Pairing Habits: A Tip for Growth & Accountability
When I think about what brings me self-confidence, it’s knowing that I am self-improving, learning new skills and growing my mind, my personality and my knowledge. I never want to stop striving to achieve those things throughout my life.
Once I wake up in the morning, I want to start it off as productive as possible. Starting the day off with a plan of action allows me to carry some structure throughout the rest of the day. When I feel I’ve had a productive day, I feel a sense of accomplishment and like I’ve just put another building block down in the pursuit of becoming the best human I can be. This is what boosts by self-esteem and gives me the confidence in knowing I am working towards a goal and towards betterment.
Write It Down
I love making lists. So when I decided I wanted to make a list of things I had to accomplish throughout my day for myself (not for anyone else or my job), ideas came pouring out. There were so many things I wanted to achieve. In the beginning, I quickly realized that with just a list and without real structure, I was allowing myself to become inconsistent with my daily goals. There’s a lot to get done in a day, so time is precious. Although my intentions were good, I just wasn’t optimizing my day and being the most efficient with my tasks.
Now, I have to give credit where credit is due to my day one, my boyfriend. He knows when I’m all over the place, and he’s the best at breaking things down and making sense of the mess inside my head. He suggested that we try to make a habit with one task at a time.
“Let’s just take one thing from the list of tasks you want to achieve and do that for a week. Then for the following week, we can add the next thing and keep building.”
This was the best advice, because of course it was overwhelming for me to try and take on 10 new tasks throughout my day. When you start small and build, then it becomes manageable.
Pair It
I’m going to tell you the list of things I had written down as examples for you, because I truly believe these tasks have propelled my life to another level, while simultaneously making me a better person and thus, elevating my self-confidence. But first, I want to give you a pro-tip.
Once you have your own list of daily goals written down, the key is to think of how you can pair those goals. Now remember, you are still going to build on each task week by week or take as much time as you need until you feel like it’s a consistent habit. By pairing these habits, I’ve found that this enables my brain to automatically think, “when I do “x” then I know I’m doing “x” next. It’s a domino effect. It’s cause and effect. Does that make sense? Let me give you some examples of the habits I pair up throughout my day.
Examples Include
Brushing my hair + Putting ice on my face
I like to do this first thing in the morning. I’m pretty sure we all know the benefits of brushing your hair for health and shine. I feel the ice gets the blood flowing, brightens and tightens the skin!
2. Stretching + Exercising
These two things are separate for me because my form of exercise usually includes weight lifting or some type of cardio or full body workouts. I like to stretch in the morning because I feel tight from sleeping all night. Sometimes this will be in the form of yoga and sometimes it will be a good old 10 minute old fashion stretch. I feel flexibility is a great habit to maintain as I get older.
3. Meditating + Breathing Exercises
My all time favorite guided meditation app is Headspace. I’ve also heard from friends that Calm is another good one to use. In terms of the breathing exercises, it’s just good to strengthen those lungs ya know?! Have you ever heard of Wim Hof? He’s literally an amazing human being who has supernatural-like abilities and has helped so many people improve their immune systems and mental health. If you haven’t heard of him stop what you’re doing and go listen to either The Joe Rogan Podcast Episode #712 or #865 or if you have less time on your hands you can watch Gwyneth Paltrow’s The Goop Lab episode on Netflix. Then go download his ‘Wim Hof Method’ free app so you can practice his breathing technique on your own. You’re welcome!
4. Practicing a new skill + Free Writing
Free writing is when you put aside let’s say a minimum of 30 minutes and just let start typing or writing and letting your thoughts flow. It’s great to do this first thing in the morning to free your mind of potential thought clutter. It doesn’t have to make sense and it doesn’t have to be on one specific topic. Just whatever is on your mind you let it out! It brings so much clarity and allows more space in the mind to be freed up.
5. Breaking my fast + Taking a Break from work
Personal preference here, but I thoroughly enjoy intermittent fasting for 16 hours. For my boyfriend and I, we stop eating at 8pm and then don’t eat until 12pm the next day. We feel like this gives our bodies time to digest and then relax so it’s not constantly working. We still drink water and black coffee which helps get us to 12pm. I can whole heartedly from experience tell you it has helped me control my weight and I feel lighter, have more energy and mental clarity.
I’m not a doctor, so you if you have existing health conditions like diabetes you should 1000% talk to a professional before you try this. You also don’t have to fast for the entire 16 hours. Try it out and see what works best for you!
6. Gratitude Journaling + Reading (I always do this to wind down right before bed)
Recognizing what I’m grateful for on a daily basis just makes me a better, nicer person overall. It allows me to remember all the good I have going for me and not to focus on the negative or let that drag me down. I write 3 things I’m grateful for every night before bed and it literally takes me 5 minutes to do but the effects have been profound. I like reading before bed for the intake of information but also because it gets me sleepy and ready to close my eyes.
Final Pro-Tip: Grab a Partner
I wouldn’t be as successful as I am with pairing my habits and actually executing them on a daily basis if I didn’t have a partner to ride this wave with me. My pro-tip to you is to find a someone who shares your similar goals and go at this together!! It’s so much easier to stick to something and hold yourself accountable when you have someone along for the ride. The motivation that can be provided when you have a counterpart is worth it alone. You don’t have to live together, you don’t even have to do these tasks at the same time (although that would be better). You can simply text that person after you’ve completed each goal to keep each other on track. I’m telling you, GAME CHANGER!
With Love,
G
