Doing Healthy Habits Every Day Keeps Negativity Away
Your happiness needs grooming just as much as your hair, nails, and skin.
Have you ever wondered why a co-worker or a friend or even a close family member seems happy most of the time? Chances are it’s not an accident. The happy people choose to be happy.
How do they do it? They develop a set of daily healthy habits that keep up their mental and physical health. These habits steer their lives in a positive direction.
And here’s the really good news. It’s not that hard to develop these habits. Here’s a list of daily rituals that will steer you toward happiness and a positive outlook.
1. Praise yourself
You’re the hero in your story! On a daily basis, it’s important to remember what you are doing right. Maybe you like your job. Maybe you are a good step-father. Maybe you gave a blanket to a homeless man.
What you praise yourself for can be big or small. It’s important to acknowledge the big things you do well. But don’t overlook your small kindnesses and minor accomplishments.
Cooking a good meal for your boyfriend is an accomplishment. Cleaning your office area is an accomplishment. Mark these little actions with good feedback. Studies show that people who think positively about themselves are emotionally healthier and more productive.
2. Keep track of what you ate
I am not saying you should feel guilty about eating. Enjoy every bite. But it’s a good idea to keep track of your consumption.
At the end of the day, make an honest mental or written inventory of what you ate that day. Track your meals from the first cup of coffee to the last after-dinner snack. Don’t berate or judge yourself, just do a quick food recall.
Studies show that people who do food recalls do better at managing their calorie consumption. And managing calories helps people stay within the recommended body/mass index. What you want to avoid is mindless snacking in which you take very little joy.
If you feel like you have gained more weight than normal, thermic foods might also help. Diets are usually futile, so I’m not saying to diet. But keeping track of your healthy eating habits will help you get to the right weight and stay there or at least not gain more weight.
3. Lay off the Alcohol
Alcohol is a sedative. That means it relaxes you. But it also dulls you, making you slower and less prone to good decisions. Alcohol provides a very brief party in your brain. But it will do nothing to elevate your happiness over the long haul.
Drinking a single beer or a glass of wine at the end of the day or with a late dinner can be a fine thing. But day drinking and excessive drinking leeches your energy and ambition. It comes between you and the things you intend to do. You will not grow healthy, worse it will make you prone to illness. The fewer things that you get done on your daily do list, the worse you feel about yourself.
Furthermore, alcohol packs on non-nutritive calories. In other words, it makes you fat without making you energetic. And if you gain excess weight, accomplishing your goals and feeling good about yourself become substantially more difficult. Best thing to do is to learn healthy habits that can replace the urge to want to drink alcohol.
4. Walk a dog
Walking a dog gives you energy and creates a positive bond between you and an animal that will love you unconditionally, just for taking him on a walk!
Studies show that people who own dogs are much more likely to get daily exercise than non-dog owners, and its one of the best healthy habits to start. Even just a twenty minute brisk walk keeps your heart healthy, increases your stamina, and improves your outlook.
What if you don’t have a dog? You could offer to walk your friend’s dog or even volunteer for dog walking at your local pet rescue. Dogs that are awaiting adoption desperately need their daily walks. You would be doing both of you a great service.
5. Be grateful
Life is long and hard. We all know that. But taking stock of what you do have is one of the best healthy habits. Use shower time or teeth brushing time to think about the positives in your life: a roof over your head, food in the refrigerator, good parents.
Or maybe you have none of those things, but you have your musical talent, your math ability, or your exceptional good looks. My point is that everyone has something to be grateful for. And making a deliberate note of that wealth on a daily basis leads to happiness.
Counting your blessings isn’t just a hymn, it’s a good mental health exercise and a great healthy habit for kids as well 🙂
Go ahead! Use manifestation magic for your dream life!
6. Give a compliment
Compliments are so easy. Why don’t we give more of them? Compliment your co-worker on the color of her dress or her recent award. Doing that spreads a little more positivity in the world.
Trust me. It will come back to you. The more positive your workplace, the better the culture for everyone, including you.
But don’t stop there. Compliment your husband or girlfriend or brother. You want a happy, forward-looking personal life. And this is the way to get it.
Finding reasons to compliment the people in your life forces you to look closely at them. It helps you stay up to date on what they have accomplished. And giving an unexpected compliment can be a good way to mend a relationship that may have become strained.
7. Read fiction
There’s nothing like a good novel to take you out of yourself and into a world of the imagination. Children know this. Teenagers know this. That’s why Harry Potter was so huge.
But, for some reason, grown ups lose track of how wonderful it feels to get lost in a good book. Reading not only allows us to escape the often hum drum reality of our lives. It also improves vocabulary and critical thinking.
If you loved Lord of the Rings, but you put away those childish things when you grew up and got a job, think again. Reading imaginative literature is good for you. And it doesn’t have to be War and Peace. Go ahead and read that novel they sell at the airport, or pick up a graphic novel at the library.
8. Eat some greens
Green, leafy vegetables are frequently the butt of jokes. But they are good for you. And here’s a newsflash: They taste good!
If you haven’t found a good salad or cooked greens recipe, keep trying! Maybe you don’t like kale. You don’t have to eat kale. Try red leaf lettuce with some blue cheese dressing and raisins.
Finding a dish of greens that you actually enjoy will do wonders for your health. Greens have what the weight experts call “good calorie density.” For the layperson, that means they fill you up without packing a lot of calories.
9. Make time for your passion
We don’t all love our jobs. And there’s no quick fix for that. But don’t let your thankless job rob you of the things you do enjoy. Whether it’s flying a kite, working in a soup kitchen, playing guitar, or learning salsa dancing, find time to do the thing or things you really love.
Indulging your passion releases feel-good hormones that brighten your day and help you live in the moment. Living in the moment is sometimes called “mindfulness.” Therapists recommend mindfulness as a way to combat stress, uncertainty, and poor self-esteem.
In conclusion, people often misunderstand what happiness is. Happiness isn’t just something that happens to the fortunate ones. It is within everyone’s grasp.
Happiness is mostly a choice. Live with good and healthy habits and positive narratives, and you, too, will be one of those people who always have a smile on their faces.
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