Change Your Habits, Change Your Life: Path to Overall Health and Wellness

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” —Aristotle

Roughly 45% of our daily activities are habitual—that is, we perform them without much thought.  For example, making your bed every morning is a habit. And so is throwing your clothes on the floor after getting undressed from work. See, you’ve done these things over and over for a long time that they developed into habits, both good and bad.

A healthy and happy life may not be achieved overnight, but you can start changing your bad habits with good ones. Here are 5 habits that you can develop:

Drink more water

Our bodies are made up of 60% of water. Getting enough water is essential for our health and wellness. It helps our body perform its functions, such as digestion, metabolism, circulation, and regulating our temperature. We also lose a lot of fluids when we sweat and urinate, so drinking water on a regular basis will help make up for it. 

To make sure that you’re getting the amount that you need, bring a reusable water bottle wherever you go. A 1-liter bottle will help you keep track of your water intake—fill this up as you go about your day.

You can also drink water after every meal and ditch the soda and other sugary drinks. If you want to add more flavor to your water, you can add a wedge of lemon, lime, or cucumber.

Get out and see nature

Spending time outdoors helps ease your stress and provides a positive impact on your overall well-being. Thus, if you want to improve your physical and mental health, make it a habit to regularly go out and immerse yourself in nature.

Instead of spending an entire afternoon on the couch watching Netflix, put on your running shoes and go on a walk in the park. Spend a day at the beach with your dog, just listening to the waves crashing and the sun hitting your skin. Or better yet, go on a hike to the mountains during the weekend.

Have a positive and optimistic mindset

“Think positive” might feel cliche, but it actually provides positive benefits to your mental and physical health. It reduces stress, improves your cardiovascular health, and even boosts your immune system. 

How do you develop a positive and optimistic mindset? It starts with identifying the areas in your life that you often think negatively about. It could be your work, friendships, or even yourself. Replace them with positive self-talk, affirmations, and gratitude.

It also helps if you surround yourself with positive people. Remember that the people you spend a lot of time with can influence your life. If you surround yourself with optimistic and supportive people, then your mindset will also become positive.  

At haws, soon, you can partner with psychologists to help or assist you with your mental health concerns.

Stretch and move your body

Physical activity is extremely important to keep us healthy and well. However, not all people can commit to working out every day. So, to ensure that your body gets the physical activity it needs, make it a point to stretch and move your body often.

This is especially helpful for people who spend a long time sitting down. Take a few minutes to get up and stretch your muscles. Straighten your back, walk up and down the corridor, and stretch your neck and shoulders. You can also consider taking the stairs instead of the elevator when going up a floor.

Practice self-love

We hear the term “self-love” very often, and while it’s extremely important to practice this habit, a lot of people don’t know what exactly it means.

Simply put, self-love is treating yourself with kindness, compassion, and concern. Sure, it involves making yourself feel good: giving yourself a makeover, getting a massage, putting on face masks, eating ice cream, and binge-watching a rom-com. However, it’s also so much more than that. 

Self-love also entails eating healthy, paying off your debt, and rekindling (or ending) a friendship. Anything that makes you grow as a person and contributes to your physical and mental well-being—that’s self-love.