I wanna share with you one of the ways of getting exactly what you want :)
It is to DO the things you know will be good for you.
We all know that some changes in our life style will be good for us, and yet we keep on acting by our old habits, because we think it is too late for us to change, or that we are already doomed to be whatever it is we think we are. It sometimes seems that only other people can do these things.
Knowing what's good for you is not enough.
Knowing about the importance of eating breakfast every morning, for example, is only the beginning. The next step is actually eating breakfast every morning, if we wish to reap its benefits.
I remember my yoga teacher saying to us in one of my first yoga teachers training classes, we are all sitting here today after probably many years of considering doing it. She said that from her experience, most of us need about seven years to make the decision and act on it.
This was very true for me, since I have been practicing yoga "here and there" for years before, but I was never committed to my yoga practice. Even though I really wanted it to be a part of my life and to be one of those people who stands on their heads first thing in the morning....
One of the things I always knew would be awesome for me and that I always wanted to do (but for some reason was never able to), was to get up early and do some sort of exercise.
For years I knew this would benefit me in so many ways, especially by getting rid of the feeling I had about "not being a morning person" because I wanted to re-define what kind of a person I was, regardless of my past experiences.
I was also very inspired by some very successful people, who admit to this being their number one habit for success.
And so I chose to begin.
I chose to replace my habit of waking up in the last minute before I need to leave the house (and being late) with a beautiful routine which was healthy for my mind and body, and includes a physical exercise, a sitting down for meditation and a healthy breakfast (with some other goodies I will talk about in another post).
Another very important principle which I'm sure you have already heard about, is the simple idea of repetition. In order to learn something new, or make a new habit, in any part of our lives, we must go over it again and again until it becomes rooted deeply in our minds and in our behavior.
I feel like I truly experienced it for the first time when I started studying chinese medicine and I just didn’t believe I would be able to remember all of the chinese herbs. The demands of the course were to know three hundred different herbs by their chinese name, functions, energetics and what differentiated them from other herbs in the same group. This was a challenging course. And every time we asked our teachers how to learn this, they just said go over it again and again (very frustrating indeed…).
Over the years we managed to find some other methods to help us remember them, like inventing crazy stories for each of the herbs (which gave us a lot of enjoyment). But even with improved study techniques, it was the repetition that allowed us to truly know and remember these herbs.
There are allot of studies you can read about regarding repetition and the ways it influence your brain, and from my own experience, in so many different aspects of my life - it works :)
A morning practice was something I really wanted as a part of my life. I knew that in order to create a new habit I must do it for a minimum of twenty one consecutive days. So I decided to persist every morning, no matter what, for an entire month.
And that’s exactly what I did :) I thought ahead about exactly what I wanted my perfect morning practice to include, how long it would take and I have planned it in detail, so that all I would have to do when I wake up in the morning – is simply do it.
And every morning I woke up in time, because I had a goal and because I had made up my mind that if I can wake up early to catch a flight, then I can wake up early to do my practice.
You just have to make it exciting for yourself.
You know that feeling of excitement you get when you need to catch a flight in a couple of hours? The feeling that comes from thinking of all the possibilities this holiday is holding for you. Well I decided to build that excitement into my daily life! And every morning when i woke up in time and got on my yoga mat, i was thinking to myself - woohoo, i am truly becoming this person that i always wanted to be. And the possibilities from there are enormous.
When I skipped a morning, for any reason, I started the count all over again. Just because I wanted to have the experience of doing this for an entire consecutive month, and to prove to myself that i could do it.
Every day that I did it, I would mark in my calendar that I had achieved my goal again on that day. And the more marks I added, the more proud of myself I felt. Proud for doing something for my own benefit and proud for following through with my decisions.
This is how you build self esteem. day after day I take responsibility on my own health and life, and I live like I want to be living. This feeling of achievement, no matter how small it may seem, is what gives us the fuel to keep on achieving bigger and bigger goals.
And it's something no one can take from you. You have earned it yourself!
I found some tricks to help me do things I would struggle in doing. For example, I would pick up my friend in the morning on our way to school to help me get there on time and I would make my room ready and spread my yoga mat at night before going to bed, so that all I would need to do in the morning was simply get on it.
Everything flows from there.
And then I learned maybe the most important fact of all, and that is, when I am doing what is good for myself, I am actually doing what is good for everyone around me.
try it :)
I can tell you today, about two years later, that the effect this practice has had on my life is so significant and it was almost immediate. Because every day I do it, I feel better. Better for doing it and better just for doing it :) It completely changed the rest of my day. I am calmer, more balanced, more smiley and I know I can achieve whatever I am willing to put my effort towards.
Is there anything you already know would be good for you, but you still haven’t done it?...
Maybe it is quitting smoking, or eating more home cooked meals.
Maybe go for a walk every evening with your best friend.
Pick something.
One thing.
And plan it in detail.
Maybe even find some friends with a mutual cause and start today.
If for example you want to start your mornings with ten minutes of stretching, decide right now what time are you going to start and what time you are going to finish, which stretches would you be doing, where would you be doing them and put a reminder on your phone.
And go on, start counting a consecutive twenty one days.
