Paul Brian
We all want to improve and get better, but it just depends how much.
If you truly want to become a better person and upgrade every area of your life, the following article is for you.
It’s not as hard as some people think, but leveling up does require some attention to detail and discipline.
With that in mind, let’s get started with the top daily habits to put into your routine if you want to become a much more well-rounded and fulfilled person in life.
1) Set a goal for the day
Set specific, achievable goals for yourself and take consistent action towards hitting them.
Every day should have at least one goal. It is often part of a larger goal.
If you have a savings goal for the year, for example, that can be broken down into a daily spending limit and saving target.
If your goal is to devote five hours to volunteering this week, you may put in two hours on Wednesday and three on Sunday, for example.
Having a goal, even a simple goal, fosters an empowering sense of purpose and accomplishment.
2) Manage your time
Time management is simply a matter of deciding to schedule and prioritize tasks effectively.
It’s not always easy, but once you have this down everything else becomes much easier.
Time management may involve deciding to delegate when necessary, and avoid procrastination.
It ensures that you make the most of your time and reduce stress.
“Having a good sense of the time required for routine tasks can help you be more realistic in planning and estimating how much time is available for other activities.”
3) Practice daily gratitude
Take a few moments each day to reflect on things you’re grateful for, whether it’s in the morning or in the evening.
Find a medium that works well to do this for you:
It may be writing down what you’re grateful for in a journal, drawing a sketch, painting, singing or saying a mantra or poetry.
Whatever works for you, this practice helps in cultivating a mindset of appreciation and positivity.
Your heart and mind begin reorienting more around what’s going right and building on that instead of on what’s going wrong.
4) Take a moment for meditation
Spend time practicing mindfulness meditation each day.
Even just five or ten minutes per day will make a real difference in helping you find more inner peace and facing the world with renewed energy and focus.
Mindfulness meditation helps to cultivate self-awareness, reduce stress, and enhance emotional regulation.
The effects are also heightened if this is done while walking, exercising and in movement.
“Practicing mindfulness while you engage in movement-based behaviors, such as walking, standing, and sitting, can decrease stress, anxiety, and depression.”
5) Tap into your breathing
While doing mindfulness meditation and throughout the day, pay attention to your breathing.
Breath is a bridge between the conscious and unconscious, the one automatic part of our organism that we can also make conscious through our attention and focus.
Focus on your breath going in and out, following your breath as it goes and letting thoughts and emotions come and go.
You’ll feel much more empowered and ready to offer your time, energy and goodwill to the world around you.
6) Connect with nature
The great outdoors is all around us, but all too often we may take it for granted in the span of a busy day and crammed schedule.
Make a habit of spending at least some time outdoors connecting with nature and appreciating its beauty.
This increases relaxation and inner peace and also allows you to slow down at least once per day.
The net effect is that, over time, you become a better person:
More patient, more self-sufficient and content, more giving, more centered and more caring of those around you.
7) Do random acts of kindness
Make it a habit to perform small acts of kindness daily.
These don’t have to be anything huge, but even the smallest act of kindness can touch other people in ways far deeper than you realize.
Whether it’s helping someone in need or offering words of encouragement, a daily act of kindness is always worth the extra effort.
Whichever form it takes, a caring act will empower you and touch those around you.
“Buy a warm meal for someone in need. Help someone struggling to carry their grocery bags. Stop to assist someone who looks lost. Say something encouraging to a parent who’s struggling with rambunctious kids in a restaurant or grocery store.”
In the end the best reason to do a random act of kindness? Why not!
8) Learn something new each day
Commit to lifelong learning starting with just one new thing each day.
You can do this by reading books, taking courses, or seeking new experiences that expand your knowledge and perspective.
Talking to people is also a very enriching experience. There is nothing more fascinating than hearing the various experiences and stories of other people and their perspectives on life.
The more people you meet and the more different these people are the more you will also grow in self-awareness about yourself and your own challenges and strengths.
9) Find a healthy emotional outlet
Develop healthy coping mechanisms for managing stress and painful emotions.
There’s nothing “wrong” with feeling upset, sad, scared or angry, but these emotions can affect others in ways we don’t expect if they are spread around recklessly or vented irresponsibly.
Great coping mechanisms include anything that gets you focused on a task and involved in a mission or endeavor that challenges you.
As Mental Health America advises:
“Write – you could write a story, a poem, or an entry in a journal. Get active – dancing, running, or playing a sport are some good ways to get moving. Play a video game. Get a plant and start a garden.”
And if it comes down to screaming in a pillow or blasting death metal while working out? So be it!
10) Limit screen time
Set boundaries on your use of electronic devices.
Even if you need to work on digital devices, computers and smartphones, do your best to limit time on them when you have a choice.
Find more active things to do once you’re away from work instead of turning back to devices for entertainment.
Connect with family, friends and even strangers. Go out and sing karaoke. Go to the gym. Volunteer at your local church or temple.
Do what you can to foster presence, focus, and meaningful connection with others.
The screens will still be there tomorrow, but not everybody we know and love will.
