4 Simple Ways to Create Positive Habits

It doesn’t matter how little a change you make to a habit you have, the impact of this change will make a big difference in your life. We all have a tool belt full of great habits like brushing your teeth each morning (at least I hope this is your habit *eeew*) and putting on deodorant so we don’t stink. However, we also have a tool belt filled with habits that don’t serve us and essentially stop us from bettering ourselves.

Here is how to create a positive habit that will change your life and help you reach your goals. 

Habits, love them or hate them, we all have them. For me, I used to have a bad habit of stress eating. At 5:30 pm you would once find me raiding the pantry for a sweet fix, because as a mum that can be a stressful time of day. 

Same went for if I’d had an argument with hubby, hard day at work, or hard day parenting…I would eat. Never carrot sticks – never carrot sticks, but sweet treats that once the sugar rush was over had me feeling like rubbish again and again. This would then propel me into feeling stressed about my weight and body image. So what did I do – eat.

This was not a habit that left me feeling uplifted or great about myself, so I had to learn “how” I could change this action and instead create a positive habit for when I was stressed. For me, this was some simple stretching in the lounge room, a loud singing session in the kitchen or taking myself off to the toilet for a little alone time to ground myself and breathe.

You may not have a habit of stress or emotional eating, you may have a habit of biting your nails or drinking when you’re stressed or other habits that are currently preventing you from reaching your goals. So sister, let’s give you some tools to help you make even the tiniest of changes today.

Before we get started in creating positive habits, It’s important to decide how you want to feel. What is the “kind of person” you wish to be? How do you want to turn up in your life? From this place, we can start changing habits with ease. Do you want to be fitter and stronger? Do you wish to be calmer around the home? Do you want to believe in yourself? 

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Find your cue

What trigger of the habit do you wish to change? For me it was a time of day or a feeling of stress. Have a look at what triggers you into performing a habit that isn’t benefiting the best version of you.

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Define your actions

Take time to think on how you react to the cue or trigger. What is that thing you always do when you feel a certain way or when you have that cue? Maybe your habit is needing a glass of wine when you walk through the front door after work. Your cue is walking through the door, your action is drinking wine.

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Find new actions that shift how you feel

Have a look at what action you can substitute for the old action that still helps you feel the way you want to feel. In my case, I wanted to feel good and sugar did that well, at least for a while. I substituted this with stretching and journaling and giving myself a little time away. These actions gave me the same feeling of “good”. 

What action can you take instead of the habit you currently have? Is it affirmations whilst jumping to help you believe in yourself. Maybe it’s setting an alarm that sits on the opposite side of the room so you have to get up to press the snooze button – which means now you’re up, you may as well move your body to get fitter. What is your new action?

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Make it easy

Make it easy for yourself to implement these new habits in your life. For me, it was not having those sugary treats after a stressful day. Maybe for you, it’s having water in a wine glass, or laying out your workout gear the night before, noticing when you’re stressed and doing 10 pushups or squats instead (the quickest way to shift a mood is through movement) or finding yourself an accountability buddy. Make it easy and attractive to you so that you can’t fail at keeping the promises you have made to yourself.

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Your energy feels heavy or perhaps your to-do list feels like an impossible task that is leaving you spinning. I’ve got you!

Grab my free ” Creating Ease” mediation designed to help you clear your energy and relax your entire nervous system so that you feel calm, energised so that all the magic to deserve starts flowing to you.

Grab my FREE Creating Ease meditation to today and become part of the Firefly Tribe ;-)

Hey, I’m Ang! Leading DreamBuilder coach, Business success mentor, and International best-selling author of The Messy Mum’s Playbook.  My mission is to help women who feel stuck or frustrated get everything they want in life, love, and business in the fastest and easiest way possible