“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.” -Aristotle
My article 24 Daily Habits has been an amazing success, so I thought I would follow it up with another 12 Daily Habits that I try (I’m not perfect!) to do and that you may consider incorporating into your life.
1. Stretch: I was inspired to write 24 Daily Habits by my discovery of the benefits of exercising everyday. Every so often I can’t find time to exercise, but at the very least I stretch. Some benefits of this include: reduced muscle tension, increased flexibility, and increased energy levels (from the increased circulation of blood).
2. Write: I normally spend time each day writing articles for this blog. I find writing very therapeutic as it allows me to clarify my thoughts and feelings about a number of issues. If you don’t have a blog, try keeping a journal or writing a long email to a good friend each day.
3. Listen to Music I Love: its a simple pleasure we often take for granted. If ever I want to relax, get pumped, or simply just have fun its quite likely I will put on some music to accompany my mood. I rarely listen to the radio though – I want to choose the tunes!
4. Exercise My Brain: exercising your brain is as important (if not more!) than exercising your muscles. In the past year I taken to Sudoku and Kakuro as ways to stimulate my brain and have fun. Other suggestions are crosswords, quizzes, and brain teasers.
5. Sharpen My Memory: this could come under the above habit, but I think it is worthy of its own heading. I haven’t always been kind to my brain in the past, and I recently started to notice how this was affecting my memory. Each day now I try to sharpen my memory with simple techniques such as remembering names and telling stories (ie recalling events).
6. Drink Plenty of Water: drinking plenty of water each day is essential to good health. Among other things, water flushes toxins out of vital organs and carries nutrients to cells. I try to take a water bottle with me wherever I go.
7. Drink Green Tea: I love my cup of coffee first thing in the morning, but when it comes to the afternoon I find that coffee over-stimulates my brain and makes me edgy. Instead I drink green tea in the afternoon which still contains caffeine (important to help me make it until 5pm!), but does not give me the negative effects of an afternoon coffee.
8. Under Promise, Over Deliver: this is a great way to impress people. The last thing I want to do is make promises which I won’t be able to keep.
9. Smile: ….. and the world smiles with you. Well not always, but I find that a smile is a great way to break down barriers with people.
10. Celebrate My Successes: I find its so important to take time each and every day to celebrate my successes. This doesn’t have to involve opening a bottle of bubbly (or in my case cracking open a beer). A mental pat on the back will often do. If you need some ideas I recommend reading 75 Simple Pleasures to Brighten Your Day from ZenHabits.
11. Meditate: as part of my routine of winding down each day I try to spend 10 – 15 minutes meditating. Benefits of meditation I have noticed include relaxation, energy, and perspective on my life. This article from PicktheBrain has some good tips on getting started.
12. Have Fun: one of my life philosophies is that we should enjoy each day. I consider many of the habits I have listed in this article to be fun (eg sudoku, listening to music, and celebrating my successes). Importantly, though, I always try to have some spontaneous fun each day.
Photo by Thomas Leuthard
Smiling is good, but it’s far more effective if you smile at the person you’re looking at, as in a specific smile for them, not just a smile in general. It brings a feeling of wellbeing into their life (though sometimes not enough to help them out of whatever is bothering them), and you’ll find they often give YOU a smile in return, thus also bringing that feeling into your life.
Some good habits there. Smiling is much under-rated :)
I fail on the drinking water regularly though … :/
Thank you for taking the time to write the information above!
From all of the personal work I have done it has boiled down to implementing the THANKs principles on a daily basis. Fear is so cunning and it is always looking for a door to come in and feed on. It is like a parasite that just wants to eat a good meal. I have found that what all of us as humans really are looking for is a way to feel connected. Fear so often wants to make us terminally unique and create many excuses as to why we can legitimize our feelings of superiority or inferiority and stay separated. As well, it tells us we may lose something we feel we need to hold onto or not get something we believe we have to have or are entitled to. One thing is for sure, the more I live in my fear, the more fear I keep producing. It will always create distorted projections about the future. The THANKs princples(Trustworthiness, Honesty, Authenticity, Neutrality, Kindness, and Surrender) truly are the antidote to overcoming fear based thought patterns. And, it is not easy. I have had to work with mentors, sponsors, spiritual teachers and people much wiser then myself over the course of many years in order to make some in roads to effectively purge out the fear that dwells within. Little by little I find my self in less fear and connected to my AUTHENTICITY. At this core place dwells compassion, deep empathy, tolerance of others, peace of mind and love in my heart. FDR said in his inaugural address that there is nothing to fear but fear itself. What I have come to learn in my own personal experience is that \”There is nothing to fear\”.
A great podcast that will blow you away is;
http://www.transworldynamics.com/content/blogcategory/9/26/
1. Never do unnecessary exercise – fit people die of lingering diseases.
2. Never drink bottled water – it is old, often less pure than tap water and dearer than petrol.
3. Drink coffee to offset alzheimers.
4. Don’t smile all the time you look insincere
5. You can meditate if you want – its better than sitting doing nothing!
I just love your blogs. Thank you so much!
Thanks for this great list of good habits. Most of them are things I need to work on, or at least think about. One good habit I try to keep is to find the humor in everything. It’s always there, of course, in one form or another, and I know if I’m not seeing it my view of the situation is blocked by my preconceptions or ‘rigid thinking’. Humor has sustained me through some serious predicaments over the years, and I find it much more satisfying to laugh than to cry.
I love these tips and I’m so happy I found your site! Thank you for the tips – the ones I don’t do, I definitely need to start doing and the others… I need to do more of, ha! I just recently started meditating so I’m so pleased to see that as one of your habits.
Your daily habits are amazing if you can do these everyday. I really like it. I’ll try to do these , one of these days!