Knowing ourselves and being aware of our behavior can get us one step closer to being healthier. You can have an incredibly elaborate plan, work out every day, and make the best of everything, but if you don’t have the right attitude and mindset going into it, there is a high chance success will always be one step too far from you.

Behavior is a subject as complex as every individual that walks on this earth. However, through the years, there has been plenty of research and in-depth analysis on the subject that the following has been found – it is something we all develop and can control. In recent years, more and more scientists have been heavily focusing on mental health, or to be more precise – how behavioral patterns affect our state of mind.

What we like to focus on today is training ourselves to become more than what we truly are. If you have a goal that you want to achieve, you need to have the proper skillset, mindset, and habits. We focus on the positive, the strengths, and the healthy habits you need to develop. As of now, we’ve stepped into the New Year – so ensure you embrace it with arms wide open!

Thus, allow yourself to learn how to develop and make a long-lasting positive change in your life!

What are habits? How do they work, and how do they affect our overall lives?

First things first, we are discussing the topic of habits themselves. On average, what we do daily as human beings describes our behavior as habitual. Think about it – from the moment you wake up in the morning to the moment you fall asleep at night, you do things in a particular order, and you do that every day. 

All the choices that you make and all the actions that you take make you who you are – and that is a creature of habit. And surprisingly, most people don’t mind them – they define them as things we do on an everyday basis, almost in a mechanical way! Yet, they hold a much stronger power than we expect. Some people may not be fully aware of this, but habits are incredibly important in our lives. They reflect a person's character and shape us into who we are or who we want to be.

Now, concerning mental health, there is an unwritten rule about the best healthy habits a person should possess to thrive in life. These habits include waking up early, being productive during the day, giving your body that regular workout it needs, consuming healthy foods, feeding the mind with information, etc.

But, sometimes, people unexpectedly fall into certain behavior patterns that ultimately translate into bad habits. Either way, it is important to understand that, however good or bad they may be, habits affect our overall lives.

If you have come to a certain point in life where you want to start noticing your behavior pattern and improving your habits, all you need to do is keep reading and see how you can achieve that.

Which are the best tricks to change your habits?

Once you lean into a certain habitual lifestyle, things will start happening automatically for you. At the beginning of our lives, we learn everything from scratch. How to brush our teeth, how to put clothes on, talk, think, walk, read, write, and so on. In the beginning, these tasks may seem almost impossible to overcome, but as time passes, you can find yourself performing them without any thought whatsoever. The best example of this is being left or right-handed. From an early age, we start writing with one hand, and as we do it, our brain recognizes it as a pattern, which further develops into a habit.

Eventually, you get to do a few things at once without fully concentrating on them. Fascinating psychology stands behind this because the way we form habits is considered somewhat of a primal emotion and action. This happens so early that the only way to describe it is a significant part of our evolution process.

On the other hand, once we form these habits, it is a tricky process to step away from them. Professionals have often explained that the part of our brains where habits are stored, holds them for as long as we live. This means that if you have formed healthy habits, you’re in luck. In contrast, the same applies to patterns that ultimately harm your well-being.

So, how can you change your habit if it is less than likely for that to happen in the first place? If you are dealing with a pattern that you find annoying and want to change for the better, the answer is simple – you create a new habit. In a way, you trick your mind with the sole act of replacing one habit with another.

For example, if you want to ensure that you are eating healthier, you create the habit of preparing a healthy breakfast. This is how you replace consuming junk food or other unhealthy food in the morning. Of course, depending on your willpower level, you may even need some help from a wellness transformation coach. That is okay (it is a preferred option even), as it can assist you in achieving the desired final goal.

Remember, in the end, as complex as the mind can get; it is easy to train and to your advantage  – it just takes a great amount of determination.

How can you use habit change to stay on track with your goals?

While we are on the subject of goals, if you haven’t noticed by now, they are all powered by the habits that we have. Everything that we know, and our entire behavior accumulated through life, consists of habits that make us who we are.

