In our last post, we shared with you morning habits we love. Happiness guru Gretchen Rubin said in her latest book, Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives, “I should pursue only those habits that would make me feel freer and stronger.”
Here are a list of healthy habits we’re loving these days that make us feel freer and stronger:
1. Move everyday. It doesn’t matter if you’re drenched in sweat, if you’ve had an hour at the gym or if you went up and down a flight of stairs every hour on the hour. It doesn’t matter if Pilates is your jam or if you ran five miles this morning, just move. Generally, we are too sedentary, especially at the workplace. Moving, sweating and going to the gym, all count as healthy habits for less stress, better sleep and more energy.
2. Trick yourself into thinking you’re the most important person in your Rolodex…until you are. Tell yourself you won’t let anything get in the way of achieving your goals. Schedule in workouts, fool yourself into loving green smoothies, ditch the sugar. Add BCAAs to your daily supplements, drink more water. But do it all because you’re awesome and you deserve to wake up every day and feel great[ful] to be ALIVE.
3. Smile…even when you don’t feel like it. Smile before you get out of bed, at strangers, when you look in the mirror. Smiling releases endorphins, which are responsible for making us feel happy. And even better, they help decrease stress levels. So do yourself a favour and choose to smile more often.
4. Challenge yourself on a regular basis. It’s easy to challenge yourself when it comes to fitness. Perhaps because taking an extra 1,000 steps or adding another plate to the squat bar is measurable, fitness challenges may seem most obvious. When it comes to habits, think outside the box. Challenge yourself to choose a shop for higher quality products (ahem), do more good, and drink less soda. Challenging yourself will help keep your brain sharp and keep you in the habit of adopting better habits.
5. Keep track. If you’ve set goals for the year, it’s time to revisit them. If not, you still can. But don’t just set them and leave them to collect dust. If you vowed to eat more fibre or add more protein to your life (good job btw), then do it! And hold yourself accountable.
Hey, it’s February, the month of love. Be good to your sweetie and your health.