One of my FB friends posted this photo the other day and it got me thinking about daily habits. We all have dozens of habits that have been ingrained in us over the years; some good - rising early each day and making the bed, brushing our teeth, showering (optional but highly recommended), getting dressed (not optional), eating our veggies, etc. And there are the not so good habits: not getting enough sleep - which ultimately leads to bad habit #2, hitting snooze six times before getting out of bed, not returning phone calls or emails, arriving late to work, etc.
In addition to the daily habits related to our personal hygiene and grooming, what we put in our bodies every day and how much we move are also habits. Do you grab a muffin or donut on your way out the door in the morning or do you chug down a protein shake? Do you pack a healthy lunch or hit the drive thru at lunch? Do you opt for a cheap sugar rush from the vending machine when your energy wanes at 3 pm, or do you grab a handful of nuts and a piece of fruit to munch on?
Each of these things is a habit. Many, many, MANY of us currently have or have had in the past some terrible habits - including me. But I'm here to tell you that habits can be changed.
Make a list of what you would consider your bad habits. Here's my old list:
Never make the bed in the morning
Eat too many crunchy, salty snacks
Drink wine every night
Not focused in the gym and not consistent with exercise
Don't drink much water
Don't take fish oil
Watch WAY too much TV
I'm not sure when I started changing each individual habit, but I'm happy to say that I have changed every one of these habits for the better. Except for the making the bed one, I believe all the others changed when I started #1 Intermittent Fasting and #2 Lifting heavy weights on a consistent basis. I think it's amazing how many good habits trickle down from just one or two core habits. The more I focus on what I'm eating and when I'm eating it and how I'm training, the more I want the rest of my daily habits to support these efforts such as drinking more water, taking daily fish oil and natural supplements, watching less TV, and staying away from the snacks and the booze (for the most part).
If you have bad habits you'd like to work on, and let's be honest, you do; I suggest writing them down and choosing one or two core habits to focus on. As you get better and better at those, you may be surprised to find that other not-so-awesome habits start changing too.
One habit at a time, one day at a time, you can change.
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