Let me know what you have decided upon, it will help you commit to it :)
Enjoy :)
It is to DO the things you know will be good for you.
We all know that some changes in our life style will be good for us, and yet we keep on acting by our old habits, because we think it is too late for us to change, or that we are already doomed to be whatever it is we think we are. It sometimes seems that only other people can do these things.
Knowing what's good for you is not enough.
Knowing about the importance of eating breakfast every morning, for example, is only the beginning. The next step is actually eating breakfast every morning, if we wish to reap its benefits.
I remember my yoga teacher saying to us in one of my first yoga teachers training classes, we are all sitting here today after probably many years of considering doing it. She said that from her experience, most of us need about seven years to make the decision and act on it.
This was very true for me, since I have been practicing yoga "here and there" for years before, but I was never committed to my yoga practice. Even though I really wanted it to be a part of my life and to be one of those people who stands on their heads first thing in the morning....
One of the things I always knew would be awesome for me and that I always wanted to do (but for some reason was never able to), was to get up early and do some sort of exercise.
For years I knew this would benefit me in so many ways, especially by getting rid of the feeling I had about "not being a morning person" because I wanted to re-define what kind of a person I was, regardless of my past experiences.
I was also very inspired by some very successful people, who admit to this being their number one habit for success.
And so I chose to begin.
I chose to replace my habit of waking up in the last minute before I need to leave the house (and being late) with a beautiful routine which was healthy for my mind and body, and includes a physical exercise, a sitting down for meditation and a healthy breakfast (with some other goodies I will talk about in another post).
Another very important principle which I'm sure you have already heard about, is the simple idea of repetition. In order to learn something new, or make a new habit, in any part of our lives, we must go over it again and again until it becomes rooted deeply in our minds and in our behavior.
I feel like I truly experienced it for the first time when I started studying chinese medicine and I just didn’t believe I would be able to remember all of the chinese herbs. The demands of the course were to know three hundred different herbs by their chinese name, functions, energetics and what differentiated them from other herbs in the same group. This was a challenging course. And every time we asked our teachers how to learn this, they just said go over it again and again (very frustrating indeed…).
Over the years we managed to find some other methods to help us remember them, like inventing crazy stories for each of the herbs (which gave us a lot of enjoyment). But even with improved study techniques, it was the repetition that allowed us to truly know and remember these herbs.
There are allot of studies you can read about regarding repetition and the ways it influence your brain, and from my own experience, in so many different aspects of my life - it works :)
A morning practice was something I really wanted as a part of my life. I knew that in order to create a new habit I must do it for a minimum of twenty one consecutive days. So I decided to persist every morning, no matter what, for an entire month.
And that’s exactly what I did :) I thought ahead about exactly what I wanted my perfect morning practice to include, how long it would take and I have planned it in detail, so that all I would have to do when I wake up in the morning – is simply do it.
And every morning I woke up in time, because I had a goal and because I had made up my mind that if I can wake up early to catch a flight, then I can wake up early to do my practice.
You just have to make it exciting for yourself.
You know that feeling of excitement you get when you need to catch a flight in a couple of hours? The feeling that comes from thinking of all the possibilities this holiday is holding for you. Well I decided to build that excitement into my daily life! And every morning when i woke up in time and got on my yoga mat, i was thinking to myself - woohoo, i am truly becoming this person that i always wanted to be. And the possibilities from there are enormous.
When I skipped a morning, for any reason, I started the count all over again. Just because I wanted to have the experience of doing this for an entire consecutive month, and to prove to myself that i could do it.
Every day that I did it, I would mark in my calendar that I had achieved my goal again on that day. And the more marks I added, the more proud of myself I felt. Proud for doing something for my own benefit and proud for following through with my decisions.
This is how you build self esteem. day after day I take responsibility on my own health and life, and I live like I want to be living. This feeling of achievement, no matter how small it may seem, is what gives us the fuel to keep on achieving bigger and bigger goals.
And it's something no one can take from you. You have earned it yourself!
I found some tricks to help me do things I would struggle in doing. For example, I would pick up my friend in the morning on our way to school to help me get there on time and I would make my room ready and spread my yoga mat at night before going to bed, so that all I would need to do in the morning was simply get on it.
Everything flows from there.
And then I learned maybe the most important fact of all, and that is, when I am doing what is good for myself, I am actually doing what is good for everyone around me.
try it :)
I can tell you today, about two years later, that the effect this practice has had on my life is so significant and it was almost immediate. Because every day I do it, I feel better. Better for doing it and better just for doing it :) It completely changed the rest of my day. I am calmer, more balanced, more smiley and I know I can achieve whatever I am willing to put my effort towards.
Is there anything you already know would be good for you, but you still haven’t done it?...
Maybe it is quitting smoking, or eating more home cooked meals.
Maybe go for a walk every evening with your best friend.
Pick something.
One thing.
And plan it in detail.
Maybe even find some friends with a mutual cause and start today.
If for example you want to start your mornings with ten minutes of stretching, decide right now what time are you going to start and what time you are going to finish, which stretches would you be doing, where would you be doing them and put a reminder on your phone.
And go on, start counting a consecutive twenty one days.
Let me know what you have decided upon, it will help you commit to it :)
Enjoy :)
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