Things seem ok at first glance.
You have a stable job, a committed relationship, maybe own a house. You should be ecstatic because you’ve ticked so many of the ‘social norm boxes’!
But you’re not.
The good news is, you can do something about it even if you don’t exactly know what’s wrong.
Let’s shake things up!
Habit #1: Practice awareness of your thoughts daily
Your thoughts, beliefs and attitudes dictate whether you take action in life or not.
Makes sense. At the end of the day, why would you want to put effort into something you don’t believe you could achieve?
At times, we all give in to shitty thoughts, self-doubt, low self-esteem, worries, fears, envy or what not. But these feelings can actually be incredibly insightful.
For example, envy can shine a light on the areas of your life where you don’t believe in yourself. If your friend got offered an amazing job and you instantly feel like someone punched you in the stomach, chances are you don’t believe you could have a job like that. Otherwise, you wouldn’t feel envious.
The good news is: this is a ‘you problem’. Which means it’s fully within your control to fix.
Learn to notice your thoughts and follow the insights to make improvements in your life.
Habit #2: Incorporate physical wellness into your week
Find some form of activity that you enjoy doing.
The problem most people have with exercising is that what they do is plain fucking boring.
The key is to find something that you have fun doing, and the only way to find that unicorn of an activity is to experiment.
You won’t find it by drinking cola and gorging on potato chips in front of TV. You have to go out there and try as many different things as possible. This could be walking, a simple follow-along aerobic workout you find on YouTube, yoga, qi gong, bouldering, pole fitness, circus classes, boxing, ballet, lifting weights, 121 personal training sessions, gym classes – anything.
Some of these activities won’t resonate, others you might even hate with passion.
I vividly remember trying a zumba class for the first time and walking out after 10 minutes (I’ve never done this before!) The most cringe-worthy and awful form of activity I’ve ever done.
And then, I stumbled upon a rather niche form of exercise – aerial silks. I love it so much that no matter how crappy my day is, the minute I climb up the fabric I feel like a kid in a candy store!
What you consider ‘fun’ is very subjective so go out there and try as many things as possible – eventually, you’ll find the ‘unicorn’ activity that brings you joy.
Habit #3: Declutter and organise your home
I genuinely believe that this is the most underrated form of personal development.
Many people don’t quite realise how much the physical environment affects them. A home that makes you happy, supports your daily activities and sparks creativity and productivity is the best place to be!
Tips to get organised easily:
- Declutter before you start organising. Otherwise you’ll end up with organised mess.
- If you struggle to let things go, reframe it – instead of looking at your possessions as ‘money being thrown away’, think of them as ‘service providers’. You got what you needed out of them. You paid for the service. Now let someone else benefit from them.
- Organise your belongings in a way that you can access them conveniently. Think: most often used items at the front/top, least often used ones at the back/bottom.
To keep your home organised and clutter-free without much effort, deal with your shit there and then:
- Wash the dishes immediately after eating rather than waiting for the pasta sauce to turn solid.
- Make your bed when you wake up and style it so that it looks luxurious.
- Put your clothes away – either a wardrobe or a laundry basket. Don’t leave it on the floor/table/chair/door handle/toilet/stairs.
- Regularly get rid of the items you don’t use.
- 1 in 1 out. Anytime you buy something new, get rid of something else.
Following the pandemic, we’re spending more time at home than ever. So make it your castle – not a shithole!
Habit #4: Take small daily steps towards your dreams
Slow, steady, consistent, incremental. These are the words that are not sexy in today’s culture of ‘have more, do more, fuck more, go faster’.
But these ‘boring’ habits are the ones that work.
If you want to write a book, write 1 page a day. That’s a 365-page book done in a year.
Save £100 a month. That’s £6,000 in 5 years.
Apply for 100 jobs. There will be one amongst them that’s meant for you – and you only need one.
Habit #5: Stop staring at the TV every chance you get
I wrote and published a 227-page book when I stopped watching TV.
Mindlessly watching crap on TV is one of the biggest time-wasters. 5 minutes here, 20 minutes there and before you know it, it’s bed time and you haven’t done anything for yourself.
You’d be amazed by what you could achieve during the extra time. Most good things in life happen gradually, 5 minutes at a time (see habit #4).
Reduce the screen time and work on something fulfilling instead.
