I am a strong believer of the power which can be gained by positive habits. A positive outlook and mindset can mean the difference between a bad day and a good day. This, however, is a challenge easier said than achieved. The object is to motivate yourself each day if you want to be at your positive best in the coming weeks and months ahead. Keeping the long-term target in mind, here are 10 habits you can begin from today itself in order to turn your dreams of 2021, and beyond, into a reality.
10 Habits for 2021 To Stay Positive and Happy.
Declutter
Day to day life clutter can really bring me down. It feels like a physical weight on my shoulders when there’s too much stuff everywhere. Whether it is cleaning the laundry room, bedroom or whatever is untidy a quick 10 minute blast can really help to keep things clutter free. Don’t let things get on top of you and make it a point to keep your personal space clean. Try and keep this in mind everyday to make 2021 less stressful and more mindful.
Don’t let one negative thing affect your whole day.
A favourite quote of mine is ‘A bad experience can ruin your breakfast, but don’t let it ruin your lunch’ – or something like that, you get the idea! Essentially, don’t dwell on bad things which have happened, move forward and remain positive.
Surround yourself with people that make you feel good as negative people will make you feel down. If it is one thing, forget about it and get past it without letting it spoil your day.
Assign 30 minutes a day for self-assessment.
Take one thing a day like learning a new hobby or reading a book and assign thirty minutes every day towards it. It is not a huge amount of time but it will develop your personality and skill noticeably as well as giving yourself new things to focus on.
Go without meat once in a week
Unless you are a vegetarian, avoiding meat once a week is not only great for the planet it is great for our body as well. A habit of going meatless on every Monday, for example, will allow you to cook something which you’ve never tried before. You can also educate other family members in adopting such positive habits for 2021 if they’re open to it. There’s tonnes of meal ideas over on my channel for anyone looking for meal ideas and meat-free recipes.
Read a book.
This is one tip which I’m sure most people probably have in their resolution for 2021 and that is to read a book. By reading I don’t mean you have to finish the whole book, start with just one chapter a night. Very soon you will end up reading more and more chapters as this new habit helps you unwind by switching off from your digital world. I have been terrible with this, but I’ve made it a new habit to read before I go to bed instead of endlessly scrolling and I’ve read about 6 books so far which I’m really pleased with.
Do something outside your comfort zone
My next habits for 2021 which I am definitely pushing myself to do is doing one thing which is outside my comfort zone. Whether it be for a day or week or month it will make you so much more confident and aware once you know you have done something you didn’t want to do but actually did it, and push you to do more and more.
Set a timer for jobs
If you want to increase efficiency in your jobs and tasks, set a timer for the jobs that are needed to be done. One of my favourite methods for procrastination is the Pomodoro Technique which I’ll tell you more about below. You will get immense satisfaction and your job will become less daunting once there are no distractions. Put on the timer, get your job done, even put your phone to airplane mode and you will feel so much better at the end of the day knowing how productive you’ve been.
Stop procrastinating.
The method of the pomodoro technique teaches you to have fun working with time instead of struggling against it. Basically it suggests that if you have to write an essay which will take you about an hour, then break it down into sections of 25 minutes, with a five minute break between each section. Then, after an hour, if there is more work to be done, you can take a 30 minutes break and get back to it. You will find you will have loads of time to do things and make you much more time-efficient.
Mother yourself.
Get into the habit of mothering yourself because there may not be anyone else to do it for you. If you are a parent you will always be aware of when your child wants a cuddle or a drink etc. But you should also do the same for yourself and be your own best friend. So, if you’re feeling low, allow yourself to take it slowly, practice some self-care or extend your deadline.
Be mindful of the environment
It is so important to teach our children that plastic plays such a havoc on our environment so that the future generations understand and get into the habit of avoiding plastic as much as possible. It can make such a great difference and could be a really great habit for 2021. Little changes can make a big difference so don’t underestimate how much they can help our planet.
I hope you use these tips to kick-start your life and career direction for the coming year. Remember, success in life depends largely on the habits for 2021 you cultivate now as they are stepping stones to your future.
Alma Lightbody
December 29, 2021I completely agree with what you have written. I hope this post could reach more people as this was truly an interesting post.