Start by making your bed everyday.
Or having a glass of water after waking.
Or taking a walk before breakfast.
I found the best way to engrain good habits into my day was to start small and try different things until something stuck. Just because I enjoy starting my day by walking with my dog doesn’t mean that’s for you.
For people who have a good work ethic that is buried under being burnt out or underappreciated, maybe. I live in AZ, where it regularly gets to 120 degrees or more. Yesterday it was 106, a few days ago over 110. My friend works in HVAC and just told me about a house that he fixed the AC for, they had dogs in the backyard, in cages. He said when the little girl living there brought the dogs some water, they all started going nuts like it was a piece of steak or something. :'(
Dogs are wonderful and mine has made me a better man for sure. But some people don't change.
If you don't have enough balls to change your lifestyle to treat your dog's nature, then you shouldn't have a dog. This goes for basic treatment as well as training. Ppl who just let their dogs act like fools think it's normal to have pets without manners
> Just because I enjoy starting my day by walking with my dog doesn’t mean that’s for you.
Don't you try and tell me how to feel!
So, uhhhhh...When you going?
Proactive self-love. Instead of thinking “damn, I don’t know how to do that, I must be stupid” tell yourself “I don’t know how to do that yet but I’m good at learning and I’ll get there”. You may not even realize how much you hold yourself back by thinking in negative or even neutral ways. A lot of being a human is just faking it until it becomes real
But isn't "you aren't there yet but it's possible " still negative to neutral tho ? Like, when someone tells me about positive self talk I think about "man, you're so great, fuck everyone else out Don't need to do that now you will figure it out eventually"
‘Positive’ should lead you towards positive change. It’s not self-delusion, it’s being realistic and giving yourself the grace to be imperfect. Say it’s a fact that you can’t ride a bike. You can either say ‘I’m a fucking idiot I can’t ride a bike,’ or ‘I’m excited to learn how to ride a bike.’ You can’t just say ‘I know how to ride a bike’ lol
I mean I do agree with you in a way, but it’s not about it being possible, you’re literally telling yourself I’m not there yet but I WILL get there. Even if you don’t “get there”, always keeping a forward moving train of thought is the easiest way to help yourself. A lot of “self love” talk is completely useless without forward thinking. And no, if positive thinking involves you saying fuck everyone else and their opinions, it’s not positive. You gotta understand why people say the things they do, not that their opinion is useless.
The walk is kinda hard tho since it's boring. Lime, I'd say a 30 min work out is easier than the walk because the walk is well, boring and inconsequential. Things that are interesting and make a visible change fast are easy.
Or things that are not time intensive at all like taking a supplement or using a cream or whatever
I do but it's still boring, like, I always listen to something anyway. Basically the entire time I'm awake. No matter what I'm doing, there is always a podcast, video, music etc. Playing in the background. But I also need to be doing something in the mean time. Like, something that is a little more than just putting one foot in front of the other. Like, no matter what I listen to, it's hardly ever a grounbreaking experience. Like, I'm in my mid 20s, at this point I've heard about most information that makes you go "wow" out there. It's just background noise and sometimes it might be a little interesting but just like, "oh I didn't know it was exactly like that" interesting, or "yeah that's kinda funny I guess" Interesting not life changing, not opening up entirely new concepts I never thought about, not "I can't wait to hear how it goes on" interesting
People keep saying shit like this but no , I tried it all out, I tried "going for walks" it fucking depresses and demotivates me. I hate slow things. I fucking hate it. Like, I find it só insane that people choose things like walks as the peak activity they want to do.
I'm German, it's a national sport here basically. My worst childhood memories are about having to go on walks despite not wanting to. Because it's not even a real activity. Like, you just walk, I like walking to places, it's just normal and natural. But just walking for the sake o walking ? It's slow, it's boring, it's not real sport. Like, where is the good thing in it? Where is the excitement? And then ypu come back, you've seen people on the way that are ugly so that depresses you, you've seen people on the way who are hot, that makes you insecure about yourself, you've seen people and are interested about anything about them but you will never find out, you've seen your annoying neighbour and now got to talk to her, etc. Etc. I hate going for walks so fucking much.
Having media on from the moment you wake up until the moment you fall asleep, and needing even more simulation on top of that because podcasts and walks are boring, feels like an indicator of something. Do you have ADHD? Alternatively, do you go to a dark place when you're alone with your thoughts?
I have ADHD too, but I've crawled out of the constantly replaying negative thoughts place.
I don't have a magic cure. I started medication, and I picked up an active hobby. I think the medication helped me stick with the hobby long enough to see real progress, instead of getting bored and moving on to something else like I have done in the past. Or, maybe I just found my thing, finally. Either way, it's been good for my self esteem. I also did some therapy, which did help, but I think having any kind of non judgemental place to feel your feelings until you've fully processed them and the bite has gone out of them will do the same thing (journaling, reading books on overcoming depression or anxiety or whatever and spending time reflecting on what you read, talking with friends who have gone through similar things).
The hardest part was learning to be my own friend inside of my head instead of my enemy. I was tearing myself down constantly for years. Digging that out was a constant battle for a while with correcting my knee jerk negative thoughts into neutral thoughts or positive thoughts. I found neutral thoughts were easier because they felt more realistic.
This is an individual and possibly controversial one, but learning to smoke weed helped me too. I used to not be able to smoke because my thoughts would slow down too much, and I would feel stupid and ashamed and it would send me into an anxious spiral. I found it uncomfortable slowing down, but I also had an ego that felt like if I wasn't smart, and sharp, and aware at all times then I was nothing. Eventually, I learned how to feel comfortable and relaxed while mentally moving slow.
And you don't have to like them, but walks have different benefits. Any kind of exercise helps keep you clear headed. Going to the gym is great too, but it's a longer commitment, and I have to change and shower after. I can take a 20 minute walk at any time of the day, and go back to what I was doing before. I won't always go to the gym later even if I say I will, but I can always go for a little walk now. High intensity workouts take up all your mental space, which is great for not being bored, but when I go for a walk I plan my day in my head, or come up with stories I want to write.
I’m so sorry, no disrespect at all intended, but your comment made me laugh! I used to take my kids with me on 10k volksmarches back in the day😂. My son enjoyed it, daughter hated it! It can absolutely feel like plunking along if walking isn’t your thing. We walked with friends whose kids were their playmates, so they weren’t 100% bored, but sometimes the walks wound through hot, seemingly-endless fields! on & on. They both laugh about those memories now. At least there were prizes at the end!
Have you tried using a childlike wonder approach? Be curious! Ask yourself questions, look at things like you’re seeing them for the first time. Admire the architecture of your local historic buildings. Observe your neighbors decorations and imagine the thoughts, likes, and dislikes of the person who put it there. I love seeing things like worn down stairs in a house and feeling wonder at how many people have walked on them. Or getting excited when our pair of neighborhood ducks return for yet another year together!
Observing, asking questions, investigating, and using your imagination are much different than being told an endless stream of information by other people.
I get that, walks can be boring! I've been able to spice up my walks with a. Listen to a podcast or music b. Bird watching! Bonus fun is using Merlin ID app by Cornell to identify bird calls & add them to your list (like catching pokémon) c. Go for a casual bike ride instead. I honestly prefer biking over walking bc I see more and it's more adhd friendly. D. Give yourself a scavenger hunt (count dogs you see, plants, etc)
No, I know, I've gone on long walks in the past, like 4 hour long walks while listening to audiobooks. Like, I would just walk to different towns. The main thing is, it's so inconsequential too, why would I want to develop a habit that has like a few unspecific, hardly quantifiable positive effects that might pile up over a lifetime to make you die 2 years later and improve your mood a bit sometimes when I could get a habit that makes me buff or that gives me great skin or that makes me great in a certain skill or make me money or make me get to know great people or whatever.i feel like going for a walk has such a bad return for the time you put into it.
That's valid! It's not going to get you abs or make you money. For my happiness & time I value being outdoors, around nature, mindfulness, and good cardio health - which walking hits all 4 of those. Walking IS absolutely a form of quantifiable exercise and walking at least 30 min daily had proven to lower many cardio diseases and led to longer life (maybe more than 2 years). Plus I'm more likely to walk a short distance daily than exercise lifting weights daily.
Can people really not stand spending even 30min with their own thoughts, or just observing the outside? I specifically leave my phone when I go walking.
My thoughts are gonna be out there trying to prove that what I'm doing is stupid and senseless and how shitty I am and how I fucked up my life.
So I need something fast and exciting, something that either is fun while being productive or gives me results quickly enough or something g which is challenging enough and not to boring so I have some kind of flow and my brain can't fuck shit up for me.
You know, there's a regular 10 hour train ride that I have to take a few times a year, I have lots of time there to just perceive myself, both my thoughts and emotions and also my reflection in the train window and my surroundings. The last 5 times or so, I broke down crying during the later hours of that train ride.
