Habits
Writing in your own journal is a time machine journey of sorts. It is a voyage into the interior of who you are, where you have been, and ideally where you are going.
I have developed a lot of healthy habits in the past year, and I can say that journaling has had the greatest impact. It keeps all of my other healthy habits in-sync and progressing. I find it also keeps the bad habits at bay.
I journal on my computer when I need to really think things through, and I do it on my iPhone when I suddenly have a spark of inspiration.
Some of my other healthy habits include:
- Sweating each day (through exercise or sauna)
- Meditating in the morning or when I feel “off”
- Offering help to others without request
- Speaking less and listening more
- Logging my output before I go to bed
- Drinking a gallon of water a day
I realized that you adopt habits, both good and bad, through baby steps. The successful outcome of a mountain climb starts with the quality and intention of the first base camp, repeated through many base camps until you suddenly are on the top. The tragic fall is delicate and usually starts with a small slip.
You can start with a beer every day after work and end up snowballing a number of negative impacts on your health and mind. You can start with a daily, dynamic morning stretch and end up being able to spar 12 rounds straight in boxing.
There is a lot of great resources out there for building healthy habits, and I leave you with two that have been instrumental in my success.
iPhone app for habit making and breaking: Way of Life
Book that helps with the healthy baby steps: Essential Zen Habits
I am thankful to have my moments of journaling each day in order to be honest and asses what baby steps I am actually taking.
