We’ve all heard that changing habits is the key to a better life. It sometimes feels like every challenge we face could be solved by a habit. But why is that, and how do habits affect our life?
Good habits help us put the right systems into place in different areas of our life. They help us avoid the “hiccups” of life and “navigate” easily through life. Making small changes, starting by building good habits, can better your life in the following 6 areas.
Read on to find out how habits affect our life and which habits can help you improve each area…
1. Habits Impact Our Physical Health
If you are out of shape, probably it’s time to have a closer look at your habits and start building the right systems to improve your health and fitness level.
Food
Many times, when we talk about physical habits, we talk about what we eat and drink. There are many diets and “instant” pills and drinks which claim they can help people get healthy.
But what if we could make a solid habit now, bit by bit, of EATING HEALTHY and DRINKING WATER?
Over time there would be a tremendous change in our bodies. It may not be instant, but we could rest assured that what we were putting in our bodies a little at a time consistently is good and benefit our bodies. Our food and drink intake also affect our mental balance.
How does this benefit us? This allows us to be able to lower risks of illnesses such as diabetes, strokes, high cholesterol, and more. This increases the chances of living longer and enjoying life to its fullest. An unhealthy diet can cause our body to break down faster and make our days harder to handle. I certainly know how this feels. Changing my diet has been life-changing and gave me tons of energy back.
Many times, we reach for other things to supplement how we feel. When we feel low on energy, we grab sugary drinks and other supplements to “boost” our energy. But this can do more harm to your body than you may think.
However, it’s hard to stick to the right diet with willpower alone. Building up the right habits progressively is the way to go so that you can run on autopilot in the long term and not have to worry about stressful times that may cause you to relapse…
Exercise
Our current lifestyle often doesn’t include enough physical exercise. That’s because we either do not feel like doing it, we are too uncomfortable, or we feel that we should do everything at once. Sometimes think we could build up muscle or lose fat instantly. But that’s not how it works…
Every successful health coach will tell you that it takes time, commitment, and the right habits to get to the results you desire. You need to do the right thing, again and again, in order to get to the finish line.
It’s better to do less but on a consistent basis, rather than to exercise for hours once a month. The power of compounding your efforts needs you to be practicing regularly. Once again, that’s why habits can have such a tremendous impact on your health.
Addictions
Habits can affect your physical health positively, we’ve made this point clear. However, bad habits can also be highly detrimental to your health. Tobacco, alcohol, and drug use. Those are habits which can be difficult to break and lead to a series of issues, affecting not only your physical state but also your productivity and other areas of your life.
2. Habits Affect Us Mentally
How much are you holding in mentally? To-do lists that never get done. What about the things you want to do? Goals and things of that sort that just take space in your mind. How can we put habits in place to make our mental state better?
Dumping Your Mind
How many things are you trying to remember in a day? Your to-do list is so long that you will never get everything done. You end up forgetting things, then you get frustrated at the end of the day. Your mind prioritizes things for you.
The right habits can help you put a system in place to stop feeling so overwhelmed. Write down your random thoughts, ideas, to-dos, whatever it is that enters your mind. Type them in a message to yourself, or write them in your notebook or phone.
This will free some mental space for you to think clearly again.
Focus
Remember to “prioritize” your worries and your day to day stresses. If it is something you cannot control, do not hold it. Let it go. We hold and stress over things that we have no control over. We allow it to take over so much in our minds that we prioritize what we cannot control over things that are better and more beneficial to our lives. Keep your focus on what better benefits you and your future.
There are many ways to improve your focus, as well. Having a well-organized space, practicing meditation, making sure you take enough breaks… Putting in place the right habits will allow you to get more things done.
Sleep
Sleeping well consistently is probably one of the best habits you can have. And, sure enough, putting the right set of habits into place will help you make sure you can enjoy this deep rest, daily. For instance, make sure you stop using your phone or computer at least 1 or 2 hours before you go to bed. Do not engage in any exciting activities right before going to sleep. Don’t eat too late, as this can make it more difficult for you to fall asleep…
3. Our Financial Habits Impact Our Wallet…
Here are some ways our habits affect our finances…
Throwing Away Money
Have you ever looked back and realized you spent way too much money on something that was not worth it? It probably was a decent amount of money that you could have invested or spent on something you really needed. What about emergencies? Are you covered? Are you implementing good habits with your finances?