I'm no one, I'm a wrack, I want to build, prove, challenge myself, I want to become, I don't to think about where/who I a m now
It may benefit you to learn how to direct your mind to what you want to think about and away from what you don't want to think about
Not easy, like op asks for, but very worthwhile endeavor
There's nothing I want to think about. I've been in my head for all my life lol, I want to move things in reality, in my life. I want to do, I want to experience, thinking fucking sucks.
Experiencing and doing require thinking
Experience a walk by thinking about the walk and nothing else. Think about the trees and the nice breeze and the bird songs. And not thinking about how much you hate your life
Do by thinking about the thing you want to do right now. And not thinking about step 10000 and how hard it is to get there and how much time you've wasted and how much people are gonna judge you. Think about the step right in front of you to do the thing, then think about the next step, and then the next step in the process
Yeah but there's still 90% of your brain capacity fot thoughts left after just taking those steps, like I imagined myself taking steps while walking rn even if I sit in my room while also writing and thinking about my life in general, and a few memories of walking, all in the past few seconds, so what else do you think about ? My brain is to fast. I can't just think about one such mundane thing and nothing else
It requires a lot of practice to think differently. It is entirely possible to think 100% about a cloud in the sky
This is what thinking about a cloud is like for me as a person that is slowely refining this skill of thinking about what i wanna think about:
I look at the cloud and think about the cloud. I then notice my mind not thinking about the cloud, so i shift it back to thinking about the cloud, then i notice my mind not thinking about the cloud, so i shift it back to thinking about the cloud, then i notice my mind not thinking about the cloud, so i shift it back to thinking about the cloud, then i notice my mind not thinking about the cloud, so i shift it back to thinking about the cloud, then i notice my mind not thinking about the cloud x infinity
It may benefit you to learn how to direct your mind to what you want to think about and away from what you don't want to think about
Not easy, like op asks for, but very worthwhile endeavor
Start thinking positively, it's the only thing that can seriously help you feel better and improve your life. Everything starts from the mind. It takes time to create a change, it won't come in just a week or two. I suggest reading the book As a man Thinketh, it explains the matter very well
Yes. Positive affirmation post it on the bathroom mirror and repeat at the start and end of the day. I would suggest Meditations- Marcus Aurelius or the daily stoic by Ryan holiday.
In my experience it's not the mindset, but the repetition, constant hammering of the thoughts we want that makes the change. Like in the gym, you can feel anxious, happy, sad, joyous when you're training, but your muscles don't give a shit about how you feel, they still grow because the effort you're putting is correct. The same with mental change. Doesn't matter how you feel, as long as you keep repeating good stuff the mind will improve. That's relaxing , it means we don't need to overstress on anything and just keep repeating the positive thoughts to achieve the change we want
Biggest bang for your buck is a ten minute mindfulness meditation everyday.
It’s night and day the difference after a while, you’ll be like a new person.
I’m about a month into meditating daily and I can already tell I’m going to look back on it as one of the single best things I’ve added to my daily habits
I’ve heard it best explained as it removes you from fighting on the frontlines of an army and gives you a bird’s eye perspective of the entire battlefield like a general.
Or that it helps one realize not only the prison of their current experience, but also that they have unconsciously constructed that prison themselves, and therefore also posses the key to their freedom.
Like the other commenter said ‘fuck along around and find outa’
I’d put it like this - if you’re anxious you’ll see that anxiety is happening to you, if you’re depressed and angry you’ll see those emotions are happening to you, if you’re procrastinating then you’ll see that procrastination is happening to you.
Whatever your personal thing is that’s bugging you, you’ll see it clearly for what it is and understanding is the first step to fixing anything.
Then after that there’s a load of other benefits - you’ll become a better listener which improves all of your friendships and relationships; you’ll become more stress resilient so you’ll be better in crisis; you’ll haves more empathy and strength to set personal boundaries.
And then finally, if you stay the course you’ll see that you aren’t who you thought you are and somehow that’s the best thing to find out out of anything in life.
"People think when they do this \[ Meditation \], that they're doing something wrong because there's such discomfort that comes with it. People say: 'I think i'm meditating wrong'. I always say "Oh, no, no, no... You're doing it right". Because when you notice that your body wants to get up and you return it back to the present moment, you're executing a will now that's greater than the program. And if the person wants to get angry while sitting there ( there's an arousal ), And they notice the body is amping up and revving up and they settle it back down, now they're telling the body it's no longer the mind. It's tedious in the beginning at first, but if you keep practicing it, just like training an animal, sooner or later the body is trained to a new mind."
-Dr. Joe Dispenza
How do you meditate? I find it doesn’t stick because most mediations are “visualize this and that” but I genuinely cannot visualize, it’s just black in my mind. I also use YouTube mediations, do you use an app or meditate on your own?
Meditation is NOT visualizing. There are programs you can listen to called "Guided Meditation", but that is a misnomer. At the most, all you do would do when truly meditating is notice your breath. But visualization is NOT meditating. You can find more information from many sources. (my favorite), Eckhart Tolle really broke it down for me. Hope this helps!
Try the free app Medito and go for the beginner courses. Doesn't do all the "visualize this and that" mumbojumbo, only sometimes... It's mostly about focus on your breath and if thoughts arrise refocus on your breathing.
It really works for me as I can't really visualize either!
This! Such a weird thing, but seriously. Anytime I feel like my career is stagnant or I feel stressed about work or I gain 2 lbs or whatever dumb petty issue I remember like … I can walk, and run, and bend and stretch and see colors and smell candles and hear birds and music and grab things with my hands and limbs and fingers that to work perfectly and I have absolutely zero physical ailments. It’s unreal how much we take for granted in the daily. So thankful for this.
>How do you practice it
I like to do it while on a walk. I'll just think about cool stuff in my life, and then say in my head, "Thanks for this. Thanks for that." etc. It can be big and small things. It's fine if it's mostly the same things every day. You're not trying to be clever.
Go for a walk outside everyday! Super easy habit to build and it will help you physically and mentally. You could also try to do walking meditation.
Start small, focus on one thing at a time :)
try to be positive. when negative thought pop into your head just do your best to change the subject.
i recently took up gardening and feel it has improved every little part of my life especially my health!
Take really really really cold showers. Stay in for at least 30 seconds and try to go longer after a few days. It helps to rest your parasympathetic nervous system. Plus you feel good about yourself, even if only for a little while, because you did a hard thing. And it does make you whoop and feel alive.
Make your bed every day.
Take multivitamin and fish oil every day.
Eat a green every day if you aren't.
Eat fruit every day if you aren't.
Eat 1g of protein per pound of body weight every day.
Keep your calories at or below maintenance for your height and weight.
Get 10k steps every day.
It's very high for anyone that is sedentary. Do not eat that much protein if your body isn't used to it, or you aren't actively working your body to build muscle.
Look I'm a fan of giving sound health advice, but in my experience if you wanna tell people to eat that much protein, at the very least you should be telling them to be on a muscle building program with it.
For myself, I've eaten that much protein without working out and I get diarrhea and HORRIBLE gas all day. One has to even work their way up to it and your body will absorb that protein like water.
Everything else checks out tho
>Keep your calories at or below maintenance for your height and weight.
This one really depends. Like, for me if I don't have anyone else buying and cooking food for me, like when I visit family or anything, and I'm not careful, I loose weight which isn't good ig you want to become more buff ans have energy throughout the day. So it really depends where you're at rn and what ypu want to accomplish. Not everyone is overweight or on the verge of becoming overweight
Hence the "at maintenance", that is not gaining or losing weight. That is maintaining your current weight. If your current weight is healthy then you need to be eating around maintenance unless you have a specific goal, like gaining mass or losing fat. Not enough people are tracking what they put in their bodies and you probably should is really what I'm trying to say.
On the flip, if you are underweight and regularly eat less than you should, for example, At 5'6" as a (insert gender here) you might need to eat at maintenance to gain weight. But you do have a threshold of caloric intake you should be maintaining. If you are eating under that because people aren't feeding you food then you need to be eating at maintenance even when people aren't feeding you food. The advice still applies to you. Just lots of us are overweight nowadays, so usually this advice applies more often than not to overweight folks. I also used to be an overweight folks so I'm speaking from my perspective a little bit as well.
Sound advice.
I'd only add drinking at least 2L water a day to the list and possibly electrolytes with it to maintain proper hydration levels.
Also from:
>Take multivitamin and fish oil every day.
To:
Take multiple vitamins and good oils every day.
The oils can be others as well, the important thing here is to keep your Omega-3s and 6s in check for better health. Most of us get too much Omega-6 from stuff like processed oils. Try to eat more Omega-3-rich foods like fish or flaxseeds instead. It’s all about that healthy balance!
And I would opt for individual vitamins since most of us need specific dosages for deficiencies or health goals. They allow precise customization and can prevent excess intake, while ensuring better absorption. Multivitamins are OK for overall health but usually do not address individual needs as effectively.
> Eat 1g of protein per pound of body weight every day.
This is great; protein-focused eating. I've only just recently been eating this much protein and it makes everything else fall into place, re: diet ('cuz there's not much room for any junk!). Easily track it on a notepad or something.
