5 Habits to a Better Life

 

1. Exercise

There are always a lot of excuses not to exercise. I know, because I have made many of them myself. “I'm too tired, I don't have time. I would if only I had a gym membership,” and so forth and so forth. There is no excuse not to exercise, and the reason is very simple: exercise gives you time and energy. Not only does exercise likely increase your life-span, it increases the time in the day you have and the energy you have. How does it do that? Well, if I spend a week not exercising, I get up at 6, do my daily stuff, work, make dinner, and lay down at the end of a long day by 8 to watch TV, I'm not really getting the most out of my day. If I exercise, for one thing, I am in a better mood all day, and I have the energy to stay up, get some things done, and sleep a little less. I have the energy to keep going as long as I need to instead of crashing at the end of the day. Now I am a single mom, and I know how some single moms are feeling out there. I just want to crash at the end of a long day, not try to take on more things. I totally get that. However, exercising allows you to have the energy to do more of the things you WANT to do. Everyday you have to work, clean, cook. Those things aren't going away, but what if on top of that you have time to spend playing a game with your kids? Reading that book you've been meaning to get to? Writing in your journal, or taking a nice long bath? You will have the time to do more of these things when you spend that necessary time exercising. You can start with 10 minutes a day. Even 15 minutes will have you feeling so much better.

2. Work on your relationship with God

There is nothing so important as connecting with the One who made us. It is a necessary habit. When I am connected to God, I feel more balanced, more adjusted-happy. Why? Because I remember whose I am. I remember what is important and what's not. I remember that even if life is falling apart around me, there is a higher power who cares, and is looking out for me. Someone who will use even my worst moments for good. I love that. I get so much joy just thinking about that. Being a Christian is the most important part of who I am. I was blessed to have a mother and a grandmother who loved everyone, and though were not perfect, had perfect love flowing through them. I felt that, every day I spent with them. I hope to do the same. Loving God doesn't mean being perfect, it means doing the best you can. Working every day to understand what you are doing here, and to have that relationship. It means praying and reading the Bible. If my Mom wrote a book to me, I'd read it. Well, luckily for me, my Father has. You'd be surprised how far you will get in just 15 minutes a day.

3. Work on your relationship with your family

If you're a mom, this is obvious. Of course you want to work on a relationship with your family! But I encourage you to think of new ways to work on your relationships. I say this because as a mom, I have often done what needed to be done, and didn't feel like I had one more ounce of energy left (mostly the times I wasn't exercising :/ ) So, I encourage you just to think of small, simple ways to work on your relationships with your family members. It could be reading a book together, it could be going outside and looking at the stars, and looking up what the constellations are. It could be sitting down with your teen for a cup of tea, and talk about what's going on at school or their life. It could be making a date night with your husband. We often get so busy with the day-to-day, after all, there is SO much to do, especially when you're a mom, but don't get so caught up that all the days begin to run into one another. Find little things you can do to enjoy life to the fullest. I recently bought a fire pit, after wanting one for quite some time. I can't tell you how many stories, games, fun times we've already spent together using it. Just something so little like that made a space for us to gather together to have fun.

4. Work on your life's mission

Maybe you know what your life's mission is, and maybe you don't. But I'm going to tell you right now-you have one. We all have a dream that's in our heart, and like I've heard time and again-we have the tools to make that dream into a reality. It took a very long time for me to figure out what I was really passionate about. I just didn't feel like I had a natural talent for anything. But trust me when I say-you do. Think of anything you've been complimented about over the years. Is it your art? Is it your writing? Is it that you know how to teach others, or you know how to get children to listen to you the first time? Maybe you haven't been complimented on it, maybe it was something you even got ridiculed for, but you loved it anyway. Maybe it was something you weren't good at at first, but you knew you just had to get good at it.

I always think back to a lady that used to come to our school. She would come and read us books, but she would dress up, and she would do special voices, and bring her basket of books. I could tell how much she loved to read. She was awesome, and she gave us a break from our regular day to day schoolwork. There are things like that-people like that who make a real difference. What is your difference going to be? Do you love to make things? Do you love to help people? Spend time perfecting your craft. I can tell you that if you don't, you are more than likely feeling a little sad or low. How do I know that? Because you are MEANT to do that thing. If we all had the same dreams and desires, we would be in trouble, but we all have different, special dreams that allow us to make the world a better, more enjoyable place. Start today. Find the thing you enjoy doing, and figure out a way to do it more. Add it to your everyday, even if it starts as 10 minutes. Do something. It'll greatly improve your mood and your life!

5. Enjoy life!

Enjoying life is a habit. It doesn't seem to be one. A lot of people think they'll enjoy life “when” or “if.” “I'll enjoy life if I get that job.” or “I'll enjoy life when I find the man of my dreams.” or even “I'll enjoy life if I start making $100k/yr.” What's interesting, is that those “ifs” or “whens” are often just a feeling we hope to get if or when those things happen. For example, IF I made $100k/yr, I could spend more time at the beach and travel more. But I could spend more time at the beach now, and I could figure out ways to travel now. It's good to have those goals,and I'm not knocking those down by any means. Getting a great job, meeting someone you will fall deeply in love with, making good money. That's all wonderful. However don't wait until if or when happen. I asked my daughter the other day, “what if you found out that goal you have happens when you turn 50 and not a day sooner? Wouldn't you wish you would've decided to be happy with life the whole way leading up to that point?” Don't waste time being upset and unhappy. Make a habit of enjoying life by setting goals for yourself, and then just start tackling them one at a time, little by little. A small habit turns into a consistent habit, and then turns into a bigger habit. It sounds silly to say 10 minutes because people think-where will 10 minutes get me? But it does, and it will, and before you know it, you're spending 15 minutes, 30 minutes or an hour a day. The only secret-you must start.