What are habits? Habits are the actions that we repeatedly do on a daily basis. Can habits be described as good or bad? A better way to refer to them would be to see if the habits that you are practicing are helpful or unhelpful. Meaning, are they helping you live the life that you envision or are they keeping you stuck while life is passing you by. It is easy to get distracted by everything going on around us. We continue to do things even when they are not serving us well. We want to do it all and be everywhere. Have you ever paid attention to the things that you do during your day or are you living life on autopilot?  

One of the best ways to find out if what you are doing is helping you live the life that you envision now and, in the future, is to make a list of the habits that you do on a daily basis. This can range from waking up and getting out of bed all the way to turning off the lights and going to sleep. The important thing here is to account for your actions and see if they are keeping you centered or just adding more stress to your life.  After you make your list, place a checkmark on the things that are helpful like, for example, going to the gym. Place an “X” on things that might be unhelpful like smoking a cigarette. For this exercise to work, you have to be very honest with yourself. You might categorize smoking as a helpful habit because it helps you de-stress. However, smoking might bring negative consequences in the future that end up affecting your health.  Some habits or actions are going to be neutral like brushing your teeth. Just circle those habits. After you make your list, try to eliminate the habits that you put an “X” on or modify them, so they become helpful. Start small and make changes slowly.  

This is an important activity to do because there are so many things that we do on autopilot instead of being intentional with our actions. How you spend your day is how you spend your life. Hopefully this activity can show you if you are on the right track or if you need to make some changes to live a better and happier life. Change is hard for most people. So, if on the path to cultivating better habits, you miss a few times, that is fine. Don’t give up and just keep on trying until the habit becomes automatic. If you want to start going to the gym, start small and just show up even if you don’t exercise. Once you master showing up to the gym, maybe stay for 5 minutes. Once that’s a habit, increase your time at the gym until you get the desired outcome. Why are habits so important and how can they help you? By practicing helpful habits, they can help you make the correct decision when you don’t feel like doing the right thing.  We all do things that are unhelpful like going to sleep a little too late, maybe overeating, or wasting time by being on social media for too long. Pay attention to your habits and make the necessary changes. You decide what kind of life you want to live. It all starts and ends with your habits. You are in control!