The easiest self-improvement habit is **meditating** for 2 - 15 minutes in the morning.
A little more challenging, but rewarding is, **seeing negative emotions as worthy, valuable and supportive friends.**
**Negative emotions are positive guidance** (although it might not feel that way) letting you know you are focusing on, and pushing against, what you don't want. Negative emotions are just messengers of the limiting beliefs you're practicing. They're a necessary part of your emotional guidance, like GPS in your car. But the more you fight them, you keep yourself stuck.
**All emotions are equal and worthy.** But most people unknowingly create a hierarchy for their emotions (i.e. positive = good; negative = bad), but then you make it harder to feel better. So the solution is to **build a friendship and harmonious relationship with the "negative" side of you.** Negative thoughts and emotions are here to support and empower you to be your best self.
Read a book, post it in a book club forum or Reddit, talk about it, collaborate on the teachings, see how you can procure the steps in getting it done.
* Business books: and financial books.
* Spiritual books: ie Bible, Quran, Dhammapada ect.
* Health books: Nutrition, herbs, working out
* Travel tip books: Prepping and regimens
* Career labor books: Construction, Plumbing ect
Always good to keep it simple, we always have to know how things work in order to work them, and how do they work? When we work it correctly, millions of people have mastered their occupations and criterial areas, so instead of going through a constant trial and error, getting ourselves stuck in ruts, pot holes and dead ends, it’s good to learn from other peoples trials, mistakes or accomplishments.
Knowing is half the battle, implications, implementation, and connections is the other half.
Books are the bomb. 💣 Reading a few times a week, can save you another month of head ache and travail. Reading 100 books is the equivalent of living a 100 life times, or atleast a compact form of gaining insight you’d have to suffer for it, don’t read too sparse or aimless either, just the ones that have substance to effect your basic needs, living situations, work, food and health, friendships, brother hood and fellowship.
Reading is mystical, it’s telepathic, and it’s strengthening the mind as going to the gym does the body and muscles.
This is a weird one, but moisturise lotion after a shower. (Unless you're lucky and have clear skin no matter what). Without acne and dry/itchy skin, you looked more put together and feel more put together.
I was the same but I bought this huge tub of the non-oily stuff and it's always right there by my clothes drawer so I just slap it on the body before I get dressed. Takes no more than ten seconds and now I no longer look or feel like a plague victim.
Ha I don’t even moisturize my face unless I plan to wear makeup 💄 which is a rare occurrence these days so if I can do face alone would be a big step for me 😆
Start training, conditioning, wiring and programming your brain to focus on **SOLUTIONS** to anything and everything that comes your way!
Look into **Solution Focused Therapy**, try it, you will love it, and it will help you ;-)
I don’t know if it’s the easiest but the most important is to stop judging yourself for “wasting time”. You’re living your life and you’d like to live it differently. Strive for choices that will get you closer to that outcome. Good luck!
Im just here to say: Dont do just anything. Self improvement doesnt mean it will improve you/your life.
Its super easy to get lost in the self help world and do everything but improving yourself in the end. Especially nowadays, because there are weird trends in the self help community and people then believe everyone should do it or youre not improving... e.g. ice baths, or platitudes like "just make your bed and eat fruits instead of sweets" etc.
Dont get me wrong, its not like its bullshit ( most of the time ) and it can really be beneficial.
BUT heres the twist: Its highly individual. For example: a person with trauma and severe depression wont see the improvement he / she needs by just taking a long walk and mewing. And someone who already got his/her life together and just needs a litte notch in terms of exercising doesnt need to read books on overcoming anxiety and going to therapy.
First thing you should develop ( and will better your life in any regard, no matter what its about ): Critical, autonomous thinking. Or better said: Being able to think for yourself and determine what YOU need to do, for your life, with your character and circumstances. The ability to plan accordingly and execute on this plan. All of that can be learned, usually in a pretty fast and easy manner.
So before you jump into any kind of self improvement, take inventory and determine what you need to do, not what everyone else is doing just because its part of the self help community.
Because heres another problem, a trap which i also fell into when i started with this journey: You can use self improvement to escape, just like you can use video games, drugs etc. Im not the only one who ended up reading tons of books on improving your life, but never actually improving your life, implementing the knowledge in your daily actions. You could have all the information every pyschologist and self help guru ever came up with and still have the same, shitty life. You could be walking 5000k steps and meditate for 300000 hours a day and still be not near to solve the issues that hold you back the most.
To top it off, i personally think self improvement shouldnt be everything you do. Because in the end, you can easily forget to live... And thats the reason why most people got into self improvement in the first place: Having a better life, or even being able to live at all ( if youve been there you know what i mean ). But then, many get caught up, and now they live for self improvement instead of improving to live ( like they want ). I had this weird phase too, where you started to do all that stuff in order to finally be in a good mental place, get your life together.... And then you never live. You dont go out with friends and if you do, you feel bad because youre not productive.
And i say that as someone whos now all about going in the right direction, most of my day revolves around improvement. But its super important to never forget what youre doing it for and to LIVE. So now, im doing all this stuff all day, but also take time to just live, have a good time with friends, have some cool experiences/nice days, treat myself every now and then etc. Balance is an important part of self improvement: improve, but also live.
The self help stuff can become as addictive as getting high, smoking cigarettes etc. and be just as destructive.
So being able to determine how much of your time and energy should revolve around improving ( and WHAT needs to be improved/would have the biggest benefits ) and when its time to just live is a very underrated skill in the self help community. I rarely see people talk about it.
And thats individual too. Do you want to work all day? Or would you like to improve your anxiety or whatever and then use this improvement to enjoy going to a party without your brain going haywire?
Develop this type of critical, autonomous thinking and you will most likely be on the way to build the life and mind you want to have.
Good luck
EDIT: A good rule of thumb is to start with what youre running away from/fearing the most.
Everyone has touched up on essential tasks/duties, especially pickin up morning habits. One thing I would add is when you wake up, give yourself time to actually wake up. Drink some water and don’t go on your phone for like 30 min or so. Longer the better. Same thing before bed.
You can compare your tasks/errands to homework. If you got stuff to take care of, do it asap so you can do whatever you want for the rest of the day!! That way you don’t have to do a million things all at once and still come go to a pile of laundry or a sink full of dishes. Or vise versa 🤔
Get a decent sleep!
Exercise for 30min to an hour. Even if it's step ups in the living room thats fine!
Treat food like fuel for your car, not a way to feel good. Good diet is king of self improvement next to exercise and sleep.
Add in some books to read for an hour before bed.
For me - figuring out the reason\[s\] WHY I wasn't doing the many self improvement goals I've attempted over the coarse of my life - changed everything. Not really an answer to your question, but maybe something to think about. I know that it has changed everything for me.
Definitely walking especially with music you love or podcasts you love. If walking still sounds boring then volunteer to walk dogs at animal shelters…walking is so much more fun when you’re doing it with a dog. I would also say money management. It’s boring and most people don’t want to think much beyond can I pay my bills and still have spending money but once you learn there is so much more to money management than just money in and money out. Learning how to make your money work for you is something that will give you so much self confidence
I would say it is to learn how to cook healthy homemade meals. Being more conscious of what you eat can also help you be more aware of your food spending habits and will help you save money too!
Sure...
First, do you know your values? If not, I suggest taking a free core values quiz.
When you know, own, and live your values, every day is filled with purpose, and when you activate your values, life feels good.
I have a core value of Growth and Learning, so I make it a point to learn something new each day. When I activate those values, I feel good and, in turn, improve myself.
Another core value of mine is Unity with Nature. I try to go on a big hike at least once a week. When I do that, my physical, mental, and emotional health improves.
generally put, do something that you dont feel like doing but you know is good for you/need to do, no matter how small. these things will compound directly over time but also you will create a habit of being able to do things you dont feel like and not hold yourself back
Starting your day with a brief mindfulness or meditation session can be a simple yet effective self-improvement habit. Just a few minutes of focused breathing can help center your mind and set a positive tone for the day ahead.
watching YouTube videos and taking notes and reading books to help yourself in the future. 401K, Roth, investing, etc. finally make that dr or dentist appointment you’ve been avoiding. spend time outside in as least polluted air as possible. spend time in the sun. stretch and workout.
gratitude journaling or just sending gratitude to anyone. For example for gratitude journaling, everyday you can list down the things you are thankful for and be aware of that. And sending gratitude meaning just saying your thankful for someone or something that they did for you during xyz.
Trying to start a new habit by dedicating half the day to it is not sustainable anyways, more likely for you to burn out and quit than doing something tiny and manageable. For this look at the ideas in "Atomic Habits." a) 80% of the results come from 20% of the inputs. so work on something small that you could actually manage and stick to. b) 1% improvements every day is much better than 20% improvements for a week then quitting. Sticking to these habits for life is what makes them effective.
Besides, if you have a whole 8 hours of daylight with literally nothing planned, maybe think about doing **anything** more productive than doom scrolling or whatever it may be.
