Fix Your Brain — Fix Your Habits — Fix Your Life

How happy are you with your life? Did you know that anything that isn’t making you jump for joy can be fixed or changed? The key, however, is that only YOU hold that power to make your life joyous. It’s not up to your spouse, kids, parents, or boss. You are the only one in complete control of your life, so you deserve to live the life of your dreams.

It has been one year since global lockdowns began. You would think that would seem like a tremendously long time for all we have been through. And for some of you, it may have been. For me, it seems as though I was stuck in “Groundhog Day”, the movie where we live the same day over and over. After a while, you don’t even know what day it is. It stagnates the mind.

Mindset and mindfulness are buzz words we hear a lot about. They refer to those learned attitudes we hold about absolutely anything. We have a money mindset, a career mindset; in a business setting you’ll hear terms like ‘fixed’ or ‘growth’ mindset. Starting with a mindset that works for you is certainly important to how we perceive life and being mindful of how we think affects what we get from life.

To make real and lasting changes in our lives, embrace the development of tiny habits. Tiny habits that combine over a period of time become automatic habits that we don’t have to think about. These automatic habits compound into many small successes, which can also help change our mindset. It’s a huge cycle but one which can be changed at any point.

How to Add Tiny Habits to Your Day

Since every person’s goals will be different, so will every person’s tiny habit choices. These are just a few ideas and certainly not a comprehensive list. Choose whichever tiny habits make you happy and more fulfilled (and moving toward your goals) and continue building on those.

To begin, decide what exactly makes you unhappy then think of a resolution. Now, what is one small thing you can do to start to change the situation? It’s not enough to just THINK about a resolution; you must then take action. Creating tiny habits one at a time will change your life.

Some general tiny habits that anyone can add to their routines include: meditation, yoga, cardio exercise, writing a gratitude journal, journal about all areas of your life or your goals, listening to empowering podcasts, praying, and healthy eating.

If you’re specifically unhappy at work:

· Spend 5 minutes a day looking for a new job; apply for a new position inside your current company; rewrite your resume; seek a mentor for advice; get active with business networking groups; upgrade your skillset; write down a daily work goal and cross if off the list when achieved.

If you’re unhappy with your relationships:

· Start venturing out with groups of friends; reconnect daily with spouse or partner; go on regular date nights where you don’t talk about work or kids; try a new hobby or activity together; reconnect with old friends or family members.

If you’re unhappy spiritually:

· Start keeping a Bible planner, such as My Bible Planner create a meditative morning and evening routine; spend time every day doing self-care routines; seek advice from religious or spiritual leaders; listen to spiritual podcasts or music; volunteer to help the less fortunate.

As you can see, there’s no magic wand that can change your level of happiness. It’s up to you to take the action and to implement these tiny steps toward your ultimate goals. Need a system to work through this process of creating tiny habits to change your life? Here’s an excellent book that helps you define the exact process that works for you — Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything by B.J. Fogg. You can do this! Time to get your life on track and come out of the fog (no pun intended, B.J.) of pandemic shutdown.

This article was previously published at https://HERLifeHacks.com

I’m educator and blogger Vicki Peel, Ed.D. I support family members trying to live good-enough, intentional, and simpler lives by sharing life hacks in the areas of Home Style, Lifestyle, and Food. Start by claiming your FREE report, Self-Care Hacks at https://HERLifeHacks.com