Growing up, I had many habits I wasn’t proud of. These were habits that took roots in my childhood and I knew I just had to do something to get them out of my life. Truth is, many people are still trapped in that lifestyle. They are still entertaining those bad habits and for some, they are just helpless. If you are in such a situation, you just have to change!
Some habits are toxic and hinder you from achieving your best feats. So, what do you do? You delete and replace them. Ok, I know it’s not as easy as I make it seem but truth is, if I can make it happen, then you too can.
One of the great American authors that I admire, Jack Canfield, once said “Successful people don’t just drift to the top. Getting there requires focused action personal discipline and lots of energy every day to make things happen” and I can’t fault his statement.
Let me guess, you are probably thinking right now: “I have great habits! I sleep early, I affirm positive things to myself daily, I drink enough water daily…” blah. Truly, those are great habits, no doubts but there are many more life-changing habits you can start that will change your life entirely.
There’s a saying that “little drops of water make a mighty ocean” and I can’t fault that. From experience, I know that the small habits we inculcate into our daily routine contribute to the totality of our lives in the long run.
Wondering what areas of your life require a change of habit? We’ll talk more about how to change your life with the requisite habits later. Let’s look into the different areas of our lives. There are seven large areas in your life that you should scrutinize:
- Finances
- Career/purpose
- Your environment
- Physical health
- Emotional/mental health
- Love/relationships
- Spirituality
These areas require great discipline and growth-oriented habits and I am certain that if you check every area in relation to your life, you would find some areas that require a change. In this article, I will be suggesting 10 greats habits yon can adopt today to spark a turnaround in your life. If you already have a great habit routine, well, these are good habits to learn too.
Personally, I have worked on these habits and have adopted most of them. You could adopt them too and watch things change. Also, I will be sharing a few relatable examples from my reality… Grab a bar of chocolate and enjoy the ride…
1. Never Go To Bed Angry
Have you ever been in situations where you just couldn’t sleep because someone at work pissed you off? The whole thing gets more painful when the offense is from someone you hold dear. I have been in a situation like that in the past and I do understand the resentment.
But I have also realized that keeping stuff that hurts you in your heart for a long time doesn’t solve anything. Sometimes, you just have to let the bitterness leave you. Rid yourself of the bitterness. The best time to settle things with yourself is at night when no one is watching and you are left all by yourself.
You can write your hurts and complaints in a journal or listen to a podcast. Whatever works for you, just ensure that you do not rise the next day with an angry spirit, because if you do, it would take its toll on you.
In life, people will always make you angry. You do not necessarily have to offend people to be offended. Offenses come your way naturally and honestly, some can make you want to go nuts. But then you have to realize that the more you hoard the pain of the past in the annals of your heart, the more you cause more harm to yourself.
You would need to free yourself from the shackles of grudges and one of the ways you can do this is by purging yourself of every bitterness, anger and hate that might have clung to your heart during the day.
Right before you sleep at night, ensure you have a reflection on how your day went and be deliberate about forgiving anyone who must have offended you.
“Oh! They really got on my nerves” you might say, but you should also know that you would be doing your “nerves” more harm than good if you refuse to let go and rid yourself of the negativities of the past. Again, for the religious ones reading this, you would agree with me that the holy books do not condone holding grudges.
The more time you allow that grudge to stay in your heart, the more relevance you give it and the more harm you do to yourself. This is one key point in knowing how to change your life.
2. Set A Time Limit On Social Media
We are in a century where social media addiction is on the high. I would admit that I am a victim of this myself and currently battling the menace. The urge to give an irrational level of attention to the number of likes, retweets and shares on your last post is a bad urge that would ruin you if you do not stop it anytime soon.
Do you usually find yourself reaching out for your phone first thing in the morning? Or do you have a habit of scrolling through your timeline on Twitter or replying to a WhatsApp chat while robbing yourself of good sleep or something more important? Well, you need to stop it. It is a bad habit.
Your presence on social media shouldn’t be having a negative effect on your presence in reality. Remember, the social media around are all virtual constructs and would never be a perfect replacement for reality. You should ensure that you strike a balance.
I remember a time in college when I literally had my Twitter stealing my attention and time so much that I barely had time for myself. It was a terrible period for me because I would usually sleep late after having a hard time leaving the social media cage.
However, the day I realized that I was actually harming myself, I tried imbibing a new habit which although, takes a huge level of discipline, works anyways.
I started setting time limits on my social media. It was a very conscious effort at battling my addiction to social media and ever since I adopted that habit, I discovered that I now have enough time to attend to other things and also to myself.
This is a habit I would want you to adopt if you have intentions of making it big in life. Be disciplined about the amount of time on anything, including social media and watch things naturally fall in place for you as you learn how to change your life.
3. Drink More Water And Less Soda
Let’s swing to the health angle now! At one point/place or another, you must have heard or seen that “health is wealth”. Truly, your health plays a great role in determining your healthiness and this is why you must ensure that you do not carelessly take in harmful substances.