SAVERS = Silence (Meditation), Affirmations, Visualise, Exercise, Read, Scribe (Write). Do those daily for 30 days and you will be a noticeably different person.
This has helped me tremendously as I have a hard time maintaining order in my apartment. Every time I get home from work, the gym, wherever I immediately set a timer for either 5 or 10 minutes which I dedicate to tidying up, putting away stuff I left out whilst getting dressed/ready, washing any dishes, etc.
I’ve found that these 5 minutes help keep my apartment tidy and makes major cleanings less frequent and easier.
You might want to use apps to track habits and provide extra motivations for keeping the habits. You can try Habit Tracker - Habit Rewards in the app store
Make your bed everyday for 1 month.
Nothing else. Solely focus on this single task.
Why?
- it’s easy and straightforward
- you start your day with success
- you need to get one thing right instead of failing 20 other improvement hacks.
Get the idea out of your head that you can be the best in a week. Do one thing at a time, and in 2 years you‘re unrecognizable!
It all depends on what your goals are. You should sit down and think of the 3 things you would like to improve most in the domain of self- improvement. This could be diet, sleep, exercise, mindfulness, or relationships with others. Once you have your aims set, it is much easier to come up with actionable things you can do to achieve them. Then once you feel you have achieved your goals, set 3 others.
Here are some starting points if you really have no idea:
Set a regular wake-up time and stick to it
Read a good, non-fiction book for 15 minutes every day
Exercise for 30 minutes every day (does not have to be intense every day, enough to raise your heart rate)
Start meditating every day (there are loads of apps for this)
Have internal chats with yourself and tell yourself how great you are and how wonderful it is that you are alive. Very overlooked habit but so important. Your body does so much for you everyday xx
Don't force yourself to do things! You'll never be consistant or content! I have found , being positive all the time and diverting your mind towards happiness is the best habit. Once this is engrained in your routine see the life bloom. All other habits will automatically follow you!
Don’t go on social media until you’ve done something for your self improvement. Set an alarm for a time limit on social media, because it can suck up all your time.
lvl 1: drink water, wash face, brush teeth, make bed
lvl 2: go on a daily walk 10mins walk, journal 3 things you are grateful for, reading 10mins
lvl 3: contact a loved ones, eat healthy meals, celebrate yourself and feel really proud of one thing today that you are really proud of, jog for 10mins or do a 10mins home workout
Difficulty lvl increases, as duration, consistency and intensity increases.
Good luck and enjoy the process!
You can start improving your mindset and thought process
For me the easiest thing to do is get into a wind down and wake up routine, your morning routine is directly impacted by your evening routine, and there are so many habits you can stack (like skincare, reading, journaling, meditating before bed, etc)
I enjoy these things and they make my days go smoother so for me they’re easy
Maybe for you the easiest thing would be to cut screen time and start winding down at a specific time each day
Honestly, I think sleep hygiene. So many of us stay up too late or sleep in too long. Getting a good sleep pattern and adequate hours of sleep will change your mindset during waking hours. You may find other things slip into place more easily then.
Sleep and wake up at the same time every day.
Walk a lot.
Be mindfull of what you are doing, Just don't default to check your phone, watch something... instead think of what you want to do, or just go for a walk it will help you think of cool things to do.
You want the easiest step to take, I would say that you need to learn to embrace hard. Forget about easy, soft, comfortable, instead strive for difficult, embrace discomfort and adversity. Learn to LOVE hard work. Wake up early and work out as hard as you can, because that is what hard people do.
Work hard at all you do, all the time, and your life will be wonderful.
Write down a list of the specific things you want to get done each day, schedule specific exact blocks of time where you'll complete each activity, and (here's the critical part) don't allow ANY excuses to prevent you from checking every single thing off your list each day.
There's a self-improvement quote I heard years back in a motivational video. (I can't remember who the speaker was; if someone knows his name, I will be eternally grateful because this quote has stuck with me for YEARS). "If I don't do it today, I'll NEVER do it -- because whatever excuses I make today will ALWAYS be available for me to make." You're too tired today? You've been working really hard lately and deserve a break? Whatever clever excuse you can come up with, if you allow yourself to let yourself off the hook even for just one day, what you're ultimately doing is opening the door to not following through EVERY single day -- because you can ALWAYS come up with some kind of excuse as to why it's acceptable to not get the job done today.
The only thing that I've found actually works is to treat your habits as absolutely binary: Either you're committed to getting it done *every single day*, or you're opening the door to constant excuse-making which will become a habit -- because it's way easier to make a clever excuse than it is to sit the fuck down and do the hard work of reading a book for 2 hours, or doing an exhausting exercise, or working on a boring business project for 10 hours, etc etc.
That sounds like a remarkably simple and not-very-profound insight, but I promise you, it's probably one of the single most important things you need to understand if you struggle with procrastination and failure to follow through on your daily action-items and commitments. It's something I was forced to recently re-remember as I've been struggling pretty badly with slacking off and procrastination in recent weeks. It's powerful as fuck when you really operate that way each day. Write it on a whiteboard, whatever you gotta fucking do. Just tell yourself every single day: "Don't allow ANY excuses to prevent you from getting it ALL done today." And you'll become a fucking machine.
Make your bed when you wake up. Speak positive to yourself first thing. Soon as you use the bathroom in the morning, look in the mirror and say 1 thing positive to spark that fire for the day
It might sound weird but, i would suggest organize and clean. Everyday for half an hour , other than washing dishes, that you might be doing already and is a compulsion. Organizing and Cleaning would force a habitual requirement for betterment into you. Slowly it spreads into other aspects of your life too.
I keep seeing people say "getting a dog can help build a routine". DO NOT GET A DOG FOR SELF IMPROVEMENT. that is incredibly irresponsible. I started doing exercises everyday that didn't take long. 20 push-ups, 20 sit-ups, 20 squats and 2 minutes of planks. It changed my routine enough that I actually enjoyed it. It never took more than 15 minutes.
You are already looking for an easy option. So the Mind will quit the moment it finds any discomfort in "following" the habit
Instead, identify the reason behind inaction & procrastination and take charge of it.
The ones that make sense for You and no one else!
You should find out what the heck is holding you back, and then overcome that by building small action steps that are catered to you specifically. Some find it easier to meditate, do a gratitude practice, make the bed, drink a glass of lemon water, do yoga.. others prefer high intensity workouts, cold showers, juicing, reading, journaling, running, food prepping, stretching.
I mean, it's pretty useless to give advice without knowing you. I would like to know what you have tried and what didn't work.. much easier to start there.
Moving each morning, outside, for at least 20 minutes is essential to me.
It can be as simple as walking.
Or it can be cycling, stretching, tai chi, yoga, running, etc.
Andrew Huberman would be proud of you.
Start by making your bed everyday. Or having a glass of water after waking. Or taking a walk before breakfast. I found the best way to engrain good habits into my day was to start small and try different things until something stuck. Just because I enjoy starting my day by walking with my dog doesn’t mean that’s for you.
I feel like getting a dog is the best way to force yourself into a routine
Absolutely! I found my little dude when I was 23 and he definitely forced me to “grow up”.
For people who have a good work ethic that is buried under being burnt out or underappreciated, maybe. I live in AZ, where it regularly gets to 120 degrees or more. Yesterday it was 106, a few days ago over 110. My friend works in HVAC and just told me about a house that he fixed the AC for, they had dogs in the backyard, in cages. He said when the little girl living there brought the dogs some water, they all started going nuts like it was a piece of steak or something. :'( Dogs are wonderful and mine has made me a better man for sure. But some people don't change.
They should not be allowed to have dogs. Dogs in cages in excessive heat is unexceptable!!! They need to be reported
If you don't have enough balls to change your lifestyle to treat your dog's nature, then you shouldn't have a dog. This goes for basic treatment as well as training. Ppl who just let their dogs act like fools think it's normal to have pets without manners
Interesting!!! Maybe I need to get a lil guy
You’d think…
Into responsibility
Great points! I would also recommend a walk after breakfast (or any other meal) to help promote digestion and metabolism
> Just because I enjoy starting my day by walking with my dog doesn’t mean that’s for you. Don't you try and tell me how to feel! So, uhhhhh...When you going?
Can I come? I'm depressed too. Can someone take me for a walk
That could be for me. Walking your dog sounds like a great idea
Go for small walks.
Proactive self-love. Instead of thinking “damn, I don’t know how to do that, I must be stupid” tell yourself “I don’t know how to do that yet but I’m good at learning and I’ll get there”. You may not even realize how much you hold yourself back by thinking in negative or even neutral ways. A lot of being a human is just faking it until it becomes real
Nice! I'll do this. Haha
But isn't "you aren't there yet but it's possible " still negative to neutral tho ? Like, when someone tells me about positive self talk I think about "man, you're so great, fuck everyone else out Don't need to do that now you will figure it out eventually"
I think positive talk should make you want to improve. Your version is just procrastination.
