Our days are full of activity. Some of those actions lead to positive consequences, while others end up being destructive. To avoid the destruction, planning each day will favorably tip the scales, but creating daily habits will ensure a lifetime of satisfaction.
What follows are sixteen daily habits, split into four aspects of life that will bring you happiness and joy.
Get Physical with these Four Daily Habits
I don’t know about you, but when I am unfit, I am unhappy. I can’t breathe, move, or accomplish the things I want to get done. So to be in top physical condition, follow these four daily habits, and get physically fit.
Exercise
The body is meant to be moved, stretched, pulled and strained. Its purpose is to ensure we can gather food, build shelters, and keep us out of harm’s way. Today, it is not as necessary for us to work hard, physically, to accomplish these simple life tasks, and as a result, we have become overweight, sluggish, inflexible, and weak. We have to find creative ways to keep our bodies in top condition, especially if you work at a desk all day. You will need to exercise daily.
Here are some ideas on how to fit in some exercise into your routine.
- Burn more than 3,300 calories in a day.
- Or be active for a minimum of 30min with a heart rate higher than 90bpr.
- Or do a stretching routine and
- 25 bodyweight squats
- 25 push-ups
- 1 min wall squat
- 1 min plank
- 10 burpees
Hydrate
Water makes up roughly sixty percent of your body weight. It regulates body temperature, lubricates joints, and removes waste, among many other functions.
As you know, water is vital for sustaining life. We must replenish what we deplete. If we don’t, we will suffer from symptoms of dehydration such as fatigue, confusion, dizziness, and in extreme cases, death. Studies have offered several suggestions on the amount of water to drink in a day, but there are no conclusions. We have universally accepted 8 cups a day, but your hydration level is dependent on many factors. Exercise, health, and environmental conditions can impact the amount you need to drink. In short, drink plenty of water and stay hydrated.
Sleep
I used to pride myself on my lack of sleep. I used to brag about how I could perform on a few hours of sleep a night. Now, I know how dumb I was, and I recommend setting a consistent sleeping schedule regardless of how young or energetic you are. The benefits are too high, not to. Among them are physical, mental, and emotional restorations, as well as memory processing. Forgetting stuff? Try getting more sleep!
I have instituted a few habits to help me sleep better at night One is, I don’t drink coffee or tea after 6 pm, and I stop eating sugar and snacks heavy in carbs after 7 pm. Another is, I go to bed at the same time every night, so my body knows it is time to sleep. All of these things add up and have helped me get more consistent sleep.
Control Calories
Your weight is highly dependent upon the number of calories you consume over time. Eat too many, and you will gain weight. Don’t eat enough, and you will become too thin. We have been built for our weight to be in constant flux. Our prehistoric ancestors gained weight when food was in abundance and used the excess fat stores when nutrition was in short supply. Today, however, in most cultures, and especially in the United States, food is seldom in short supply. We have an abundance of dense caloric options that marketers have engineered to be addictive. The result, a culture of obesity.
On the other side of the spectrum, is the state of starvation. Starvation is a state where we are in a severe caloric deficit, which cannot support life. Depending on the person, it will take time to succumb to starvation, but there are increasing negative ramifications as we continue to stay within the state. There are many reasons why people are suffering from deprivation. What I am alluding to is, we do not want to starve–for whatever the reason–because it is not healthy for us.
Since overconsuming and starvation have their consequences, the best way to avoid these ramifications is to control our calories. The way I do it is by weighing and measuring my food to figure out the number of calories I am consuming and using my Fitbit watch to provide me an estimate of the number of calories I am expending. My goal is to balance the two daily.
Four Daily Habits to Improve Your Mental Sharpness
The next aspect of life that we want to hone with our daily habits is our mental sharpness. Our brains need just as much exercise as our bodies, and by incorporating these habits into our daily routine, it will do the trick.
Read
I am not sure about you, but when I was younger, reading was not on top of my list. No way was it part of my daily ritual. Now, it’s a different story. I read a lot. Most of my day involves reading emails, chat messages, or social media posts, but it will take more than reading these communications to sharpen our mental acuity. The best way to complete this habit is to have a few books on hand. Read a chapter a day or even a paragraph. If books are not your thing, find some great blogs, newspapers, or magazines to read.
Develop your Core Skills
Everyone has core skills, and we need to take the time to develop at least one each day. What are core skills, you might ask? I define them as the skills that I use to go after my life purpose. In my case, a few are writing and programming. I write every day because I want to be a better writer, and I am often reading, researching, or analyzing code to improve my system analyst skills.
By practicing your skills daily, you will quickly become an expert. It does not take long to advance from having a surface-level knowledge to being in the top tier of a trait when you devote a little time to practice every day.
Have a Discussion
Having a legitimate face-to-face discussion with another individual or a group of people seems to be a dwindling activity with the increasing use of social media and other online forms of communication. Unfortunately, this is leading us towards more significant divisions, tribalism, and separatism as our ability to accept differing opinions and views decline. Funny how tools meant to bring us closer together are causing lines of division. Perhaps, the cause is the ability these tools provide us to express our thoughts, feelings, and ideas on a constant unfettered basis to an attentive and ever-hungry audience. In the past, sheltered by distance and communication mediums that forced us to be deliberate, we were more selective with our speech.
Bringing me to my point, having legitimate face-to-face discussions, forces us to be deliberate with our conversations. It allows us to connect with another individual and see them as a person, and it requires us to think just a little bit before we speak. And, thinking is the cardio exercise of the brain, and hearing a differing opinion is the resistance needed to build our mental capacity.