Hopefully, I’ll discuss this in another article but in this article, I will be facing the ignorance of one of the greatest health tips ever: drinking water.
Drinking water is highly important to your overall health and this is why many medical doctors and nutritionists alike would always advise that you take enough water (8 oz) daily and less of other kinds of drinks. Although, I agree that you can not always be drinking water and that at some point, you would need a drink with sugar or something else.
Fine! You can take all of that in. The point here is, to be able to maintain a good level of healthiness in your body, you should take in more water and less of the other kinds of drinks. Water work wonders, so, ensure that you take in a lot of water to help become a better person both physically and health-wise.
4. Network With People Who Make You Want To Do Better
There is a golden saying that goes “show me your friend and I will tell you who you are”. To a large extent, the kind of person you are can be determined using the kind of people you walk with as friends. The people in your circle should be carefully selected. They should be people that make you want to always be a better version of yourself.
Now, the habit to be imbibed there is ensuring that you spend quality time with people who make you want to do better. This is a life hack for becoming a better person in life. Ensure that you create enough time for the people that will push towards personal development and growth.
5. Don’t Be Afraid To Make Investments In Yourself
Have a habit of investing, but more importantly, never be afraid to make investments in yourself. I am a blogger today because I decided to make investments in myself. I took the hard route while many of my mates were busy lavishing their money on perishable things.
I took online classes and tutorials and spend hours, days and months building myself to be where I am today. And as a habit, I have made it my reality to always ensure that I look for opportunities to invest myself. I encourage everyone reading to imbibe that habit too.
Never be scared of taking that online class, paying for the professional exam, going to that school or doing any other thing to better your life. You are all you’ve got and the earlier you realize that, the better. You won’t know how much change you’re doing to your life by investing in it till after a long time.
6. Make Communication A Priority
Another habit you should imbibe is the habit of prioritizing communication. Never downplay your feelings or thoughts. When someone does something that you are not cool with, ensure you let them know that you are not cool with it.
When someone makes you sad, ensure you let them know that they are hurting you. If there’s someone you admire, feel free to walk up to that person and communicate your emotions.
Life is easier when we communicate our feelings. Never allow anyone to make you feel like your feelings don’t matter because they do! Communicate your thoughts and make it a habit and watch how easy living a life of satisfaction would be.
7. Reach Out To Someone You Haven’t Talked To In A While Just To See How They Are Doing
I do this once in a while. Place a call across to someone you haven’t spoken to in a while. You never know, your call might just be what they need at the moment.
When last did you speak to your best friend in college? Or colleagues at your former workplace? These are people who constitute your friends and relatives. If you do not have the habit of reaching out to them, try imbibing it from this moment. And yeah, it is very therapeutic too.
8. Find An Exercise Routine You Enjoy And Stick To It
Exercises are key for a healthy living. You should have an exercise routine. Might just be as little as taking a daily walk of about five minutes. Remember, it is not how much exercises you do per time that matter, it is the consistency that pays off in the long run.
So, if you do not have a consistent exercise routine that you follow, you should seriously consider coming up with one. Confused as to how to start? There are thousands of videos on YouTube! Watch a few of them and get to work and master how to change your life.
9. Learn Something New Every Single Day
My journey to being a blogger started with just one day! Today, I am a blogger with even bigger dreams. Yours shouldn’t be different. If you have the opportunity, learn something new every day. This is one of the major daily habits to improve your life.
Every day is an opportunity to allow something new into your life. With every day comes a fresh opportunity to become a better version of who you are by learning something new daily. Take advantage of this and imbibe it as a habit. It is achievable and only requires discipline and consciousness. Learning a new thing daily is no doubts a practical way of knowing how to change your life.
10. Give Yourself Time-Off To Practice Self-Care
I am a very busy person. If I am not reviewing an article, I’m writing one. And if I am not doing that, I’m working on my journal or any other personal project. My schedules are so tight I barely even have time for myself. But then again, that is not the best way to go!
Sometimes, you just need to catch a break, you are not a robot! Taking out a few days to focus on yourself won’t hurt now, will it? Have a habit of taking some time off your busy schedule to actually take care of yourself.
Take yourself out, get a nice treat from the spa and so on. If you have this as a habit, you would enjoy profound peace.
So, there you have it, guys! Don’t forget that the good habits of a person tell a lot about them. And you still have the chance to choose the bad habits to change and work towards changing them. 10 amazing habits you can start today to ensure a turn-around in the way you live your life.
Are you confused about the habits you need to imbibe to change your life? Are you wondering how to change your life? Do you have a special habit that you think should have made it to the list? Feel free to drop a comment in the comment section. I will be reading your replies!
For You:
Hey there! First off, thank you for reading up to this point. I know that you have learned a thing or two. Just a quick one, I have a little exercise for you! Tear out a sheet of paper and write out five new habits you would start practicing from now till the end of the year.
I would be glad if you could follow through with your wishes. I wish you all the good luck you need. Don’t forget to keep anticipating my first ever self-development journal which will be launched come fall this year. From me to you, love and miracles.
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