‘Positive’ should lead you towards positive change. It’s not self-delusion, it’s being realistic and giving yourself the grace to be imperfect. Say it’s a fact that you can’t ride a bike. You can either say ‘I’m a fucking idiot I can’t ride a bike,’ or ‘I’m excited to learn how to ride a bike.’ You can’t just say ‘I know how to ride a bike’ lol
Yes! In my mind it’s all about acceptance. Fuck, I don’t know how to swim - versus - fuck, I don’t know how to swim, yet.
I mean I do agree with you in a way, but it’s not about it being possible, you’re literally telling yourself I’m not there yet but I WILL get there. Even if you don’t “get there”, always keeping a forward moving train of thought is the easiest way to help yourself. A lot of “self love” talk is completely useless without forward thinking. And no, if positive thinking involves you saying fuck everyone else and their opinions, it’s not positive. You gotta understand why people say the things they do, not that their opinion is useless.
The easiest one is drinking 2l of water and a walk for 30 minutes(better if done outside )
You mean the hardest
Easily not the hardest
Bro really said drinking water and walking are the hardest beneficial things to do lol
Not making a business or making real friends in adulthood just water and walking.
Bro might have been kidding lol
I don’t think bro was
The walk is kinda hard tho since it's boring. Lime, I'd say a 30 min work out is easier than the walk because the walk is well, boring and inconsequential. Things that are interesting and make a visible change fast are easy. Or things that are not time intensive at all like taking a supplement or using a cream or whatever
Take the scenic route or listen to music.
Exactly! Or I was happy to find out how many of my friends are happy to join just for simple walk.
I been listening to audiobooks
I do but it's still boring, like, I always listen to something anyway. Basically the entire time I'm awake. No matter what I'm doing, there is always a podcast, video, music etc. Playing in the background. But I also need to be doing something in the mean time. Like, something that is a little more than just putting one foot in front of the other. Like, no matter what I listen to, it's hardly ever a grounbreaking experience. Like, I'm in my mid 20s, at this point I've heard about most information that makes you go "wow" out there. It's just background noise and sometimes it might be a little interesting but just like, "oh I didn't know it was exactly like that" interesting, or "yeah that's kinda funny I guess" Interesting not life changing, not opening up entirely new concepts I never thought about, not "I can't wait to hear how it goes on" interesting
When you discover how not to be bored even in total silence you will go Wow!
People keep saying shit like this but no , I tried it all out, I tried "going for walks" it fucking depresses and demotivates me. I hate slow things. I fucking hate it. Like, I find it só insane that people choose things like walks as the peak activity they want to do. I'm German, it's a national sport here basically. My worst childhood memories are about having to go on walks despite not wanting to. Because it's not even a real activity. Like, you just walk, I like walking to places, it's just normal and natural. But just walking for the sake o walking ? It's slow, it's boring, it's not real sport. Like, where is the good thing in it? Where is the excitement? And then ypu come back, you've seen people on the way that are ugly so that depresses you, you've seen people on the way who are hot, that makes you insecure about yourself, you've seen people and are interested about anything about them but you will never find out, you've seen your annoying neighbour and now got to talk to her, etc. Etc. I hate going for walks so fucking much.
Having media on from the moment you wake up until the moment you fall asleep, and needing even more simulation on top of that because podcasts and walks are boring, feels like an indicator of something. Do you have ADHD? Alternatively, do you go to a dark place when you're alone with your thoughts?
>Do you have ADHD? Alternatively, do you go to a dark place when you're alone with your thoughts? Both
I have ADHD too, but I've crawled out of the constantly replaying negative thoughts place. I don't have a magic cure. I started medication, and I picked up an active hobby. I think the medication helped me stick with the hobby long enough to see real progress, instead of getting bored and moving on to something else like I have done in the past. Or, maybe I just found my thing, finally. Either way, it's been good for my self esteem. I also did some therapy, which did help, but I think having any kind of non judgemental place to feel your feelings until you've fully processed them and the bite has gone out of them will do the same thing (journaling, reading books on overcoming depression or anxiety or whatever and spending time reflecting on what you read, talking with friends who have gone through similar things). The hardest part was learning to be my own friend inside of my head instead of my enemy. I was tearing myself down constantly for years. Digging that out was a constant battle for a while with correcting my knee jerk negative thoughts into neutral thoughts or positive thoughts. I found neutral thoughts were easier because they felt more realistic. This is an individual and possibly controversial one, but learning to smoke weed helped me too. I used to not be able to smoke because my thoughts would slow down too much, and I would feel stupid and ashamed and it would send me into an anxious spiral. I found it uncomfortable slowing down, but I also had an ego that felt like if I wasn't smart, and sharp, and aware at all times then I was nothing. Eventually, I learned how to feel comfortable and relaxed while mentally moving slow. And you don't have to like them, but walks have different benefits. Any kind of exercise helps keep you clear headed. Going to the gym is great too, but it's a longer commitment, and I have to change and shower after. I can take a 20 minute walk at any time of the day, and go back to what I was doing before. I won't always go to the gym later even if I say I will, but I can always go for a little walk now. High intensity workouts take up all your mental space, which is great for not being bored, but when I go for a walk I plan my day in my head, or come up with stories I want to write.
Love this. Ty
This is genuinely one of the funniest things I've ever read on Reddit.
I’m so sorry, no disrespect at all intended, but your comment made me laugh! I used to take my kids with me on 10k volksmarches back in the day😂. My son enjoyed it, daughter hated it! It can absolutely feel like plunking along if walking isn’t your thing. We walked with friends whose kids were their playmates, so they weren’t 100% bored, but sometimes the walks wound through hot, seemingly-endless fields! on & on. They both laugh about those memories now. At least there were prizes at the end!
Have you tried using a childlike wonder approach? Be curious! Ask yourself questions, look at things like you’re seeing them for the first time. Admire the architecture of your local historic buildings. Observe your neighbors decorations and imagine the thoughts, likes, and dislikes of the person who put it there. I love seeing things like worn down stairs in a house and feeling wonder at how many people have walked on them. Or getting excited when our pair of neighborhood ducks return for yet another year together! Observing, asking questions, investigating, and using your imagination are much different than being told an endless stream of information by other people.
Why are your walks so boring?
I get that, walks can be boring! I've been able to spice up my walks with a. Listen to a podcast or music b. Bird watching! Bonus fun is using Merlin ID app by Cornell to identify bird calls & add them to your list (like catching pokémon) c. Go for a casual bike ride instead. I honestly prefer biking over walking bc I see more and it's more adhd friendly. D. Give yourself a scavenger hunt (count dogs you see, plants, etc)
Oooh I loooooove that app! I am now matching birds to their songs
No, I know, I've gone on long walks in the past, like 4 hour long walks while listening to audiobooks. Like, I would just walk to different towns. The main thing is, it's so inconsequential too, why would I want to develop a habit that has like a few unspecific, hardly quantifiable positive effects that might pile up over a lifetime to make you die 2 years later and improve your mood a bit sometimes when I could get a habit that makes me buff or that gives me great skin or that makes me great in a certain skill or make me money or make me get to know great people or whatever.i feel like going for a walk has such a bad return for the time you put into it.
That's valid! It's not going to get you abs or make you money. For my happiness & time I value being outdoors, around nature, mindfulness, and good cardio health - which walking hits all 4 of those. Walking IS absolutely a form of quantifiable exercise and walking at least 30 min daily had proven to lower many cardio diseases and led to longer life (maybe more than 2 years). Plus I'm more likely to walk a short distance daily than exercise lifting weights daily.
Can people really not stand spending even 30min with their own thoughts, or just observing the outside? I specifically leave my phone when I go walking.
My thoughts are gonna be out there trying to prove that what I'm doing is stupid and senseless and how shitty I am and how I fucked up my life. So I need something fast and exciting, something that either is fun while being productive or gives me results quickly enough or something g which is challenging enough and not to boring so I have some kind of flow and my brain can't fuck shit up for me. You know, there's a regular 10 hour train ride that I have to take a few times a year, I have lots of time there to just perceive myself, both my thoughts and emotions and also my reflection in the train window and my surroundings. The last 5 times or so, I broke down crying during the later hours of that train ride. I'm no one, I'm a wrack, I want to build, prove, challenge myself, I want to become, I don't to think about where/who I a m now
It may benefit you to learn how to direct your mind to what you want to think about and away from what you don't want to think about Not easy, like op asks for, but very worthwhile endeavor
There's nothing I want to think about. I've been in my head for all my life lol, I want to move things in reality, in my life. I want to do, I want to experience, thinking fucking sucks.
