Hey Fellas!!
Want to Bring a Positive change in your life?
Want To get more productive?
Want to get happier?
Want to get successful?
with very small or minimal effort, Then this article is absolutely for you.
you must have heard about the famous Butterfly effect, It is the idea that small things can have non-linear impact on a big complex system. Therefore, we are focussing on those small things which can bring big changes in your life.
These small things are "KEYSTONE HABITS".
What are the Keystone Habits?
Keystone habits are “small changes or habits that people introduce into their routines that unintentionally carry over into other aspects of their lives.”
The concept of keystone habits was promoted by bestselling author Charles Duhigg in his book The Power of Habit. According to him, There are certain habits in our lives have the power to change other behaviours without any extra willpower being required; and that by consciously developing these habits, people can easily change their lives with nominal effort.
The principle of keystone habits is very much similar to the Domino Effect. We can make use of this analogy to better understand the concept of Keystone Habit. We should always try to make our Habit Burger with right ingredients of Keystone Habits.
Without wasting any time, let's get directly to our main question, What are those Keystone Habit?
1. EXERCISE
In a Research its been found that “When people start habitually exercising, even as infrequently as once a week, they start changing other, unrelated patterns in their lives, often unknowingly.”
Study found that people who did a small amount of daily exercise perform better and slept better.
They were more patient with their friends, family, and colleagues. They had healthier lifestyles.
Every one of us knows that “exercising is good,” but you don’t even realize just how important it is, not only for your health but also for everything else in your life. Each habit affects other behaviours, which means that it can take just one habit (either good or bad) to change your way of living.
When you exercise, your blood circulation improves, which results is getting more oxygen and more nutrients go to your cells. You feel more energetic and healthier. You begin to make smarter decisions. You eat healthier food. Your productivity at work increases. Your mood improves. You able to get better sleep and you even spend less on your credit cards because your identity shifts and you start seeing yourself as a smarter decision maker.
The bottom line is that we all are aware that we should be getting more exercise and that exercise is healthy but, when it comes to actually exercising, many of us feel lack of will power.
In such a case, use small habits to get started. The key is to start small, You should Set such small goals that it is impossible to fail. Instead of directly starting with the gym, you should start 10-20 minutes of easy workout at home. You are far more likely to succeed by adding 10 or 20 minutes of exercise to your routine than you are if you try to commit to an hour of a gym a day.
You can use the app like Stickk and other similar apps which can help you to achieve your goal.
2. FOOD JOURNALING
By this act of food journaling, you will increase your awareness of what you are eating and how much you are eating and drinking every day. You will be able to spot the junk food that is creeping into your life and affecting your fitness goals. You will also be able to raise your awareness of when you are eating junk food, what your triggers are, and how can you stop it.
Always remember to make notes about what you ate, as well as keep a record of the portions. Don’t be afraid of being honest. No one else is going to read your journal and the more honest you are, the more you can begin to recognize patterns in your life. (Do you eat when you are stressed? Bored? Angry? Happy?) By making notes of your intake, you can begin to take responsibility for your eating habits.
HealthifyMe is a really good app for food journaling, it contains all the tools to track your diet and calories intake.
Spend just thirty seconds before/after a meal recording what you ate. Make it as painless as possible to implement the habit, use the food journaling app. Do it for the next 20-30 days and then review your journal to find out negative eating patterns.
3. WATER HABIT
Approximately 60% of your body is made up of water, our brain consists of 75% of water. This is because water holds so much importance in our daily life.
You should Commit to the small habit of drinking at least one glass of water first thing each morning. As after a long sleep of 7+ hours our body badly requires water, your body is dehydrated. You haven’t had anything to drink for 7+ hours and this affects a number of physical systems within your body. Research shows that drinking water first thing in the morning does a lot of good things to the body than merely quench your thirst.
It will:
- Boosts your metabolism
- Helps to flush toxins from your body
- Energizes your muscles
- Improves your brain, memory, and cognitive function
It is highly advisable to make the habit as easy as possible: Keep a glass of water next to your bed each night so you can have it when you wake up.
4. Practice Gratitude
Gratitude is the ability to take a look at your life and be thankful for and therefore happy about where you are right now.
Life is about wanting more, but in that race you should not lose sight of where you are and what you have. This can be detrimental to your mental well-being and it can even affect your physical health. I am not stopping you achieve your big goals, in fact, Chasing our dreams and wanting more is what gives our lives meaning, I am asking you to step back and be thankful for what you do have. When you are grateful for the blessings in your life, you will be blessed even more.
Studies shows that:
- Being grateful improves health and mental ability
- Being grateful makes people happier
- Being grateful improves sleep quality
Making a gratitude journal is a good way to transform your mood from being stressed to being grateful and happy. Commit to the small habit of writing in your journal each night at least one thing you are grateful for.
If you get stuck with “what” to be thankful for, then here are 15 Gratitude posts.
You can also find out your keystone Habits, which you feel you should start and improve upon.
Some of my Keystone Habits addition to above are:
- Proper sleep: Sleep improves mood, increases exercise, Sleep improves memory and cognitive ability, improves performance and improves motivation.
- Socializing with friends: When you have fun, you release stress, you have more energy, and you get a better night’s sleep. Decide to spend just five minutes each day talking to a friend.
- Reading: Reading reduces stress levels, improves your level of empathy and improves your motivation. It is like training for your brain.
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