Positive Habits

Hi everyone, just wanted to say thank you for all your comments, likes and feedback so far. Most importantly thank you for taking time out to read this blog. Since starting just over a month ago, The Balancing Path has almost reached 600 readers. I continue to hope that the blog can help everyone in some way. There are many great self help books written by successful authors. I've used these books as a tool to learn and develop life skills to overcome any challenge. I found the most impact from books when I could relate to the author. I hope that all readers can relate to my journey and believe that if I can do it, then you can do it. I am not an expert but I will try to my best to share what I've learnt and what has worked for me. You can use me as a motivator to achieve your dreams. 

'My Back Story'

Having positive habits is a key to reach a fulfilling life. Why? Because when you have bad habits, you spend too much energy repairing the damage your habits have caused. Having good habits sets the foundation and all your energy will be directed towards your growth. It allows you to make the most of everything. It won't be easy to develop positive habits and I've learnt it the hard way through many trial and error. 

What is your motivation? To have the inner strength to develop positive habits, you need to have a strong motivational factor. It is difficult and takes time so if you don't have the inner strength and self discipline then you won't be able to develop those habits. So first ask yourself why do you want to develop these habits? Write all your reasons down. I find that writing it down helps to materialize my thoughts and forces me to take responsibility for achieving it. My motivational factors for forming positive habits are health, time management and growth which in turn helps me to achieve all my definitions of success in life. I also want to develop positive habits in order to teach my children the same. It usually takes me about 2 weeks to form a habit. Majority of people have said 3 weeks but it could take you more or less time depending on your self discipline and depending on the habit you want to form. The constant variable in this case is having strong motivational factors which gives you the inner strength to keep pressing on. 

'Define your success'

Reflect on what you are currently doing. Again, write down a list of all your negative habits that could potentially be switched into a positive habit. Make one change at a time  and remember to take small wins and celebrate each success. For example, if you want to improve your health, start by looking at what you have for breakfast. If you don't have breakfast, aim to start having breakfast. If you have breakfast already, look at what foods you could take out or what foods you could include to improve your health. After you have positive habits for breakfast, you could then work on your habits for lunch and dinner. Eventually you will greatly improve your diet and ultimately health. This is just a simple example and you can bring this concept to everything you do in life. Other examples include habits in exercise, habits in spending, habits at work, habits at home, all this just to give you an idea of how powerful developing positive habits can be. Imagine you could get rid of all negative habits in every area of your life and turn each of them into a positive habit. How great would that be? 

Stay committed and stay strong. Acknowledge to yourself that these new habits will be hard to form. It will take a lot of hard work, time and dedication. Set yourself this expectation so when you get knocked back you can pick yourself back up and keep pressing on. Do it over and over again everyday, eventually you will get there. Plan for failure so you will not be afraid of failure. You will only get stronger and stronger. Take small steps, one habit at a time. 

Having positive habits not only allows you to grow but it also allows everyone around you to grow. Be a role model for your children and everyone around you. When you have positive habits, your children will also see this. They will pick up these habits and use it in their lives. A child is very intelligent and their brains are constantly learning. If they see positive they will be positive and vise versa. So be careful of the habits you are instilling in them, you may not even realise it. Your positive habits can also radiate to your friends, colleagues, and anyone you talk to. As you can see,  you are capable of making a positive change not only in your life but in the lives of others around you. 

Remember to find your motivation, reflect on your current habits, stay strong and be a role model. If I can do it, then you can also do it. Take small steps and celebrate each success. 

If you enjoy reading this, please like, share, comment and continue following 'The Balancing Path'. In the upcoming blogs, I hope to share my ideas on developing your mental, physical and spiritual strengths. 

Book recommendation: 
Million Dollar Habits by Brian Tracy