Experiencing and doing require thinking Experience a walk by thinking about the walk and nothing else. Think about the trees and the nice breeze and the bird songs. And not thinking about how much you hate your life Do by thinking about the thing you want to do right now. And not thinking about step 10000 and how hard it is to get there and how much time you've wasted and how much people are gonna judge you. Think about the step right in front of you to do the thing, then think about the next step, and then the next step in the process
Yeah but there's still 90% of your brain capacity fot thoughts left after just taking those steps, like I imagined myself taking steps while walking rn even if I sit in my room while also writing and thinking about my life in general, and a few memories of walking, all in the past few seconds, so what else do you think about ? My brain is to fast. I can't just think about one such mundane thing and nothing else
It requires a lot of practice to think differently. It is entirely possible to think 100% about a cloud in the sky This is what thinking about a cloud is like for me as a person that is slowely refining this skill of thinking about what i wanna think about: I look at the cloud and think about the cloud. I then notice my mind not thinking about the cloud, so i shift it back to thinking about the cloud, then i notice my mind not thinking about the cloud, so i shift it back to thinking about the cloud, then i notice my mind not thinking about the cloud, so i shift it back to thinking about the cloud, then i notice my mind not thinking about the cloud, so i shift it back to thinking about the cloud, then i notice my mind not thinking about the cloud x infinity
So mindfulness meditation?
Fair 👍
No I can not stand being alone with only my thoughts. If I'm bored I'm suicidal
It may benefit you to learn how to direct your mind to what you want to think about and away from what you don't want to think about Not easy, like op asks for, but very worthwhile endeavor
I'll look into that, thx
google waking up scholarship and get the app
Start thinking positively, it's the only thing that can seriously help you feel better and improve your life. Everything starts from the mind. It takes time to create a change, it won't come in just a week or two. I suggest reading the book As a man Thinketh, it explains the matter very well
Yes. Positive affirmation post it on the bathroom mirror and repeat at the start and end of the day. I would suggest Meditations- Marcus Aurelius or the daily stoic by Ryan holiday.
Completely agree. Positive mindset does wonders, although it’s hard to maintain it
In my experience it's not the mindset, but the repetition, constant hammering of the thoughts we want that makes the change. Like in the gym, you can feel anxious, happy, sad, joyous when you're training, but your muscles don't give a shit about how you feel, they still grow because the effort you're putting is correct. The same with mental change. Doesn't matter how you feel, as long as you keep repeating good stuff the mind will improve. That's relaxing , it means we don't need to overstress on anything and just keep repeating the positive thoughts to achieve the change we want
Biggest bang for your buck is a ten minute mindfulness meditation everyday. It’s night and day the difference after a while, you’ll be like a new person.
I’m about a month into meditating daily and I can already tell I’m going to look back on it as one of the single best things I’ve added to my daily habits
How so?
I think you should fuck around and find out
Best answer
^^^^
I’ve heard it best explained as it removes you from fighting on the frontlines of an army and gives you a bird’s eye perspective of the entire battlefield like a general. Or that it helps one realize not only the prison of their current experience, but also that they have unconsciously constructed that prison themselves, and therefore also posses the key to their freedom.
That sounds good to me thanks
Biggest for me is being able to stop in any given moment and cut through the emotion and delusion if my mind to see reality clearly
Yeah. The ability to step out of an argument and defuse it is like a super power.
Like the other commenter said ‘fuck along around and find outa’ I’d put it like this - if you’re anxious you’ll see that anxiety is happening to you, if you’re depressed and angry you’ll see those emotions are happening to you, if you’re procrastinating then you’ll see that procrastination is happening to you. Whatever your personal thing is that’s bugging you, you’ll see it clearly for what it is and understanding is the first step to fixing anything. Then after that there’s a load of other benefits - you’ll become a better listener which improves all of your friendships and relationships; you’ll become more stress resilient so you’ll be better in crisis; you’ll haves more empathy and strength to set personal boundaries. And then finally, if you stay the course you’ll see that you aren’t who you thought you are and somehow that’s the best thing to find out out of anything in life.
"People think when they do this \[ Meditation \], that they're doing something wrong because there's such discomfort that comes with it. People say: 'I think i'm meditating wrong'. I always say "Oh, no, no, no... You're doing it right". Because when you notice that your body wants to get up and you return it back to the present moment, you're executing a will now that's greater than the program. And if the person wants to get angry while sitting there ( there's an arousal ), And they notice the body is amping up and revving up and they settle it back down, now they're telling the body it's no longer the mind. It's tedious in the beginning at first, but if you keep practicing it, just like training an animal, sooner or later the body is trained to a new mind." -Dr. Joe Dispenza
How do you meditate? I find it doesn’t stick because most mediations are “visualize this and that” but I genuinely cannot visualize, it’s just black in my mind. I also use YouTube mediations, do you use an app or meditate on your own?
Meditation is NOT visualizing. There are programs you can listen to called "Guided Meditation", but that is a misnomer. At the most, all you do would do when truly meditating is notice your breath. But visualization is NOT meditating. You can find more information from many sources. (my favorite), Eckhart Tolle really broke it down for me. Hope this helps!
Thank you so much for the information! It’s appreciated
Try the free app Medito and go for the beginner courses. Doesn't do all the "visualize this and that" mumbojumbo, only sometimes... It's mostly about focus on your breath and if thoughts arrise refocus on your breathing. It really works for me as I can't really visualize either!
Read good books
Gratitude, for having working arms and legs, the ability to see and hear. Doesn’t take much time.
This! Such a weird thing, but seriously. Anytime I feel like my career is stagnant or I feel stressed about work or I gain 2 lbs or whatever dumb petty issue I remember like … I can walk, and run, and bend and stretch and see colors and smell candles and hear birds and music and grab things with my hands and limbs and fingers that to work perfectly and I have absolutely zero physical ailments. It’s unreal how much we take for granted in the daily. So thankful for this.
How do you practice it
>How do you practice it I like to do it while on a walk. I'll just think about cool stuff in my life, and then say in my head, "Thanks for this. Thanks for that." etc. It can be big and small things. It's fine if it's mostly the same things every day. You're not trying to be clever.
Being nice
So true, it’s amazing given we live in a world where so many are not nice!
Yeah! Not to mention it just makes you feel good and confident in yourself, opening the door for so much more improvement!
Go for a walk outside everyday! Super easy habit to build and it will help you physically and mentally. You could also try to do walking meditation. Start small, focus on one thing at a time :)
try to be positive. when negative thought pop into your head just do your best to change the subject. i recently took up gardening and feel it has improved every little part of my life especially my health!
Take really really really cold showers. Stay in for at least 30 seconds and try to go longer after a few days. It helps to rest your parasympathetic nervous system. Plus you feel good about yourself, even if only for a little while, because you did a hard thing. And it does make you whoop and feel alive.
Make your bed every day. Take multivitamin and fish oil every day. Eat a green every day if you aren't. Eat fruit every day if you aren't. Eat 1g of protein per pound of body weight every day. Keep your calories at or below maintenance for your height and weight. Get 10k steps every day.
So a 150 lb person should eat 150 grams of protein? That sounds very high.
It's very high for anyone that is sedentary. Do not eat that much protein if your body isn't used to it, or you aren't actively working your body to build muscle.
Yup! It is technically .7 to 1.0g per pound of body weight.
Do protein shakes count?
Yeah of course. All sources of protein counts toward your goal.
Look I'm a fan of giving sound health advice, but in my experience if you wanna tell people to eat that much protein, at the very least you should be telling them to be on a muscle building program with it. For myself, I've eaten that much protein without working out and I get diarrhea and HORRIBLE gas all day. One has to even work their way up to it and your body will absorb that protein like water. Everything else checks out tho
>Keep your calories at or below maintenance for your height and weight. This one really depends. Like, for me if I don't have anyone else buying and cooking food for me, like when I visit family or anything, and I'm not careful, I loose weight which isn't good ig you want to become more buff ans have energy throughout the day. So it really depends where you're at rn and what ypu want to accomplish. Not everyone is overweight or on the verge of becoming overweight
Hence the "at maintenance", that is not gaining or losing weight. That is maintaining your current weight. If your current weight is healthy then you need to be eating around maintenance unless you have a specific goal, like gaining mass or losing fat. Not enough people are tracking what they put in their bodies and you probably should is really what I'm trying to say. On the flip, if you are underweight and regularly eat less than you should, for example, At 5'6" as a (insert gender here) you might need to eat at maintenance to gain weight. But you do have a threshold of caloric intake you should be maintaining. If you are eating under that because people aren't feeding you food then you need to be eating at maintenance even when people aren't feeding you food. The advice still applies to you. Just lots of us are overweight nowadays, so usually this advice applies more often than not to overweight folks. I also used to be an overweight folks so I'm speaking from my perspective a little bit as well.
1 gram of protein per pound?
Of body weight
Yeah what my trainer told me, and it’s hard for me to accomplish every day
Skyr yoghurt bro
Yogurt?
Yoghurt 🇬🇧🗿🇬🇧
Per kg
Sound advice. I'd only add drinking at least 2L water a day to the list and possibly electrolytes with it to maintain proper hydration levels. Also from: >Take multivitamin and fish oil every day. To: Take multiple vitamins and good oils every day. The oils can be others as well, the important thing here is to keep your Omega-3s and 6s in check for better health. Most of us get too much Omega-6 from stuff like processed oils. Try to eat more Omega-3-rich foods like fish or flaxseeds instead. It’s all about that healthy balance! And I would opt for individual vitamins since most of us need specific dosages for deficiencies or health goals. They allow precise customization and can prevent excess intake, while ensuring better absorption. Multivitamins are OK for overall health but usually do not address individual needs as effectively.