Gambling
Gambling will most likely leave you worse off, financially. But, worst of all, this bad habit can turn into an addiction if you do not pay close attention.
Gambling is not only about lottery tickets, playing poker with friends, or casinos. Some types of investments can be placed in the same category, as well. Whenever an opportunity or potential investment seems too good to be true, it probably is. Ask yourself whether you are “gambling” right now, and take a step back.
Impulse Buying
How many of you have bought things just because you saw it, it looked cool, but 3 days later you realized it was of no use? If you had your money back from every product you have bought like that, how much money would you have?
What about the items you saw on social media, or tv, and two days later you saw it at a local store for much cheaper than it was advertised? We have all done this at least once in our lives. It happens, but it can also become a habit.
Not everything advertised is needed, and eventually, the more items you have in your home, the more it will cause you stress and feel like chaos has overtaken your life.
Saving Money
Good habits can help you save money and have more opportunities to invest and grow your money.
Being aware of where your money is being spent and understanding what is needed and what is not helps you understand what you should be doing.
Good habits include paying your bills sooner, saving on late fees, cutting unnecessary costs, and putting your savings to work by investing them wisely in order to gain interests.
4. Even Small Habits Can Boost Your Career
Here are just a few ways in which good habits can impact your career positively.
Reaping the benefits of all your good habits
Being physically healthy, able to focus, and having great habits in place to make you resistant to stress will surely impact your career positively. You will appear to be more trustworthy and productive at work.
Communication
Your communication style can make or break your career. Building up good habits such as active listening and clear communication is essential for you to be successful at work.
Lifelong learning
Building up just one small habit, such as reading about a top-notch subject for 2 hours a week, can go a long way in the long-term. After one year, you could become really knowledgeable about this topic and be able to impress your colleagues or boss at work. It could even potentially help you get promoted if you pick your topic right and show how much it is valuable to the team or company.
5. Our Habits Define Our Social Life
Because we grow up in a certain culture and are educated in a certain way, we often forget that our social life mainly gets dictated by a collection of small habits.
How do we talk to one another? Do we listen to others actively? Do we show interest or disdain? Are we respectful or do we choose to make others feel bad, in a certain way?
It can be hard to change one’s social behavior, as sometimes we feel powerless since social habits are particularly hard to change. The first step is to observe your own behavior and reactions. Meditation can help you take a step back in every situation in order to understand where things went wrong, and how much power you actually had in your hands to make things play out differently.
Helping Others
You have seen the videos on social media where people went out of their way to reach out and be kind to others. They didn’t expect a payment, they just did it. If we could all make helping others a habit that we would practice regularly, it would make our lives better, for sure.
Zig Ziglar, a well-known motivational speaker, once said: “You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want”.
6. Good Self-Care Habits Can Help Us Be More Self-Compassionate and Self-Loving
Self-care should be part of everyone’s set of weekly habits. We often forget to take care of ourselves physically, mentally, and spiritually. However, good self-care habits lead to more self-compassion and self-love. And these are aspects that do not only affect our mental health and self-image, they also impact our social life and most other areas of our life.
Good Habits Are Important
Changing your daily habits can make such a large difference. Just small changes, like taking a 20-minute walk, or buying a healthier snack, can go a long way when compounded over time.
Do not try and do it all at once, as you will become frustrated and want to quit whatever you are trying to achieve. So, if there are a few bad habits you need to quit, work on those first. The best way to go is to substitute them with a good habit instead, which will fill the void.
Things to Remember
Everything you change now will affect your future. There is no wrong step. You may have to change a few things here and there for it to better fit you. The trial-and-error process is an inherent part of changing your habits for the better.
You have to develop the habits that will fit you, and that’s why the process can be so difficult. Otherwise, you will not do them. You have to be true to yourself.
Also, never be apologetic for bettering yourself and making your life better. You are the only one who lives your life.
