5 habits that changed my life forever

Setting up a perfect environment for daily work made me procrastinate on my long-term goals in different areas of life. That literally meant I was used to organizing my house endlessly before I sat down for deep work. Such a habit left me with less time & energy for the actual office & personal work. I was attached to all the finer tasks instead of seeing the bigger picture.

When I started reflecting upon the time spent in these activities, I saw all the little time I had left for my work and other activities. With this reflection, I slowed down and started off with a beginner’s mindset in order to change the course of my habits. Inspired by the Zen monk, ‘Shunryu Suzuki’s’ quote, “In the beginner’s mind, there are many possibilities”, I started listing down all the habits that were helpful & unhelpful on a daily basis. Then, I started inculcating all the helpful ones into my daily habit with smaller steps. Over the last year, I have experienced tremendous changes and outcomes through these habits. I feel more focused & energetic in the mornings and less tired by the end of the day.

Habits are nothing but repetitive behavior in response to situations that we experience on a regular basis. These habits were super instrumental in changing the following five areas of my life:

Relationships, Career, Physical Health, Mental & Spiritual Health and Finances

These habits not only helped me to build my career and improve my relationships but also helped me understand my health needs, finances, and other aspects. So what could be better than sharing all these experiences with the world for a better tomorrow?

Here are the top five habits that can lead to a huge shift in different areas of life:

1. Start your day distraction-free

Set aside some quiet time in the morning. Every individual may have different ways to approach their time in solitude :

• Write about the top five things that you are grateful for each day.
• Set up your intention for the entire day. That means you could plan your focus activities for that particular day and work with a time-boxing method.
• In the morning, sip your first glass of water slowly & steadily.
• Try different breathing exercises to help you focus throughout the day.

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Scientific studies suggest that the morning times are best for creative, analytical thinking & key decision-making. As we are fresh out of our sleep and haven’t made multiple decisions, it gives us more room to think & focus on our goals. Usually, I start my day with a 30-minute workout and then sit peacefully beside the fish tank to see all the fishes swim playfully.

2. Write your daily journals

Studies suggest that an average person would process around 60,000 thoughts every day. So writing down your current feelings, thoughts & emotions through journals would help you to channel the communication with yourself. It helps you reflect on all your progress, blockages, and potential areas for improvement.

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Since I started writing, I understood where I am spending most of my time & effort, how far I am working towards my goals & prioritizing my work. Time has become very crucial ever since I understood the power of journaling. Additionally, I have switched from physical to digital journals to make an eco-friendly choice.

• Start writing online as there are various tools like Notion, Evernote, Penzu, etc. that will make your daily journaling easy.
• If you like to use physical books, go ahead and start documenting in a diary or separate book.
• Make sure to dedicate some time of your every day to writing daily journals.

3. Practice gratitude

The power of gratitude helps you raise all the positive emotions, feelings, and experiences in life. As you feel grateful for all the past experiences and situations, your physical and mental well-being is impacted positively. On a regular basis, practice will help you transform all your negative emotions to focus and move forward with that new idea, project, environment, or milestone you envision.

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I have experienced a transformational shift since I started practicing gratitude towards different people, situations, challenges, and learnings. They can be very small or big things in life, yet important to be acknowledged.

• Every day start writing all the things you are grateful for in life.
• Start showing gratitude towards other people with a simple, ‘Thank you’.
• Visualize all the positive and happy memories from your past or present and write them down.
• On the days when you are unable to write, say out loud all the things you are grateful for in life.

4. Step out for daily walking/running/gymming/workouts

I never imagined that my physical and mental well-being would be uplifted through running until 2023. In my personal experience, running has added more clarity to my thoughts, increased focus, and improved the quality of sleep. Additionally, I could notice a significant improvement in my physical health. But it is essential to consider that everyone comes from a different demography, health condition, and needs to fulfill. You need to identify the type of workout suitable for you.

So it is essential that you,

• Consult with your fitness coach/instructor or doctor about your requirements.
• Start small and steady, but work out every day. A consistent workout will yield results.
• Find ways to work out no matter where you travel. For example, simple workouts in a hotel or taking staircases whenever possible would build a consistent habit.

5. Practicing regular meditation

Practicing meditation has been one of the life-altering and powerful habits that has transformed my way of looking at life completely. There is always an alignment physically, mentally & spiritually with meditation. Due to technology, we have access to different forms of meditation online that anyone can learn conveniently. We have so many exclusive apps like Headspace & Calm that can enable people to benefit through meditation.

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Also, it is important to understand that there is no standard way of meditation that works for everyone. Literally, there are more than hundreds of meditation techniques that cover mindfulness, spirituality, visualization, movement, etc.

• Start with the easiest one by sitting in a quiet environment, closing your eyes, and focusing on your breathing for a minimum of 10 minutes every day.
• As you get comfortable and feel ready to progress further, increase the meditation time by adding 10 more minutes in a few days.

As you progress consistently, you will automatically understand the next steps to take. Don’t hesitate to experiment and try new forms of meditation as you will identify the ones that work for you.

Remember that it is easy to be lost amidst the distractions and chaos around you, but it is the meditation that can bring you back to the fullest potential.

Forming a habit is not an overnight journey as it takes an average of three months for any activity to become a habit. Also, there has to be a strong motivation to successfully launch them in your daily lifestyle. So stay calm and committed while building new habits.

“We first make habits, and then habits make us” — John Dryden