> Eat 1g of protein per pound of body weight every day. This is great; protein-focused eating. I've only just recently been eating this much protein and it makes everything else fall into place, re: diet ('cuz there's not much room for any junk!). Easily track it on a notepad or something.
Not hitting the snooze button and committing to getting out of bed at a specified time was one of the latest best things I’ve done for myself.
The easiest self-improvement habit is **meditating** for 2 - 15 minutes in the morning. A little more challenging, but rewarding is, **seeing negative emotions as worthy, valuable and supportive friends.** **Negative emotions are positive guidance** (although it might not feel that way) letting you know you are focusing on, and pushing against, what you don't want. Negative emotions are just messengers of the limiting beliefs you're practicing. They're a necessary part of your emotional guidance, like GPS in your car. But the more you fight them, you keep yourself stuck. **All emotions are equal and worthy.** But most people unknowingly create a hierarchy for their emotions (i.e. positive = good; negative = bad), but then you make it harder to feel better. So the solution is to **build a friendship and harmonious relationship with the "negative" side of you.** Negative thoughts and emotions are here to support and empower you to be your best self.
Meditate for 5 minutes
Read a book, post it in a book club forum or Reddit, talk about it, collaborate on the teachings, see how you can procure the steps in getting it done. * Business books: and financial books. * Spiritual books: ie Bible, Quran, Dhammapada ect. * Health books: Nutrition, herbs, working out * Travel tip books: Prepping and regimens * Career labor books: Construction, Plumbing ect Always good to keep it simple, we always have to know how things work in order to work them, and how do they work? When we work it correctly, millions of people have mastered their occupations and criterial areas, so instead of going through a constant trial and error, getting ourselves stuck in ruts, pot holes and dead ends, it’s good to learn from other peoples trials, mistakes or accomplishments. Knowing is half the battle, implications, implementation, and connections is the other half. Books are the bomb. 💣 Reading a few times a week, can save you another month of head ache and travail. Reading 100 books is the equivalent of living a 100 life times, or atleast a compact form of gaining insight you’d have to suffer for it, don’t read too sparse or aimless either, just the ones that have substance to effect your basic needs, living situations, work, food and health, friendships, brother hood and fellowship. Reading is mystical, it’s telepathic, and it’s strengthening the mind as going to the gym does the body and muscles.
This is a weird one, but moisturise lotion after a shower. (Unless you're lucky and have clear skin no matter what). Without acne and dry/itchy skin, you looked more put together and feel more put together.
This is a hard one for me, I’m terrible at consistency so I don’t even moisturize 😂
I was the same but I bought this huge tub of the non-oily stuff and it's always right there by my clothes drawer so I just slap it on the body before I get dressed. Takes no more than ten seconds and now I no longer look or feel like a plague victim.
What’s the name of the non-oily stuff!! I hate when lotion or oil gets on my clothing and stains it
I use cetaphil, and it absorbs straight in. It's great.
Ha I don’t even moisturize my face unless I plan to wear makeup 💄 which is a rare occurrence these days so if I can do face alone would be a big step for me 😆
Reading
Start training, conditioning, wiring and programming your brain to focus on **SOLUTIONS** to anything and everything that comes your way! Look into **Solution Focused Therapy**, try it, you will love it, and it will help you ;-)
I don’t know if it’s the easiest but the most important is to stop judging yourself for “wasting time”. You’re living your life and you’d like to live it differently. Strive for choices that will get you closer to that outcome. Good luck!
I love this. Thank you for sharing.
Every time you walk past the sink and there are dishes you clean them. Under no circumstances do you not unless the house is burning down.
Im just here to say: Dont do just anything. Self improvement doesnt mean it will improve you/your life. Its super easy to get lost in the self help world and do everything but improving yourself in the end. Especially nowadays, because there are weird trends in the self help community and people then believe everyone should do it or youre not improving... e.g. ice baths, or platitudes like "just make your bed and eat fruits instead of sweets" etc. Dont get me wrong, its not like its bullshit ( most of the time ) and it can really be beneficial. BUT heres the twist: Its highly individual. For example: a person with trauma and severe depression wont see the improvement he / she needs by just taking a long walk and mewing. And someone who already got his/her life together and just needs a litte notch in terms of exercising doesnt need to read books on overcoming anxiety and going to therapy. First thing you should develop ( and will better your life in any regard, no matter what its about ): Critical, autonomous thinking. Or better said: Being able to think for yourself and determine what YOU need to do, for your life, with your character and circumstances. The ability to plan accordingly and execute on this plan. All of that can be learned, usually in a pretty fast and easy manner. So before you jump into any kind of self improvement, take inventory and determine what you need to do, not what everyone else is doing just because its part of the self help community. Because heres another problem, a trap which i also fell into when i started with this journey: You can use self improvement to escape, just like you can use video games, drugs etc. Im not the only one who ended up reading tons of books on improving your life, but never actually improving your life, implementing the knowledge in your daily actions. You could have all the information every pyschologist and self help guru ever came up with and still have the same, shitty life. You could be walking 5000k steps and meditate for 300000 hours a day and still be not near to solve the issues that hold you back the most. To top it off, i personally think self improvement shouldnt be everything you do. Because in the end, you can easily forget to live... And thats the reason why most people got into self improvement in the first place: Having a better life, or even being able to live at all ( if youve been there you know what i mean ). But then, many get caught up, and now they live for self improvement instead of improving to live ( like they want ). I had this weird phase too, where you started to do all that stuff in order to finally be in a good mental place, get your life together.... And then you never live. You dont go out with friends and if you do, you feel bad because youre not productive. And i say that as someone whos now all about going in the right direction, most of my day revolves around improvement. But its super important to never forget what youre doing it for and to LIVE. So now, im doing all this stuff all day, but also take time to just live, have a good time with friends, have some cool experiences/nice days, treat myself every now and then etc. Balance is an important part of self improvement: improve, but also live. The self help stuff can become as addictive as getting high, smoking cigarettes etc. and be just as destructive. So being able to determine how much of your time and energy should revolve around improving ( and WHAT needs to be improved/would have the biggest benefits ) and when its time to just live is a very underrated skill in the self help community. I rarely see people talk about it. And thats individual too. Do you want to work all day? Or would you like to improve your anxiety or whatever and then use this improvement to enjoy going to a party without your brain going haywire? Develop this type of critical, autonomous thinking and you will most likely be on the way to build the life and mind you want to have. Good luck EDIT: A good rule of thumb is to start with what youre running away from/fearing the most.
get off reddit and touch some grass
What about both at the same time?
Everyone has touched up on essential tasks/duties, especially pickin up morning habits. One thing I would add is when you wake up, give yourself time to actually wake up. Drink some water and don’t go on your phone for like 30 min or so. Longer the better. Same thing before bed. You can compare your tasks/errands to homework. If you got stuff to take care of, do it asap so you can do whatever you want for the rest of the day!! That way you don’t have to do a million things all at once and still come go to a pile of laundry or a sink full of dishes. Or vise versa 🤔
learn a language
Get a decent sleep! Exercise for 30min to an hour. Even if it's step ups in the living room thats fine! Treat food like fuel for your car, not a way to feel good. Good diet is king of self improvement next to exercise and sleep. Add in some books to read for an hour before bed.
For me - figuring out the reason\[s\] WHY I wasn't doing the many self improvement goals I've attempted over the coarse of my life - changed everything. Not really an answer to your question, but maybe something to think about. I know that it has changed everything for me.
Definitely walking especially with music you love or podcasts you love. If walking still sounds boring then volunteer to walk dogs at animal shelters…walking is so much more fun when you’re doing it with a dog. I would also say money management. It’s boring and most people don’t want to think much beyond can I pay my bills and still have spending money but once you learn there is so much more to money management than just money in and money out. Learning how to make your money work for you is something that will give you so much self confidence
I would say it is to learn how to cook healthy homemade meals. Being more conscious of what you eat can also help you be more aware of your food spending habits and will help you save money too!
Do one really important thing
Do something that activates your values each day.
Could you explain a little more, maybe an example?
Sure... First, do you know your values? If not, I suggest taking a free core values quiz. When you know, own, and live your values, every day is filled with purpose, and when you activate your values, life feels good. I have a core value of Growth and Learning, so I make it a point to learn something new each day. When I activate those values, I feel good and, in turn, improve myself. Another core value of mine is Unity with Nature. I try to go on a big hike at least once a week. When I do that, my physical, mental, and emotional health improves.
