5 Habits That Changed My Life
Let’s start by saying, most useful habits are entirely personal. What helps me, may not help you. That being said, I practice 5 habits that I believe are universal in helping alter your mood, improve your day, or encourage a healthier mindset. I think everyone can benefit from these 5 habits:
Expressing gratitude for small things
Each morning I’ll either say aloud or write down my list of gratitudes. Most regularly, it’s three things and often times those three things are very small. I’ll write thing like, I’m grateful for my cup of coffee, or I’m thankful for the trees, or I appreciate the way the light peeks through my windows.
The reason behind expressing gratitude for small, everyday things is that it helps remind me of the bits and pieces that I can easily forget. Being grateful for momentous experiences or big, huge things in my life is amazing as well. It’s just more obvious. For me, I struggle to feel the benefits of gratitude as strongly when I focus on those obvious blessings.
My mind works in details and I like the nitty gritty aspects of most things. So, I find that appreciating the parts of life that I perceive as small or mundane, help me connect much deeper with myself and my surroundings.
2. Committing to slow movement
As a former athlete, movement used to be quite stringent for me. It was also entirely tied to physicality, as much as I said that it also improved my mental health. My most common forms of movement outside of volleyball were sprinting, weight-lifting, and HIIT workouts. All of these spiked my mood for a short period of time — they gave me a high. And that high became addictive in some ways. The crave that I had for those movements felt like a ball and chain. They stopped being useful.
Now, I commit to movement but I do it in a way that feels nourishing, loving, and kind to my body. I do things like pilates, yoga, or taking long walks. These forms of slower movement help me connect with my mind, body, heart, and soul. It’s not to say, I don’t sometimes enjoy a more intense workout from time to time but I see it more like a piece of candy. My typical, slower movements are the nourishment I need and the intense workouts are a fun treat I sometimes want.
3. Listening to music daily
I’m a huge music lover. I always have been. But even if you’re not, there are so many benefits to listening to music. Personally, I need a lot of music time in my day to feel content. I enjoy going for morning strolls with Maisy listening to calming, moody sounds from artists like Phoebe Bridgers or Lana Del Rey or Bon Iver. In the afternoon, I’ll take a break from work and go for longer walks listening to upbeat sounds from artists like Mt. Joy or Grouplove or Dominic Fike.
Emily and I both love music for different reasons and in different ways but we bonded over the fact that, regardless of how, music shapes our lives. If you want to start incorporating more music into your day, go check out our playlists on Spotify. Or if you’re specifically interested in what I listen to most, check out my XO Pay playlist.
4. Owning my interests
A fourth habit that helps improve my life is owning my interests. I think this comes as you get older but it also takes a concerted effort. In my opinion, there is no such thing as a “guilty pleasure.” Everything I enjoy, I try to own. I like some things that are really deep and vulnerable. I like some things that are vapid and silly. No matter if it’s one or the other, being authentic in what drives me forward and what makes me smile builds up my self-worth.
5. Setting boundaries more often
For a long time, I was a total doormat. Not in obvious ways but, I was a people-pleaser. I was an emotional doormat, if you will. This can be an entirely separate post so for the purposes of habit-sharing, I’ll stick with what I do today — set boundaries.
Today, I’ll practice setting more boundaries to maintain my happiness. I’m in charge of me so if I’m stressed about my own life, job, marriage, etc. that’s mine to own and take care of. I’m not in charge of anyone else. In moments when I feel people taking advantage of my “emotional doormat” self, I’ll speak up and I’ll do so without apology. I’ll say things like, “I appreciate you feeling safe with me to share this but I can’t take this on at the moment and you deserve to share with someone who can.”
All of these habits help me feel more centered, alive, happy, and connected to myself. Boundary-setting is definitely the hardest for me and I’m practicing it more and more. Incorporating more habits that give you power and security within yourself is useful and that’s why I believe these 5 habits can help anyone. They’re free and achievable today.