Solve a Problem
Life is full of problems that need solving, and I am not talking explicitly about relationship issues. Those are tough and worthwhile to spend time upon, but I am talking about ones without as much emotional cost. I mean the ones that you have to put your mind to work, and often result in taking some form of action. It could be as simple as solving a math problem or playing a game of cards or Chess. Or, it could be something more complex, such as an engineering or mechanical issue. Do something like work on a car or bicycle, or write a computer program. Whatever you do, just make sure it takes a little thought.
Four Daily Habits to Achieve Financial Freedom
Financial freedom is different than financial independence. If you are financially independent, you have enough income to pay your bills without the need to work. If you are Financially free, you are free from the stress of the financial implications of making a life decision. In other words, you can take a family vacation, pay for your child’s education, or by a new TV without feeling guilty, remorseful, or wondering if you are going to be able to eat for the rest of the year.
Let’s take a look at four habits you can implement daily to help you become financially free.
Complete a Task that Pays
Do something daily that pays you. It could be a little, or it could be something more impactful. It doesn’t even need to be your core skill or part of your daily job. If you have a regular job, become a freelancer on your days off. Mow somebody’s yard, clean out their cutter, or do their shopping. Sign up on Fivrr.com or Upwork.com and work on a side project. Ultimately, this habit is more about learning to become a producer rather than a consumer. Also, it is about gaining an understanding of the value of your time more so than making extra income, albeit, it will help support our next habit.
Spend Less than You Make
Even though spending less than you make every day is a nearly impossible task for most. However, if you can earn more than you spend in a day, you will skyrocket to financial freedom. One method you can use to implement this habit is to even out your recurring bills across the days of the month and add any extra expenses incurred on a particular day. The figure will show you how much you need to make that day.
Yes, this is a difficult habit. Seldom can you adjust your daily income to exceed what you spend on any given day, so this habit is more about reviewing your budget often. Seeing positive or negative cash flows will provide you with ideas on what you need to do to gain financial freedom.
Complete a Task that Will Lead to Future Passive-Recurring Income
In my opinion, this is one of the most significant habits to perform each day, because of the impact it can have on your life. Not only does this lead to a potential passive revenue stream, but it also allows you to be creative and do something for yourself. It is work, but it is for you and your family. You are the boss–the owner. If you can achieve a large enough passive stream of revenue, not only will you be financially free, you will also gain financial independence. In either case, you will be able to devote more of your time pursuing your passions instead of needing to work for someone else. And what would be better than this?!
Move Your Daily Excesses to an Interest Bearing Account
“My wealth has come from a combination of living in America, some lucky genes, and compound interest.” – Warren Buffet
Compound interest is the most potent builder or destroyer of wealth we know. If used properly, it allows your capital to work for you. If misused, it will put you into an ever-expanding hole and cover it up with a mound of debt.
The best thing you can do is use all of your excess income to eliminate the debt if you currently have credit cards or some other form of revolving debt, the kind that digs holes.
But, if you are debt-free or once you get there, then place your excess earnings into an interest-bearing account so your capital can work for you. If you are brilliant, you will put maximize a tax-free method like an IRA or 401k first.
Four Spiritual Renewal Daily Habits
Perhaps it’s my weakness in spirit, or maybe it’s the complex nature of spirituality that makes spiritual renewal so hard to define. Even a Google search returns a bunch of fuzzy responses. In response to this, I have decided to define spirituality as the way I interact and feel about the World. In other words, it is how I develop my conscience. And even though the idea is vague, seeking spiritual renewal is well worth the effort. Here are the four habits to help build a well-rounded conscience.
Pray
In my previous experiences, praying was a strange concept. Seeing people pray in public, or with a group, always made me feel weird, and when they asked me to join in prayer, I wanted to run. Now, after my conversion to Christianity, and participating in many different spiritual-based groups, I have come to welcome both private and public prayer.
If you are like I was, give it a try. Have a dialogue, then sit a few moments listening. At first, it is tough, but it becomes natural over time. If this is too odd, then use visualization or meditation. Or, read a spiritual text, like a passage from the Bible, and contemplate its meaning. There are many ways to pray. Pick the ones you like and start to pray daily. The benefits are numerous.
Be Grateful
Take a moment and acknowledge gratitude for something in your life. Perhaps you’re thankful for your family or job. Maybe you are grateful for a friend or a pet. Have you avoided an inevitable accident by some divine intervention? Take a moment and be thankful for your guardian angel, or if you are not a believer in angels, your luck. It is best to take a few moments every morning to show gratitude. It starts a day with positive thoughts and will carry you through the rest of it.
Acknowledge and Provide Affirmation to Someone Other than Yourself
In other words, tell or show someone that you are grateful for them, or that they have done an excellent job. Acknowledge they are on the right path, or that you agree with their idea. Let them know if they helped you in some unknown way. If someone is a good example, tell them you look up to them. It is easy to get trapped in our World and not see the numerous people it takes to help us navigate through it. Doing this will help us gain a greater appreciation for those that support us in a variety of ways.
Spend Time with Your Family or Loved Ones
Spending time with your loved ones seems like a no brainer, but how often does a day pass that you hardly speak two words to the ones you love? We are often distracted by the things that we must get done that we lose sight of why we are doing them–for our families. If the most important conversation you have is saying good morning or good night, then you may want to slow down and develop a plan to build your relationships. Start by spending a little more time with those you care about the most.
Wrapping Up
That’s it! That’s my advice on the 16 daily habits that will bring you joy and happiness. Some are easier than others, but it’s worth struggling through the difficult ones. If you find that you cannot do them all, do some of them. As they say, “anything is better than nothing.”
If you have any thoughts or questions, let me know in the comments. Find me on social media and tell me if these habits have helped you.
See you in the future.