3 Habits That Have Given Me a Fresh Outlook on Life
Tiny things that multiply greatly
“We first make our habits, and then our habits make us.”
— John Dryden
If there is one quote that I believe can change a person’s life, it would be this one.
Simply put, if you want to get somewhere in life, not only do you have to be persistent but also consistent.
Consistency is just as important as persistency. An easy life-hack to become more consistent is to form habits.
We all brush our teeth at night (hopefully) and that counts as a habit.
If you want to lose weight, wouldn’t having a habit of walking daily for 30 minutes be very beneficial?
If you want to learn more, wouldn’t having a habit of reading books be very beneficial?
When habits are formed, the human mind essentially gets used to it and cannot think of not performing that habit because we would feel weird if we didn’t perform it.
When the entire world was shut down due to COVID-19 and my classes shifted online, I made some essential habits that are still serving me very well to this day.
Here they are.
Waking up early in the morning
If I remember correctly, this habit started soon after COVID-19 was declared a pandemic on March 11, 2020. By this time, my university had canceled classes and didn’t shift to online until 1 month later.
It was during that period that I experimented with waking up early in the morning. It was because when I used to wake up at my usual time of 8:00 AM, the sun was already out and my family used to be awake.
So I resorted to waking up at 6:45 AM in the morning which was around 20 minutes before sunrise.
Even though I didn’t start writing on Medium until December 2020, waking up early helped me manage my time better.
Because I started waking up early, I suddenly found more time to do the things that I wanted and that gave me a huge head start in my day.
The one thing that I didn’t do is use this time on social media or for goofing around.
I spend this time to first soak 7 almonds in the morning so I can peel and eat them at night.
Then, I read any book I am currently reading for at least 30 minutes.
Not only this, but waking up early allows me to study for a little time before my online classes start at exactly 9:00 AM.
Eating 7 almonds daily
This habit can only be done if my morning habit is followed through. That morning habit is to soak 7 almonds in the morning. Only when this habit is done that I can peel those almonds at night.
The reason is that if I don’t do this habit in the morning, then I won’t remember the rest of the day to soak these almonds.
In fact, sometimes I have forgotten to soak almonds in the morning, but then I remember around mid-afternoon. Even after remembering, I still don’t soak them because I am just not used to it.
I made eating almonds a daily habit once I learned how unique and nutritious they are.
Ounce for ounce, almonds are the highest in fiber, protein, calcium, and vitamin E out of all the tree nuts.
Now I can’t look inside of my body and tell you what enzymes, proteins, or biomarkers have changed because of my consumption of almonds.
I also can’t tell you if my improved mood, better cognition, or better sleep is because of these almonds.
However, what I can say is that this habit has made me healthier because they are just so healthy.
The longer you keep consuming almonds, the better the benefits.
Reading books daily
This is something that when any person starts doing, he/she immediately notices a difference.
In life, everyone has a range of unique experiences that shapes him/her and drives a person’s actions.
Everyone goes through life with his/her own mindset and ideas that later defines a person’s entire life.
In life, lessons are learned, new ideas are formed, and theories are tested. Not every person learns the same ideas and lessons, so the best way to learn is to literally learn from other people.
How do you do that?
Before the invention of the internet, people used to write and spread ideas through books, newspapers, ink, etc.
Yes, in our modern age, we have the internet, YouTube, podcasts, etc. where we can learn new information about the changing world.
However, books still have a place in today’s world as old and new books contain precious ideas and lessons.
I started reading books around the time when COVID-19 started.
In the beginning, it was difficult to make it a habit. So I slowly started reading a few pages every day as soon as I woke up and after I had soaked my 7 almonds.
Now after more than a year and a half of reading, I am proud to say I have finished 29 books of which most of them are self-help, business, or informational books.
Reading books has totally opened and changed my mind. It has led to new perspectives and new ideas. I look at the world through a different lens and this has ultimately helped me improve myself for the better.
“If you wish to renew your mind, read.”— Lailah Gifty Akita
Takeaways
Now, these are the habits that have made the most difference in my life and I am sure if you adopt these same habits as well, you can also improve your life for the better.
By waking up early in the morning, I can gain a head-start and start working on something of my interest without being disturbed. Just because I wake up early in the morning, that doesn’t mean I don’t get a good night sleep. I still regularly get 7–8 hours of quality sleep.
Almonds are amazing and provide a ton of benefits. That is why I made it a habit to soak 7 almonds in the morning and to consume them at night.
Lastly, I believe everyone should make reading books a habit. It doesn’t have to be many chapters in a day. You can start with reading a page a day and slowly expand that to many pages and then a chapter or two every day.
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