7 Tiny Habits to Improve Your Life 7-Fold in the New Year
Little Things to Improve Your Life in 2022 and Beyond
In the spirit of 7's, I have likely read about seven hundred books, articles, stories, and blog posts about self-improvement over the past 7 years. After doing so, I can help save you from having to do the same and have come to the conclusion that the two most powerful things that you can do are to improve your mindset and improve your habits.
Since habits entail actually doing something, or in other cases stopping doing something, it is even more powerful than improving your mindset. Adopting the abundance mindset is great and something that I, myself, have been working to improve upon for the past several years, but it is not as great as taking concrete actions to better oneself.
Successful people are simply those with successful habits. And it does not always have to be something monumental, like going from a total couch potato to a workout fiend.
Small habits can have a large effect. Things like how you spend your morning, how you talk to yourself, how you read and think, and how you spend your daily energy are all things that will change your life for the better.
Consider the following 7 tiny habits that, combined, could improve your quality of life seven-fold this coming year.
1. Read
Reading will turn you into a better thinker. Think that you don't have the time? It doesn't need to be three hours a day like I used to do! Make it 30 or 60 minutes every day. You will enjoy and increase it after some time. Perhaps even right away if you find articles or posts that are meaningful for you or a book that you just can't put down.
2. Set your alarm half an hour earlier
It's a good hack that gives you some extra time in the morning for exercise, reading, walking like I do, or even having a full breakfast. You will have more time to do all you need to do before leaving the house and saving you from being always late.
3. Have a "to-do list"
A list always helps!
It improves your memory, increases productivity, and helps with motivation.
It's true that sometimes I put some simple stuff and things that I have to do in the normal course of going about my business so I can check a few things off my list. But the way I think and am self-motivated, once I check two or three things off of my list, it seems logical to move on to the next item on it.
4. Try to Eat Better
Know what is healthy and what is not.
Take some time to find your healthy desired foods. It is important that you enjoy eating them or you will not continue this style of eating.
It is true that shopping organic at Whole Foods will cost you more than generics at Aldi, but if you scan the grocery store fliers every week like we do and shop more selectively, you may find it possible to up your food preparation and eating game.
You need not go from a fast food and junk food consumer to a gourmet organic-only person, but if you replace one bag of chips or a few cookies with an apple, you will feel better about yourself and it will benefit you in the long run.
5. Get Moving!
So many of us don't move enough! Always working, sitting, and driving.
A healthy body allows you to get more done, be happier, sleep better, and reduce your level of stress.
Stretch on a regular basis, hit the gym, or take a nice walk and see some trees and grass. Why not?
Personally, walking serves as my primary form of exercise. Furthermore, I prefer to walk in areas where I am exposed to some natural settings.
Numerous studies conducted by scientists working in various disciplines across the world have shown us the importance of exposure to the outdoor world for our health and happiness. People recover from stress quickly and more completely in natural spaces.
Even if you live in an urban setting, I assume that there is some park that you can get to, to get away from the hustle and bustle and get a few thousand steps in.
6. Start a side hustle
It is a well-known adage that working for others only or being too reliant on only one source of income is risky and makes it an uphill battle to generate meaningful wealth.
Starting a side hustle is one of the smartest financial moves you can make right now. With the economy shaky, no one can have too much income diversity. Even people in seemingly secure public sector jobs like mine have been hit with furloughs and layoffs since Covid-19 struck.
7. Sleep better
A lack of sleep at night can make you cranky the next day. If you sleep well, you wake up feeling rested. This helps your energy levels soar and then life's constant little challenges will not annoy you as much.
Personally, I spend many hours late at night watching YouTube videos about making money, minting NFTs in the hope of generating additional income, and (lately) writing stories to submit to Medium and Vocal Media.
This is on top of spending up to ten hours per day working, with several walks before, during, and after work, and striving to be a great family man.
I should and must do better in this regard. Taking in so much of the "blue light" so late at night throws off my sleep patterns much of the time as my mind races and I toss and turn for hours as my wife snores away.
I have always been a light sleeper but can and will do better with this tiny hack in 2022. If I can do it then surely you can too.
There are dozens of additional habits both tiny and huge that you can adopt in the new year or at any time. The above seven are just a few, but if you do adopt some of them, you will soon find that you feel more confident, well-rested, and better prepared for your day. You may find yourself moving out of the paycheck-to-paycheck routine or, if you have already moved beyond that, may find yourself building some serious generational wealth.
As for me, I have not yet succeeded in the NFT or crypto world, but I am doing my best to eat better, adopt a more regular sleep routine, and will continue taking millions of steps every year.
When we want to change behavior, jumping headlong into a major goal with both feet often proves to be a waste of time. Instead, make tiny, incremental adjustments until they are part of your muscle memory. By starting small, you can attain big results.
My hope is that, besides earning a few dollars from this story, that at least one person will not only read it but will think hard about it and then actually change a habit to better their own life.
I hope that reader is you!
About the Creator
M. Bernard Bloom
I'm a middle-aged, middle-class family man and long-time economic development professional residing in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. Aspiring writer and NFT artist with interest in personal finance, self-improvement, and digital art.
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