Given the name of this blog I thought it would be a good idea for me to share the things I do to help me Find the Good Everyday.
At the beginning of 2017, as part of my annual goal setting and review of the previous year, I came up with a list of self-nurturing daily habits I wanted to adopt. Some of these things I was already doing but not as often as I’d like. Other items on the list were reminders of positive actions I could take daily to feel happier.
Below is the list I come up with. I’ve added some brief detail about each item and over the coming weeks I plan to share more details of some of these habits as individual posts.
Self-nurturing daily habits to help me Find the Good Everyday
Start the day with Morning Pages
Morning pages is a journalling technique suggested by Julia Cameron who wrote a book called The Artist’s Way. She suggests that each morning, on waking, you journal 3 pages of stream of conscious writing. You should do this before anything else – before your mind has too much time to wake up. The pages often end up being filled with whinging, what you need to get done that day and sometimes nonsense! What this does is clear all of the random muddle from your head first thing in the day and free up some space for creative thinking. I’ve been writing Morning Pages most days since October 2015. I am a convert and do not like missing a day.
Yoga &/or stretch every day
I’m a fan of both yoga and pilates and have done each with various levels of consistency over the years. I have never regretted doing a yoga practice or a pilates workout but often the biggest battle was getting myself to the mat and ready to go. Rather than decree a set amount of exercise I should do each day I decided to be gentle with myself. I’m pleased to say that so far this year I have completed a yoga practice every day. Some days it’s 5 minutes and some days much longer. I feel much stronger and more flexible as a result of daily practice and it also helps to quieten my mind.
Drink 1.5-2 litres of water each day
I’ve always been happy to drink water and it’s usually my first choice for drinking. And yet I wasn’t in the habit of consistently drinking enough. So this year I stepped it up, and with some help from a measured bottle I soon got in the regular habit of drinking enough each day.
Seek ways to live out my values and my core desired feelings and be DARING
A couple of years ago I did some personal development work to define my personal values. It was time consuming and involved but it has helped steer my decisions and life choices ever since. I learnt about Core Desired Feelings from an online retreat I took part in which led us through The Desire Map by Danielle LaPorte. I added my Core Desired Feelings to my values to help me define how I wanted to feel and what I believed in. And as part of my annual goal setting I picked DARING as my word for the year. (In case you haven’t picked up on it yet, I LOVE to collect words!) This habit on my list reminds me to check in with all my “words” regularly.
Tell my boys I love them so
I’m fairly certain I do quite well at this one without having the reminder on my habits list! But telling (and showing) my husband and son that I love them each and every day is an awesome thing to achieve each day and an important aspect of my relationships with them both.
Make lots of healthy choices and allow myself little treats
Sometimes I think I’m an all-or-nothing person and other times I think moderation is key. I’m still not 100% certain which camp I fall into but the thought of giving up treats made me sad so this habit seemed the best option for me. And it’s working. I recommend it.
Practice self love and self care
Self love and self care practice are what this whole list is about! I thought it was important to remember that focus and this is a great reminder to seek other ways to Find the Good Everyday as well as the ones I specifically listed.
Finish each day by documenting my gratitude
This is a habit I’ve had and dropped several times over my adulthood when my routines have changed. And I always return to it. Sitting in bed each evening I write a brief list (usually 3 things) of the things I’ve been most grateful for that day. Some days are tougher than others to come up with a list but I always manage something!
Conclusion
I may not always do everything on this list every day but over the course of this year I have developed them as regular habits. I am already thinking ahead to see how I can update or amend this list next year for improvement.
I’m looking forward to exploring some of these habits more on the blog over the coming weeks and months.
Do you have any daily habits that help you Find the Good Everyday? If so, I’d love to hear from you. Please leave me a comment or feel free to contact me directly.
Helping YOU to Find the Good Everyday
When you sign up as an email subscriber you will receive a free How to Find the Good Everyday printable workbook. It contains tips and suggestions for building daily rituals and routines to nurture yourself to feel happier, healthier and in balance. There are sections to work through followed by a handy printable to complete and display as a reminder of your intentions.
You can sign up HERE to receive the workbook and read more about it HERE.