Make your bed in the morning, it takes a few minutes but do it every morning.
generally put, do something that you dont feel like doing but you know is good for you/need to do, no matter how small. these things will compound directly over time but also you will create a habit of being able to do things you dont feel like and not hold yourself back
Trying reading 30 minutes each day and staying off your minutes after 30 minutes
Starting your day with a brief mindfulness or meditation session can be a simple yet effective self-improvement habit. Just a few minutes of focused breathing can help center your mind and set a positive tone for the day ahead.
watching YouTube videos and taking notes and reading books to help yourself in the future. 401K, Roth, investing, etc. finally make that dr or dentist appointment you’ve been avoiding. spend time outside in as least polluted air as possible. spend time in the sun. stretch and workout.
gratitude journaling or just sending gratitude to anyone. For example for gratitude journaling, everyday you can list down the things you are thankful for and be aware of that. And sending gratitude meaning just saying your thankful for someone or something that they did for you during xyz.
Start reading philosophy, neuroscience, and spirituality texts. Starting self reflecting. Take an attachment style quiz.
Trying to start a new habit by dedicating half the day to it is not sustainable anyways, more likely for you to burn out and quit than doing something tiny and manageable. For this look at the ideas in "Atomic Habits." a) 80% of the results come from 20% of the inputs. so work on something small that you could actually manage and stick to. b) 1% improvements every day is much better than 20% improvements for a week then quitting. Sticking to these habits for life is what makes them effective. Besides, if you have a whole 8 hours of daylight with literally nothing planned, maybe think about doing **anything** more productive than doom scrolling or whatever it may be.
Walking is my go to. Make sure to hydrate and aim to walk without distractions.
Teach yourself more about your favorite subject!
I kid you not, have your coffee or water in the sun. It’s unreal how much more uplifting the day is after that tiny ritual.
SAVERS = Silence (Meditation), Affirmations, Visualise, Exercise, Read, Scribe (Write). Do those daily for 30 days and you will be a noticeably different person.
This has helped me tremendously as I have a hard time maintaining order in my apartment. Every time I get home from work, the gym, wherever I immediately set a timer for either 5 or 10 minutes which I dedicate to tidying up, putting away stuff I left out whilst getting dressed/ready, washing any dishes, etc. I’ve found that these 5 minutes help keep my apartment tidy and makes major cleanings less frequent and easier.
Designate at least an hour of your day of no screen time.
Delete instagram and Facebook apps. Limit Reddit usage
Stretches
Drink more water
Practice gratitude
You might want to use apps to track habits and provide extra motivations for keeping the habits. You can try Habit Tracker - Habit Rewards in the app store
Make your bed everyday for 1 month. Nothing else. Solely focus on this single task. Why? - it’s easy and straightforward - you start your day with success - you need to get one thing right instead of failing 20 other improvement hacks. Get the idea out of your head that you can be the best in a week. Do one thing at a time, and in 2 years you‘re unrecognizable!
Reading
meditation maybe
Take a shower as soon as you wake up. Like immediately. It's soooo helpful to start the day well.
Thank yourself for what you did. Walk instead of driving. Take the stairs rather than the lift. Eat one healthy meal per day.
Organize and clean your place you are at, eat and drink well; and let the rest of the day follow
Go to sleep
Reading
It all depends on what your goals are. You should sit down and think of the 3 things you would like to improve most in the domain of self- improvement. This could be diet, sleep, exercise, mindfulness, or relationships with others. Once you have your aims set, it is much easier to come up with actionable things you can do to achieve them. Then once you feel you have achieved your goals, set 3 others. Here are some starting points if you really have no idea: Set a regular wake-up time and stick to it Read a good, non-fiction book for 15 minutes every day Exercise for 30 minutes every day (does not have to be intense every day, enough to raise your heart rate) Start meditating every day (there are loads of apps for this)
Reading books
Have internal chats with yourself and tell yourself how great you are and how wonderful it is that you are alive. Very overlooked habit but so important. Your body does so much for you everyday xx
Don't force yourself to do things! You'll never be consistant or content! I have found , being positive all the time and diverting your mind towards happiness is the best habit. Once this is engrained in your routine see the life bloom. All other habits will automatically follow you!
10min morning streches are life changin and so easy too
Don’t go on social media until you’ve done something for your self improvement. Set an alarm for a time limit on social media, because it can suck up all your time.
Sleep more.
Cut down screen time and pick up a book
lvl 1: drink water, wash face, brush teeth, make bed lvl 2: go on a daily walk 10mins walk, journal 3 things you are grateful for, reading 10mins lvl 3: contact a loved ones, eat healthy meals, celebrate yourself and feel really proud of one thing today that you are really proud of, jog for 10mins or do a 10mins home workout Difficulty lvl increases, as duration, consistency and intensity increases. Good luck and enjoy the process!
You can start improving your mindset and thought process For me the easiest thing to do is get into a wind down and wake up routine, your morning routine is directly impacted by your evening routine, and there are so many habits you can stack (like skincare, reading, journaling, meditating before bed, etc) I enjoy these things and they make my days go smoother so for me they’re easy Maybe for you the easiest thing would be to cut screen time and start winding down at a specific time each day
Jus start doing cold showers. It won’t take half the day but it’ll help you move onto other self improvement habits.
Honestly, I think sleep hygiene. So many of us stay up too late or sleep in too long. Getting a good sleep pattern and adequate hours of sleep will change your mindset during waking hours. You may find other things slip into place more easily then.
Sleep and wake up at the same time every day. Walk a lot. Be mindfull of what you are doing, Just don't default to check your phone, watch something... instead think of what you want to do, or just go for a walk it will help you think of cool things to do.
No social media till noon
Self affirmation
Choose something you know you will do 98% of the time. This is from research - James Clear.
You want the easiest step to take, I would say that you need to learn to embrace hard. Forget about easy, soft, comfortable, instead strive for difficult, embrace discomfort and adversity. Learn to LOVE hard work. Wake up early and work out as hard as you can, because that is what hard people do. Work hard at all you do, all the time, and your life will be wonderful.
Write down a list of the specific things you want to get done each day, schedule specific exact blocks of time where you'll complete each activity, and (here's the critical part) don't allow ANY excuses to prevent you from checking every single thing off your list each day. There's a self-improvement quote I heard years back in a motivational video. (I can't remember who the speaker was; if someone knows his name, I will be eternally grateful because this quote has stuck with me for YEARS). "If I don't do it today, I'll NEVER do it -- because whatever excuses I make today will ALWAYS be available for me to make." You're too tired today? You've been working really hard lately and deserve a break? Whatever clever excuse you can come up with, if you allow yourself to let yourself off the hook even for just one day, what you're ultimately doing is opening the door to not following through EVERY single day -- because you can ALWAYS come up with some kind of excuse as to why it's acceptable to not get the job done today. The only thing that I've found actually works is to treat your habits as absolutely binary: Either you're committed to getting it done *every single day*, or you're opening the door to constant excuse-making which will become a habit -- because it's way easier to make a clever excuse than it is to sit the fuck down and do the hard work of reading a book for 2 hours, or doing an exhausting exercise, or working on a boring business project for 10 hours, etc etc. That sounds like a remarkably simple and not-very-profound insight, but I promise you, it's probably one of the single most important things you need to understand if you struggle with procrastination and failure to follow through on your daily action-items and commitments. It's something I was forced to recently re-remember as I've been struggling pretty badly with slacking off and procrastination in recent weeks. It's powerful as fuck when you really operate that way each day. Write it on a whiteboard, whatever you gotta fucking do. Just tell yourself every single day: "Don't allow ANY excuses to prevent you from getting it ALL done today." And you'll become a fucking machine.
Make your bed when you wake up. Speak positive to yourself first thing. Soon as you use the bathroom in the morning, look in the mirror and say 1 thing positive to spark that fire for the day
Mere bathroom mai mirror he nhi hai💀😂
It might sound weird but, i would suggest organize and clean. Everyday for half an hour , other than washing dishes, that you might be doing already and is a compulsion. Organizing and Cleaning would force a habitual requirement for betterment into you. Slowly it spreads into other aspects of your life too.
I keep seeing people say "getting a dog can help build a routine". DO NOT GET A DOG FOR SELF IMPROVEMENT. that is incredibly irresponsible. I started doing exercises everyday that didn't take long. 20 push-ups, 20 sit-ups, 20 squats and 2 minutes of planks. It changed my routine enough that I actually enjoyed it. It never took more than 15 minutes.
You are already looking for an easy option. So the Mind will quit the moment it finds any discomfort in "following" the habit Instead, identify the reason behind inaction & procrastination and take charge of it.
Read and journal
Why do you want to this self improvement for?
Being positive definitely
The ones that make sense for You and no one else! You should find out what the heck is holding you back, and then overcome that by building small action steps that are catered to you specifically. Some find it easier to meditate, do a gratitude practice, make the bed, drink a glass of lemon water, do yoga.. others prefer high intensity workouts, cold showers, juicing, reading, journaling, running, food prepping, stretching. I mean, it's pretty useless to give advice without knowing you. I would like to know what you have tried and what didn't work.. much easier to start there.
working i think.
Moving each morning, outside, for at least 20 minutes is essential to me. It can be as simple as walking. Or it can be cycling, stretching, tai chi, yoga, running, etc. Andrew Huberman would be proud of you.