How are you feeling as we begin a new month and are nearing the end of this insane year?! How about we make an attempt to end the year strong by building some HAPPY new habits into our lives. These are great habits to start on your own but also to try with your kids or as a family!
Start a Gratitude Journal
Simply write down 1-5 things at the end of your day that you found to be grateful for. Use a fancy journal or a spiral notebook. It doesn’t matter! Just write them anywhere! Keep whatever it is you’re writing in near your bed to make your entries super convenient! This convenience factor will 100% help you in building a habit. Try these prompts to get your creative juices flowing:
Things I see around me in nature.
People in my life.
Small successes in my day.
Everyday necessities.
Modern conveniences.
Meditation
Many may feel this is a huge undertaking or a major process to begin. NOT AT ALL! I am just asking you to try to slow your mind down for a few minutes each day! Yes, there are much more involved and elaborate techniques for meditation. Do you need to overwhelm yourself with all of that? No! Simply spend some time consciously slowing your body down. Most of the time we are on a fast-paced racetrack of thoughts, activities, and movement. Meditation is used to slow this down so that you can clear your mind, relax your body & feel renewed to continue your life experience in a more manageable fashion.
Get comfy.. anywhere you feel the most relaxed.
Close your eyes.
If you prefer music, go ahead, but again, habit building starts with convenience so if you’re in your bed and you feel inconvenienced and distracted by worrying about what music to use…forget it!
Start a timer if you need that structure; 5 minutes is fine! You can add time as you fall in love with this habit.
Now… just try to focus on slowing or deepening your breath, listen to or feel your heartbeat or try anything that helps you dismiss the business going on in your brain.
Of course there are many apps and lots of info available if you want to intensify your meditation practice. I’m just trying to keep it simple to help you start this habit. Here is a kid-friendly image to provide simple meditation steps.
Affirmations
How do you talk to yourself? Are you kind like you would be to your friends and family? Or are you like many of us and unconsciously say lots of critical statements to yourself throughout your day? Well, affirmations are used to help combat this negative self-talk. They are positive statements & phrases you say to yourself to stomp out negativity. You can use very personal affirmations related to your goals and desires like I will get my dream job, I will buy my dream home, I will travel to Europe. Or you can use more general ones like I am brave, I am strong, I am beautiful, I am smart. You can use them in a few different ways.
Tape little sticky notes in your environment.
Say a few statements to yourself when quiet.
Look in the mirror and smile and tell yourself wonderful things.
Play audio affirmations to help you repeat them.
Journal a few affirmations each day.
There you go! 3 Happy Habits to build into your life in simple ways that will take a very little time out of your day! I know you will reap the benefits immensely as these habits become part of your everyday routine.
Do this on your own or engage some family members to join you in this positivity habit challenge!
Jump Into Joy Experience is a fun, interactive workshop where we teach these habits & more to girls ages 5-12. In-person & Virtual options available! Download my FREE STARTER KIT for more engaging activities for your children today!