‘Health is wealth’. This saying reminds us that we should be aiming to make better choices to ensure that our future is better not only with wealth but also with sound health. The major reason to stick to good health is that the wealth is likely to fade away or be nonsense in case one’s health deteriorates conditions persistently.
Your entire day is made up of the things that have become your habit; you don’t wake up, get ready and start walking to work only to suddenly remember that you do not have a job.
The repetition of an action on a regular basis with little to no conscious thought is a habit. This is such an effortless act that has embedded in a person to a point that they do not need to be reminded of it.
A child is not born knowing how to wash their hands or that they should put on clothes. As matter of fact, some will fight to get away from the water or remove the clothes when you dress them but they do it themselves later.
At this point, they are so used to these habits that they get uncomfortable if they don’t wash their hands or get dressed.
As we get to different stages of life, we start new routines that later turn into our habits but it is important to find some or add more health habits in your routines.
There are many healthy activities a person can add in the normal habits; a new routine to stay fit, emotionally recharge, mentally disconnect and more.
Morning Routine: The sun is not the enemy
Rising with the sun will give you more time to yourself since everyone and everything is still quiet. You will have more time to do some physical exercises before you start your day.
Waking up early will allow your body to be tired enough so that at the end of the day, you can also sleep early as well.
A good morning comes after a good night’s sleep. If you happen to be sleeping later than midnight, waking up early is going to be a struggle and if it is not a struggle now, it will happen later.
The body counts on sleep as a time to rest, unload and recharge so you can start a new day well rested with more energy.
Sleeping lowers blood pressure, reduces risks of stroke and heart attacks in life.
Move around
This is especially recommended to people who work in buildings with elevators, or spend hours in the same chair for a whole week, only leaving to go sit in the car and drive off home, to sit in the couch and lay on the bed.
This leads to risks of increasing blood pressure, or excess body fat around the waist and unhealthy cholesterol levels.
Moreover, sitting causes hip flexors to shorten and can lead to backaches, particularly if you are sitting in a bad posture or sitting in a chair that does not support your back.
Moving from one cubicle to another that is farther and coming back is a simple movement that does not require leaving the office. Do it a few more times during your working hours just to keep blood in your body flowing and stretch your body.
There are many more ways a person can get blood flowing.
Taking the stairs though a little boring and seem unnecessary; it allows the heart rate to increase, and improves lower-extremity strength.
If you drive to work, start parking farther so you can put in a little walk before you go back to sitting.
For young people who are not yet employed or who happen to spend time watching television, working out while you watch a 30 minute show or series will help your body greatly.
Socialize
This is something that we have made very virtual. However, socializing in person promotes a sense of belonging and security.
Since we are now allowed to gather with family and friends, we should take advantage of it and make relationships that will last.
It lowers the rates of anxiety and depression because a person will feel surrounded and will develop social skills.
Developing communication skills, learning to be confrontational, and being expressive are benefits of adding a social life in your routine.
Socializing also helps introverts and others who might deal with social anxiety, to build their very own community and feel comfortable enough to become close to other people.
Explore, try new adventures
Challenge yourself to learn something new, and give yourself a deadline.
Perhaps you have always wanted to learn a new language or how to cook dishes from all over the world but you are always preoccupied.
Set aside some time and become determined to try something new, no matter how small or big.
The unfamiliarity will make us vulnerable and leave us in doubt but once we actually start that activity or get good at it, suddenly we forget what we were scared of.
Through these experiences, we self-discover, we meet new people, some activities connect to our roots which helps preserve where we came from.
These adventures are what some people will remember you for, or they will become the stories you will tell your children or grandchildren and inspire them too.
Learn to look at yourself kindly in the mirror
Beyond everything else, who you are as a person is what matters. Most of the time, the way you see yourself is how you assume that other people see you.
Making it a point to give yourself words of affirmation everyday, will be more helpful in more ways than one.
Give yourself a minute or two just to stand in the mirror or take a picture and just stare at yourself, do not try to think of the likes and dislikes other people have about you.
Learn to love that person in the mirror, spend time with yourself, give yourself a compliment every day, avoid any negativity and learn to celebrate yourself.
Lack of self-love, will make a person have low self-esteem. It will stop a person from fighting for his career and always have a sense of missing control of their own life.
Even in relationships, they will remain with trust issues but more than this, a person who has not experienced self-love most likely has also not experienced true self-worth.
It is important to learn to love yourself, before loving other people because once you do; your happiness will depend solely on you, not the actions or words of others.
Understanding that a habit is born out of a routine is crucial. It gets us to understand that we are not born with the knowledge to do what we call habits now, because we also considered them hard at some point.
A routine requires effort, we have to learn it and force ourselves to do it.
Since a routine will become a habit after a lot of practice, it is also important to keep in mind that some routines will never become habits unless we put more effort into them.
Dedicate a specific time to the routine you are trying to make into a habit, and start slow, anticipate failure but fight for that routine that will turn into a habit to benefit your health in the long run.
