Any worthy achievement is a product of effort and dedication, and given that forming healthy habits isn’t a stroll in the park, no wonder why a lot of people struggle with shedding habits that make them stuck.
Giving your best to achieve a goal, but ending up just going in circles without any noticeable progress isn’t fun, at all. It’s heartbreaking.
I’ve been there, and you’ve probably been there too. It happens to a lot of people, but the good thing is, that it doesn’t have to be repeated. There are some things we can do to prevent it from happening over and over again.
If you’re working on achieving your goals, but you’re not seeing results just yet, let me give you a helping hand and share what I believe to be the core healthy habits that can help you drastically improve your life.
Start your days in a proper way
Even though it doesn’t have to be as annoying as we make it, engineering a solid morning routine is still a task many people absolutely dread. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out just how important waking up early and starting your days properly is, but it sure feels like it takes one to put it to practice.
The reality is, that starting your days early is one of the most significant healthy habits to develop, and since it isn’t nearly as easy as it may seem, every step, even the smallest one, needs to be celebrated.
That’s why making your bed the first thing upon waking up is the absolute best way to start your day.
If you wake up early and the first thing you do is make your bed, you’ve already done something a lot of people don’t do.
Making your bed in the morning gives you a sense of accomplishment and starting your day with a win, even if it’s a minor one, it’s a powerful way to set you up for a pleasant day.
Feed your mind, not only your body
The late Bob Proctor, one of the most influential personal development authors and speakers of our time (if you haven’t had a chance to see his work I strongly suggest that you do), often used to say: “The secrets of the ages are locked up in books”.
The first time I heard him say it I was taken aback, it seemed to me like the bluntest and the most profound sentence at the same time.
It really stuck with me, and I think it’s the absolute truth.
Reading, learning new things, and broadening our perspectives are definitely among the most essential healthy habits we could develop, especially in a world that is changing at such a rapid pace. Those who don’t adapt quickly take a huge risk of being left behind, and that’s something a modern man should never allow himself to be.
Read, your mind needs new ideas as much as your body needs calories (if not even more). The human brain is one of the most state-of-the-art gadgets and allowing it to become dull and apathetic is nothing short of a crime.
Get movin’
Doing something good for your body every day, whether it’s walking, pushups, going to the gym, or swimming really goes a long way.
It doesn’t matter which activity you choose, getting some exercise is essential for both physical and mental wellbeing. Develop a habit of being more active, and the benefits will be much greater than just toned muscles.
The effect that physical health has on mental health is huge, and daily exercises are one of the best aids in the battle with anxiety and depression.
Get out of the house, and go take a walk in nature.
F*#k it, take up calisthenics. There probably are some abandoned pullup bars and workout machines in your neighborhood park nobody has used since Clinton’s administration.
Do whatever you want, just take your behind off the couch.
Make decisions quickly
Indecisiveness is one of the most significant stepping stones on a lot of men’s paths to becoming successful.
Men need to make decisions quickly. They need to stick to them. And the decisions themselves need to be good.
Now when you’re just a single guy the decisions you make don’t bear as much responsibility as they would if you were a husband and a father of 4, but nevertheless, both you and the family guy need to adopt a decision-making mentality if you wanna be strong valuable men.
The importance of quick and well-measured decisions is immense, and the more you practice the better you’ll get, so drop your fears, and take charge of your life today.
Everyone around you will see you like a stronger man, but that’s not the important part. The part that truly matters is that you’ll see yourself as one.
Explore your inner world
Demotivation has almost reached the status of normalcy.
Now I know that the word ‘spirituality’ has been thrown around quite a bit, almost to the point of meaninglessness. But nevertheless, spirituality is one of our most essential needs, and the fact that everyone tries to be more spiritual just emphasizes its importance.
We need to attain some sort of spiritual fulfillment to feel good in our own skin, and the lack of that feeling may be the cause of the declining mental health of our generation. Now, this is just my guess, but I think I might be onto something, who knows.
The fact of the matter is, once you feel the connection to some universal good greater than you, your life just opens up. It doesn’t matter which step you choose to take first. Whether it’s yoga, meditation, or breathwork. Maybe you’re a bit further along the spiritual way than the average Joe, it doesn’t matter,
The only thing that matters is that you’re reaching out to the Universe. It will respond in its own time. Extend your arms to it, it’s your only job.
Embrace the positivity
‘Think positive thoughts.’ Now that’s another big fluff people use to fill their Instagram bios.
If positive thoughts alone haven’t really attracted your desired outcome, try switching your perspective.
Instead of just repeating positive thoughts in your head and getting angry that you can’t get rid of that negative one, try embracing positive feelings.
Give enough power to each positive thought, visualize, nurture it, and repeat it every morning and every night until it becomes charged with positive emotion.
In sted of just thinking a bunch of random positive thoughts, start working on one positive thought at a time, and transform it into a positive feeling.
Instead of thinking “I work hard” and getting angry that you’re not really working all that hard, start seeing yourself work hard. Visualize your workdays from start to finish and completely bathe yourself in the feeling.
Give nothing but a positive push to each thought, and before you know it, it’ll manifest.
Recommended read
- Overcoming Procrastination: How To Boost Productivity for Men
- Ultimate Goal Achievement Strategies That Will Bring Epic Results
Healthy habits for the end of the day
How you end your days is even more important than the way you start them.
I often like to say that a productive day starts the evening before.
If you don’t go to bed on time, you can’t wake up fresh and ready to tackle your tasks.
Even if your time management was absolutely perfect, which for most people isn’t the case, you can’t expect to be healthy and productive if you’re not fully recharged.
Conclusion
Forming healthy habits isn’t a simple task to take on, but it’s worth every drop of sweat.
Not to put pressure on you, and convince you that you have to be a better man, or to imply that you aren’t good enough. That’s not my goal. Nor do I think it to be true.
What I believe to be an absolute truth is, that a lot of men wish to become better, not only for themselves but for the people around them. A lot of men wish to learn more about forming healthy habits as an answer to the warrior inside them that pushes them to enter yet another battle. There’s nothing wrong with it. It’s in our nature to wish to better ourselves.
It only becomes wrong if we or people around us suffer because of it. If nobody suffers, and if no toxic pattern of behavior is encouraged, self-improvement becomes a blessing.