Here are 5 simple habits that have made me personally feel better over the years. Some of them might take me a little of convincing and others forgotten about for a bit though feel these are definitely beneficial habits for everyone, improving both the body and mind.
1. Cold Shower Ending; Hard habit to do and even harder to maintain. All you need to do is at the end of your deliciously warm shower turn off the heat and just leave cold on, take at least 12 deep breathes (Whim Hoff recommends 2minutes … F that!). This is great for both body and mind. Training your mind in resilience and mental toughness. As well as does a whole bunch of good stuff to your body including skin & immune system benefits. Throughout history this practice has been used and praised. Plus, it makes getting out of the shower a lot easier and your towel a lot more inviting!
2. Drink Glass of Water First Thing; In the morning your body has just gone through a 6hr+ fast of food and water. Your body needs some ‘lubrication’ to get your stomach and everything slightly rehydrated and going. As tempting as coffee or a shake is for some, a glass of water before can help wonders. Then if you really want a super morning cocktail recommend adding a slice of lemon/lime and a teaspoon of sea salt or Himalayan salt. These both provide your body with some essential nutrients that is often missed. This is recommended from a great book; Own The Day.
3. Meditate/Appreciate; Meditation is definitely becoming more of a thing lately and it is a great practice. Another great practice to go hand in hand is appreciation and gratitude that can be done before or after a small 5minute meditation session. Though Eckhart Tollie discusses if you appreciate life as a daily meditation and are appreciative the practice can almost be eliminated. He teaches everything in life can be or is a meditative experience as long as you’re fully present in your action.
4. Use the Stairs; Whenever the option is available I’d take the stairs. That’s what our body is capable of and should be able to do. People become extremely lazy and dependent on technologies that they forget what their body is capable of. Especially if you’re someone that doesn’t do much exercise this could really benefit in long run. You’d be surprised how much walking up those few extra stairs can help your body.
Personally I’m even worried about getting an electric skateboard in fear of the laziness it may lean me towards.
5. Read/Write; Reading is just learning and expanding your mind by playing with your neural pathways. One should never stop learning as you’re either growing or dying. The world is filled with interesting thoughts and to think you don’t need any more is fairly arrogant. Jordan Peterson tells us how writing is exactly like thinking. A good way to ponder and process your thoughts is to put it to paper. It’ll help you conceptualise your ideas and potentially even bring them further. Plus once it’s on paper the idea can be much more easily shared with another person almost like a USB with computers.
Summary
These are just a few habits that are very easy to incorporate into one’s life yet I feel have a much larger yield to effort ratio than a lot of other habits people try to enforce. These also do not need to be done relentlessly all the time just good ideas to think about as you go about your day.
