lauren at my passion journey is taking over to talk about habits! it's not too late to join in on our make a habit, break a habit link-up!
And that is the very cool (but also very worrisome) thing about habits. They are so engrained into our daily lives that we might not even know we are (or are not) doing them.
It's cool because once we have a healthy habit established, we can be pretty certain that we will continue this habit without much mental effort on our part. (Pretty sweet, right?)
But it's worrisome, because some behaviors are not helpful to our lives, and we might not even realize how often we are doing them! (wah, wah)
It's our small, daily actions and behaviors that determine the overall trajectory of our lives- so it makes sense to focus on small habits to get us on track to pursue on goals and dreams, right?
And that is why this is the month for Making and Breaking Habits- and you're invited to join in the fun as well!
Brittney from The Pinnacle Project and I have organized a link-up to challenge us all to consider our habits, make some new, healthy ones, and break some old, nasty ones. (And there's still time to join in on the fun for September!)
But let's face it- making and breaking habits can be a real challenge. Luckily, I came up with a few tips for us who are wanting to get into a new routine.
1) Be Specific in Your Goals For Yourself
If you set vague goals you'll get vague results
2) Identify a mental Trigger for Your Habits
When do you want to do this new behavior? What normally triggers a behavior you want to quit?
3) Get some Accountability
Ask a friend to join you in your journey, publish your goal to social media, or blog about it-- and join a link up!
So let's take a look at the habits I set last week and see if I can follow my own advice:
Habit To Make: Floss Daily
I am doing great with this one! I have a "trigger" to remind myself to floss- brushing my teeth at the end of the night. Brushing my teeth is already a go-to habit (good thing, right?) so it's been pretty simple to just add a new step to an existing habit.
Habit To Break: Using Technology 30 Minutes Before Bed
This is another Win for me! And I've actually pushed it back even further- closer to 60 minutes before bed and I have been really happy with the results. This one has taken a bit more discipline. I have to keep an eye on the time. I also have to be conscious of mindlessly picking up my phone to flip through Instagram, Pinterest, or my email. I've slipped up a couple of times- getting into bed was a trigger for me to "check my phone one last time." I've replaced the habit with reading instead and then going straight to sleep. Like I said, I haven't been perfect, but I am being intentional and seeing results! Yay!
Habit to Make: Be Active
This one is Not a Win at all. And let's talk about why-- one is that it is not a specific goal. I didn't say when I was going to be active, how I was going to be active, or for how long. This one was more of a good idea than a true goal. This one will need to be re-vamped for me to be successful.
I'm really glad I've set out to refine some of my habits- not only am I living more intentionally, but I am also actively examining my daily behavior and asking myself what other habits I would like to see changed. It's a constant journey of self- improvement, right?
In the meantime, I'd love to challenge you to join in on the fun! There's still time to link up your Habits this month (you can do so here!) and share with all of us what habits you would like to make and break in your own life! I can't wait to read all about them!
And that is the very cool (but also very worrisome) thing about habits. They are so engrained into our daily lives that we might not even know we are (or are not) doing them.
It's cool because once we have a healthy habit established, we can be pretty certain that we will continue this habit without much mental effort on our part. (Pretty sweet, right?)
But it's worrisome, because some behaviors are not helpful to our lives, and we might not even realize how often we are doing them! (wah, wah)
It's our small, daily actions and behaviors that determine the overall trajectory of our lives- so it makes sense to focus on small habits to get us on track to pursue on goals and dreams, right?
And that is why this is the month for Making and Breaking Habits- and you're invited to join in the fun as well!
Brittney from The Pinnacle Project and I have organized a link-up to challenge us all to consider our habits, make some new, healthy ones, and break some old, nasty ones. (And there's still time to join in on the fun for September!)
But let's face it- making and breaking habits can be a real challenge. Luckily, I came up with a few tips for us who are wanting to get into a new routine.
1) Be Specific in Your Goals For Yourself
If you set vague goals you'll get vague results
2) Identify a mental Trigger for Your Habits
When do you want to do this new behavior? What normally triggers a behavior you want to quit?
3) Get some Accountability
Ask a friend to join you in your journey, publish your goal to social media, or blog about it-- and join a link up!
So let's take a look at the habits I set last week and see if I can follow my own advice:
Habit To Make: Floss Daily
I am doing great with this one! I have a "trigger" to remind myself to floss- brushing my teeth at the end of the night. Brushing my teeth is already a go-to habit (good thing, right?) so it's been pretty simple to just add a new step to an existing habit.
Habit To Break: Using Technology 30 Minutes Before Bed
This is another Win for me! And I've actually pushed it back even further- closer to 60 minutes before bed and I have been really happy with the results. This one has taken a bit more discipline. I have to keep an eye on the time. I also have to be conscious of mindlessly picking up my phone to flip through Instagram, Pinterest, or my email. I've slipped up a couple of times- getting into bed was a trigger for me to "check my phone one last time." I've replaced the habit with reading instead and then going straight to sleep. Like I said, I haven't been perfect, but I am being intentional and seeing results! Yay!
Habit to Make: Be Active
This one is Not a Win at all. And let's talk about why-- one is that it is not a specific goal. I didn't say when I was going to be active, how I was going to be active, or for how long. This one was more of a good idea than a true goal. This one will need to be re-vamped for me to be successful.
I'm really glad I've set out to refine some of my habits- not only am I living more intentionally, but I am also actively examining my daily behavior and asking myself what other habits I would like to see changed. It's a constant journey of self- improvement, right?
In the meantime, I'd love to challenge you to join in on the fun! There's still time to link up your Habits this month (you can do so here!) and share with all of us what habits you would like to make and break in your own life! I can't wait to read all about them!
6 comments:
There are definitely some habits I need to pick up and drop! I'll start getting together my list and maybe I'll join you soon!
Love this blog! Thanks for sharing your tips :)
I need to also do both of those.. break the habit of taking my phone to bed with me.. and making sure i floss daily.. it's such an annoying thing for me. :P
Yay! Hope you do :)
These are c/o Lauren, but they are amazing! She is awesome :)
I hate flossing... lol. With a passion. But I really need to do it.
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