Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Introduction:
When we think of the things we do daily that have a big impact on our lives, we often find ourselves thinking of the big things. But I believe that it is the small habits that have the greatest impacts on our lives. These could even be the habits that we don’t even acknowledge the benefits of like that deep breath you take before you start a difficult task or even simply waking up and brushing your teeth.
I mainly wanted to write this post to remind you to acknowledge these small habits that you do that benefit your life. To remind you that there are plenty of things you are doing right now that are contributing to you living your best life. I also wanted to write this to remind you to go easy on yourself, it’s so incredibly easy to forget how far you have progressed, but we should be remembering all the things we have done and stop fixating on all the things we haven’t done.
A little backstory
When I was young I really struggled with maintaining a simple routine. And, I didn’t have the motivation to do the simplest things. I hated having to wake up early for school, brushing my teeth, washing my face, showering etc. I struggled to drink a healthy amount of water daily and I barely managed to eat 3 meals a day. And, I didn’t even make time for any of my hobbies and spent all my time online. There were times were I couldn’t even be bothered to do anything. I tried building a routine, which I found a really difficult process. I know there must have been some deeper meaning behind why I couldn’t find the motivation to do anything, but the fact that I couldn’t even establish a simple routine made me feel even worse.
Present day
After so many failed attempts at establishing a good routine I finally managed to succeed. A few days ago I was just laying around and thought about how far I had come in terms of self-improvement. There was a significant amount of improvement from where I had started a few years ago to where I was now. Honestly, I have surpassed my younger self’s expectations of what a good routine should look like. Earlier that same day I was upset at myself for not waking up early and exercising and so this realisation really hit me.
We currently live in a day and age where I feel like discipline is pushed onto us in quite a forceful way. I used to have this misconception that discipline was something that only applied to things like working out everyday, revising, working etc. But I think we forget how much discipline it takes for us to do smaller things, that we may brush off as ‘normal’. And we shouldn’t forget to applause ourselves for doing these things.
I really do believe that people are way too hard on themselves. It is really easy to forget how far you have progressed in life in terms of self-development. We become so fixated and all of the things we don’t have/ aren’t doing that we forget the multitude of different things we do have/ are doing.
I still think it is important to strive to progress further in your self-development journey, but do so in a way that isn’t too pressurising.
A little Activity…
I am not going to lie, I love a good list. Which is why I love making them. Whenever you feel like you may not be doing enough for yourself presently, I advise you to make a list of all the things you are currently doing. No matter how small that habit is, write it down. Once you have finished, you will have a list with a whole load of things that you are doing. And hopefully you won’t feel weighed down by all the things you aren’t doing.
Here is an example of what your list could consist of (I don’t expect anyone to have everything on this list btw) :
- Wake up early in the morning
- Lay down for a few minutes before you get up
- make your bed
- getting a good nights sleep
- learn something new
- listen to music
- Wash face
- smile at yourself in the mirror
- Brush teeth
- floss
- Shower
- Body care + Skincare
- Pick out outfit
- make 3 healthy meals
- drink 2 litres of water throughout the day
- read/ do some work
- meditate
- work on a hobby
- taking mini breaks between working
- journal
- exercise
- breathing excercises
- take vitamins/ medication
- call family
- go for a walk/ sit outside in the sun
- water plants?
- do the dishes/ other household chores
- practice gratitude
- bedtime routine (skincare, brush teeth, etc)
hopefully you will now have a whole list of different things that you do. If I’m being honest my list is nowhere near as long as this, but hopefully you get my point.
You won’t always notice any benefits:
Sometimes, it is really hard to feel the benefits that these small habits have in your life. We all want to feel something positive from adopting new habits. But sometimes we don’t feel anything. I cannot promise you that they are going to make you feel like you are doing something beneficial, plus who am I to do so anyway? But I do know that these simple habits do have benefits, which for the most part can be scientifically proven.
Changes that seem small and unimportant at first, will compound into remarkable results if you’re willing to stick with them for years-
-James Clear (Atomic habits)
I hope that you enjoyed this weeks blog post. It’s definitely shorter than my other one’s but I hope it was beneficial nonetheless. I’d love to hear any comments that you may have on this particular topic!
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