Nourish Your Soul & Reframe Success with These Daily Habits
An “11:11 Week 2023: The Year of Mindfulness” Resource
Success – however you define it – is typically viewed as highly goal-oriented, but it always comes down to your actions.
What are you doing in the small moments when no one is watching? THIS is how you should be looking at building and finding success along with nurturing peaceful, harmonious lifestyles and relationships.
We recently shared on our podcast, Session Eleven, our top five tips on how we like to stay centered and grounded through our daily habits (that conveniently, nourish our souls as well!). Our intention is to shine light on the fact that so much of "success" is rooted in what you're doing every day through these daily habits. These habits are easy and achievable. They don't need to happen every single day, but they do help us feel like our day was a success no matter how the day goes, and help us stay focused on our larger goals.
It’s good to note that it takes more than 2 months before a new behavior becomes automatic – 66 days to be exact (European Journal of Social Psychology). In our minds, there’s no time like the present to introduce some healthy new habits into your lifestyle, so let’s get into it:
Stop & Smell the Coffee
Mornings don’t have to feel rushed and chaotic (although sometimes this may be unavoidable). One of our favourite things to do is enjoy the ritual of making our morning coffee, from grinding the beans, the brewing process, to taking that first sip of caffeinated goodness. Breathe deeply as you move through this routine and hold the intention of taking your morning slowly before moving on to the rest of your day.
Not a coffee drinker? Sub this ritual for your tea, a morning smoothie, or making your breakfast!
Move Your Body
Data show that exercise can improve one’s mood and combat both anxiety and depression in healthy individuals as well as those with diagnosed emotional disorders. It doesn’t matter how you go about it – be it a gentle walk, time on the treadmill, at a workout class or chasing your kids around the yard – try to move your body with intention for at least 5-10 minutes a day. So many of us fall into the trap of going from sitting at a desk, to a seat in the car or transit, and finally, to our seat on the couch to watch our guilty-pleasure shows (you’re not alone!). It’s time to break the cycle and invite that movement in.
Bonus points if you can do this tech-free!
Keep Your Space Clean
We’ve all been through our Marie Kondo phase, but did any of us stick to it? Likely not – and it’s because we didn’t make her practice a habit!
It can be hard to focus on your larger goals for the day, week or month when your space is in a state of disarray. But cleaning or tidying doesn’t have to feel like a huge job. Simply making your bed in the morning, decluttering your workspace, or creating a calm & clean environment for your meditation and mindfulness practice – these are all things that can set you up to have a clear mind throughout your day.
Take Care of Yourself
Remembering to practice self-care comes easy to some but not all. Try treating yourself to a bubble bath, cooking yourself a soul-warming & nourishing meal, or even partaking in one of your hobbies that breathes life into you. Practicing self-care is one of the best ways to call some ease into your week and truly nourish your soul.
Practice Meditation & Mindfulness
According to researchers who analyzed 33 published articles with 1,549 participants, mindfulness and creativity are definitely related, finding that mindfulness-based interventions focusing on open monitoring may boost creative abilities – can you say “hello ideation and working towards our goals”!
Meditation and mindfulness techniques are tools we all possess to counter the brain’s negativity bias, release accumulated stress, and support the reduction of anxiety, depression, and burnout. Meditation & mindfulness aim to make the unbearable, bearable – so you can keep moving forward, and bring awareness to destabilizing experiences in order to respond thoughtfully rather than reactively.
To close out this post we’d like to end with the same sentiment as we opened with – these habits do not need to happen every day, however, they could help you slow down, embrace life’s flow, and reframe success.
What are some of your daily habits that nourish your soul? We’d love to hear from you on our Instagram – click here to share!