Habits for Hope

Great reminder:
Consistency must come before intensity.
Start SMALL and show up everyday.

Today is World Mental Health Day.
Did you know ~
-One in eight people around the globe live with mental health conditions.
-The COVID-19 pandemic caused a 25% increase in the prevalence of anxiety and depression worldwide.

What can you do to make your day, or someone else's, a little brighter?

This one hit me hard today....
What is something you've been putting off because you're waiting for the 'perfect time' or the 'perfect plan'?
What is one small, imperfect step you can take today towards a goal?

Fall is officially a little over a week away!
I love the fall ~ life slows down from hustle and bustle of the summer, and the crisp air and changing colors feel inspiring and fresh.

What are you looking forward to this season?

Recently, I was reminded of this quote and the power of having a real, tangible gratitude practice.

The relationship between joy and gratitude is strongly connected. In positive psychology research, gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.

I've begun saying one thing I'm grateful for, and why, before dinner. It's been a great add to my gratitude practice (which admittedly has slipped lately).

What does your gratitude practice look like? If you don't have one, what are you ready, willing, and able to start?

What’s the best way to form a new habit? [Part 2]

Earlier in the week we explained how an Implementation Intention can help form a new habit.
Today we'll look at HABIT STACKING.

We often decide what to do next based on what we just finished doing. There is an opportunity to use this behavior connection to your advantage!

The idea is to identify a current action you are already doing each day and then stack your NEW behavior on top.

Here are some examples
Meditation: After breakfast each morning, I will practice deep breathing for 1 minute.
Movement: After my last meeting on Mondays, I will walk for 20 minutes.
Nutrition: After I sit down to dinner, I will drink a full glass of water.

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Tip: One way to find the right trigger for your habit stack is by first brainstorming a list of your current habits: write down things that happen each day without fail (e.g., get out of bed, brush teeth, eat breakfast, drink coffee, turn off the lights, have a work meeting, get a text message).
From this list, you can determine the best place to layer your NEW habit into your lifestyle.

What HABIT STACK will you experiment with?

[credit: James Clear, “Atomic Habits”]