Creating Healthy Habits
A habit is something you do regularly, without thought, and is usually hard to give up. They don’t have to be bad habits; healthy habits have the same definition. The key is in creating healthy habits and stopping the bad ones.
You probably don’t even recognize some of your actions as habits because they are so ingrained.
Common bad habits might include…
- Skipping breakfast
- Being Late
- Always apologizing
- Smoking
- Snacking late at night
- Procrastination
- Interrupting people
- Not flossing
- Constantly checking your phone
- Overspending
One of my worst habits is not having a routine. I tend to “shoot from the hip” way too often and don’t take the time to plan out my work, days, food, exercise, etc. I know what I need to be doing to be healthy, successful, or productive, but things do not get done because I don’t plan.
A few healthy habits I would like to create…
- Drink lemon water in the morning
- Exercise for 45 minutes a day
- Cook healthy meals at home
- Plan out my posts and get ahead
- Schedule my week to fit in work, play, and household chores.
Motivation and Willpower
To create healthy habits, motivation and willpower are necessary.
Motivation is easy. I truly want to be healthy, and I can find motivation everywhere I look with my friends, family, strangers, or on the internet.
Willpower is a completely different story. My husband and daughter have great willpower. I envy them for that. Just last week, my daughter and I did a weekly challenge of no alcohol, and I caved 4 days in because I was at the cabin, which is a trigger for alcohol. Of course, she made it the whole week. She even went to a party and didn’t drink.
So, needless to say, I have some work to do.
I found a few quotes for creating healthy habits. That is my motivation. Now we will work on willpower.
According to the Merriam Dictionary, the definition of willpower is the ability to control yourself or strong determination to do something difficult.
9 Quotes for Creating Healthy Habits
“Successful people aren’t born that way. They become successful by establishing the habit of doing things unsuccessful people don’t like to do.” William Makepeace Thackeray
Find the determination to do something different. Create a habit of doing something that makes you uncomfortable. Everything new that you do will be uncomfortable at first. Push past that. You will be ahead of 95% of other people trying to change a habit. Maybe that is making cold calls for work, skipping the alcohol at parties, not going to fast-food restaurants, or getting up early to exercise.
“You’ll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.” John C. Maxwell
Create a routine for your day. I am currently reading The Morning Miracle by Hal Elrod, and he emphasizes the power of a morning routine. His routine includes Silence, Affirmations, Visualization, Exercise, Reading, and Scribing. (S.A.V.E.R.S.). With his motivation, I am working on my own morning routine. It will look like this:
Wake up at 5:30 am, drink a glass of lemon water, do yoga, write my affirmations and meditate. Write before I check my emails or social media. I will then check the daily to-do list that I created on Sunday night.
Related Post: 32 Morning and Evening Routine Ideas
I’ll keep you posted on my progress!
“The secret to permanently breaking any bad habit is to love something greater than the habit!” Bryant McGill
If you have read anything that I have written on Living Marvelously, you know that I preach how loving yourself first leads to living your best life. Love yourself and your health more than you love those French fries or late-night snacks. If you are saving for a new house, love the idea of providing a better space for your family more than another pair of shoes. Control the urges to do what you have always done.
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act, but a habit.” Aristotle
Waiting until the last minute to get your work done does not provide you the time necessary to make it excellent. Not planning your meals for the week leaves you scrambling and probably reaching for something quick and unhealthy. Repeatedly plan and be excellent. Don’t always take the easy way out.
“If your habit doesn’t line up with your dream, then you need to either change your habits or change your dream.” John Maxwell
I vote for the habits; never give up on your dreams. One of my dreams is to write a book. To do that, I need to write every day. That needs to become a habit for the book to materialize. As part of planning my days, plan in time to write.
“Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.” Jim Rohn
In my post, “7 Easy Tips to Develop a Strong Self Discipline”, I wrote that success comes from the actions you take consistently, and self-discipline allows you to do that. One way to develop self-discipline is to create routines to support your goals. (Read the post for more tips.) Those routines will then turn into habits, and you will reach your goals in no time.
“Small daily improvements are the key to long-term staggering results.” Fitspo.com.au
This has been said in different ways already, but what I like about this is the word small. To build your willpower, start with small behaviors. Drinking water when you wake up, taking the stairs instead of an elevator, cleaning a small space every day, or eating a piece of fruit before work.
“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”
I would add that willpower triggers the change. Make big goals and then be determined to make them happen. Use all of the control you have to do things differently and change your bad habits into habits that make you a healthier, happier you!
Creating healthy habits is the key to living a healthy life. You will thank yourself when you are older.
One last quote from Hal Elrod.
“No single skill is more important for you to learn and master than controlling your habits.”
Find some motivation, trigger your willpower, change your habits and go after those big goals!
You can find the above quotes on my Resources page under Personal Development as a printout if you want to keep them in front of you for motivation!
Other Posts You Might Enjoy:
7 Effective Ways to Break Bad Habits
8 Daily Habits to Help You Make the Most of Your Life
Motivational Quotes and Affirmations to Help You Make the Most of This Life
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