Lately, I've been feeling lazy and not myself. It's come to the point where I'd purposely move my meetings or my shifts later in the day so that I could sleep in for that extra hour, do absolutely nothing when I woke up, go to work, eat a tremendous amount of carbs, binge watch a show in bed, then fall asleep. Only to do it all over again... I lost touch of who I really am and what I'm worth. I can't pinpoint the reason for me feeling this way, but I know that if I continue to go down this route, I'll only get worse. So here I am trying to change my perspective on everything close to the end of the year, on a Friday morning! Whoo! Go me!
I was told that in order to feel better about myself, to feel a sense of accomplishment, and to be successful, you are to-do these 5 important things on a daily basis. Mind you, I learned this from my 23-year old sister who has been doing this every-day since last year with of course the minor hiccups on hangover days - Otherwise she's quite consistent! She's grown very knowledgeable and has been very inspiring to me which is why I wanted to share a little about my journey on these 5 daily habits that she taught me along the way.
Here are the 5 Important Habits you may need in your daily life:
1. WAKE UP AT A DECENT HOUR
This first one I didn't only hear from my sister, but from a lot of successful people I follow. They all mention that it's best to maximize the time you have especially when you have it. I definitely learned that the hard way. I had nothing tied down to me for a really long time, no kids, no "real" job, nothing to honestly look forward too. I'd waste my days and feel like an absolute failure come night time as I resented my choices.
It's fine to sleep in from time to time, but like my old friend tells me after a night of drinking: "You just wasted half of your Sunday!"... The more I started to "waste" my Sundays, the less motivated I was the whole week afterwards. This not only ruined my whole work week, but it took a toll on me mentally.
The eagerness to change my Sundays, specifically, was my first goal. Sundays are the end and start of a week, I knew in order to get a proper habit going, I had to make sure my Sundays were well spent. I hate waking up to an alarm clock on my days off so we would keep our mornings available and ultimately just spend the day with each other, even if it meant running errands or sitting on our patio reading a book. Come Monday, I'm able to utilize the full-day and not feel like I've pushed all my responsibilities for the week ahead.
2. EXPRESS GRATITUDE
I never thought of it this way because I never express my gratitude unless it was someones birthday or I was feeling super grateful for some reason. It's definitely something I need to work on because whether I have family and friends surrounding me or supporting me, and not even that... I have a roof over my head, a bed to sleep in, a great career - I tend to still feel somewhat lonely. Is that why I'm not grateful? I realized that it has a lot to do with self improvement and self honesty but also noticing the small things that we tend to neglect.
Everyone has their fair share of obstacles, whether it's due to work, family, friends or even health. We hide our appreciation due to these obstacles and neglect those who have been our constant supporters. The ones who uplift you, make you feel better when they're around, heck, even those who are no longer in your life!
I was told that once you wake up, you should be grateful more than anything else. To feel a sentimental value of the days purpose and to always be thankful for yet another day. I know it sounds corny but sometimes that's all you really need. So rather than waking up, turning on your phone to check instagram, and feel crappy that you have all of these meetings, all of these assignments, or whatever it may be - to wake up with gratitude that you HAVE this job, that you're PURSUING the work needed in order to have a better career, and to set yourself up for a better day by not looking at your phone right away but to basically talk to yourself and be grateful.
When you start realizing that there's more good than there is bad, you may actually feel better. I always think of 3 other reasons as to why I am thankful. Today, I was grateful for Ronnie & Jeni (I lied, I said that yesterday and probably the day before that), for my period (even though it's killing me right now, I am still not ready to have children), and for clean sheets (because girl, it was so dirty the day before). It can honestly be anything!
3. READ SOMETHING
Not everyone likes to read. One of my best friends is a teacher and she absolutely hates reading (weirdo!). But whether it's a novel, the paper, or literally something in a magazine, I think it's reading regardless. But for this purpose, from what I learned, it definitely needs to be something that will inspire you or keep your imagination alive.
I'm currently reading a biography book from one of my favourite authors: Jennifer Weiner's Hungry Heart. She talks about her childhood and her family, how she loves food, how she pursued her career in writing, and basically all the little memories in between. It's a good read but it doesn't technically "inspire" me per-say. I don't feel motivated where I want to write my own novel or anything like that. But I do feel better after reading it, some of her stories are quite funny and her way of detailing her memories is very unique.
Try to read something for at least 15 minutes a day to get my mind going. Keep your imagination alive and educate yourself on aspects that keep you motivated. Isn't there a saying about reading? That it feeds your brain or something? Whatever it is, it's probably true!
4. JOT IT DOWN
Write when you're happy, when you're sad or when you're angry. Get it all out on paper! Seriously, you'll feel way better. Make lists and create goals, draw, create poems, lyrics, anything that gets you going. The best personal therapy I do is write. I'm the type of person that loves to create to-do lists the night before so that I'm determined to get things done the next day. And other than blogging, I'll write in a journal. It's a good way to express your feelings, especially ones you don't want to say out loud. Sometimes it's for the best, others, maybe not so much, but it's mainly for the purpose of going back years later to notice how you were feeling that day. I'm always one to express myself on paper rather than being (and never will be) confrontational. So when I feel the urge to say something when I know I shouldn't, I'll normally have it in a journal. But if it's a way to get my feelings out there, then why not, right?
Writing isn't only to express feelings but to allow yourself to prioritize (which is why I like making lists). When you're more organize and set yourself up with goals you want to achieve within the day, month, or year, you're more likely to crush them when you have it written down in front of you. You'd be surprised how accomplished you'll feel when you actually crush a goal that you set for yourself.
5. BE HELLA NAMASTE (or just do something physical.. Whatever it may be)
Not everyone likes Yoga, I get that. What I mean by being namaste is that you should venture in and out of your thoughts. Especially when you're stressed out or have anxiety attacks like me... Meditation can actually cure the mind and keep you at ease. It helps you focus on what matters most, which essentially is yourself.
Find what type of activity helps you do that. For me, it's running. I can make all of those thoughts that are constantly in my head go away when I'm running because I'm focusing on my breathing and stamina. Some people like to play sports, some like to box, some even like to stretch. As long as you're physically getting up to do the activity of your choice, you're already winning.
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I understand that not everyone has this type of time in the day to get all of these 5 habits down. But we are all given 24 hours in a day, we just use the time we have differently. I listened to plenty of podcasts a while back on Business of Hype, a few of which Jeff Staple introduces speakers that essentially explain their lifestyle and how they got to where they are today. There are three episodes that I can replay over and over again because it's so motivating, and not only do they speak about their journey towards success but the obstacles they had to overcome and their daily habits that they had to keep them going. Here's the link to the Business of Hype: https://hypebeast.com/tags/business-of-hype
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I personally feel that as long as you try to get a positive habit down, whatever it may be that makes you feel better, you're already doing something that is worth the day you were given. I say this time and time again that we neglect our time on this earth, so why not be the best version of yourself, even if it throws you out of your comfort zone or takes you down a path you weren't expecting. Try something new everyday, get a proper habit going, and like I said, be hella namaste!
Jree.
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