Sometimes, this can be a cycle that some people want to break. The constant need to be better and setting new goals in life sometimes requires a change on our end too. As good as you may be and as many healthy habits as you may have, depending on your goals, it can require even more dedication and change.

You can try numerous ways to break down the patterns you have created in your habits. All you need to do is give a little bit of your time, put some effort into it, and stay consistent.

Using the habit change to keep up with your goals is crucial. The first thing that you can incorporate in this case is a list. Create a list of all the things you should incorporate and change into your life and behavior if you want to achieve something.

For example, since we are on the subject of healthy habits in 2023, making a New Year's resolution is always a good idea. This way, you will not only set a few goals for yourself for the New Year, but you also get to see how far you have come too! Once you start writing things down, you may subconsciously notice that you have already achieved some of the goals you intended to set. This practice can give you the willpower to be even more disciplined.

There is also the bonus of feeling like you have a “clean slate” when you start a new year, giving you the freedom to do and be anything you want! 

How does stress affect your eating habits?

The best healthy habits we can adopt through life are the ones that make us feel happy and fulfilled. But there is no such thing as living a stress-free life. Especially in the world that we live in today, where if you do not keep up the pace, you shouldn’t try at all, stress is a component that seems more and more present in our lives. However, don’t let this discourage you. Like most things in life, stress is completely manageable – you just need to find the best technique!

Since changing habits is a vast subject, let’s turn our attention to one subject that seems more important than anything else nowadays – nutrition. The fast-paced lives we lead can often contribute to weight gain and consuming plenty of unhealthy foods. This means that eventually, stress leads to more unhealthy habits and junk food, and then the junk food leads to even more stress, trapping you in a vicious cycle.

If you notice that you are becoming a part of this cycle, it is only natural that you want to break it and get out of it as fast as possible. Some people turn to a wellness transformation in these cases, while others turn to highly restrictive dietary plans.

Stress can significantly impact your eating habits, and you may consume a lot more or a lot less food. Either way, it is not okay. But, even through all that stress you experience during the day, you need to be aware that it ultimately affects your metabolism too.

Think about it this way – everything around you, from electronic devices to your colleagues at work, can contribute to your daily stress levels. Once that triggers an alarm and makes you want to eat something, get ready to fight the urge. There are numerous ways to make that happen, from having a healthy snack prepared to meditation, breath work, and using a stress ball. Any wellness transformation coach can help you achieve this!

How does stress affect your sleeping habits?

Turning the page to another interesting subject – did you know that stress can even affect your sleeping habits? You may have thought that you have insomnia and think this issue will resolve on its own, but it is not the case. Believe it or not, the reason why people experience nightmares is due to stress!

The stress factor is no joke, and you should be aware of its consequences on your overall quality of life. There is an easy way to tell if it has affected your sleeping habits, and you can do it simply by looking at how many hours you sleep at night.

An adult should get an average of 7-9 hours of sleep. Of course, it depends on several factors – including age, profession, and nutrition. But once we add the stress factor into the equation, everything changes. Stress is something that we normally experience and consider a short-term thing. However, once it has integrated into your life and becomes a long-term feeling that constantly hovers over your head, it will have an adverse effect on your sleeping patterns.

Experiencing too much stress in your life can lead to delayed sleep onset, broken sleeping patterns, anxious thoughts at night, and so much more. This is far from being the best healthy habit you can have.

This is why it is important to know how to manage the stress levels in your life. Turning to meditation, mindfulness, and even exercise has proven to be a highly successful technique that can lead to a better life and better sleep. Additionally, try to avoid electronics for at least half an hour before you go to sleep. Instead, change your smartphone for ten pages of a good book! Lastly, be mindful of the food and drinks you ingest before bed – avoid sugars, caffeine, and carbohydrates.

3 ways technology makes it even harder to break bad habits

Breaking bad habits can be a challenge, especially with all the things that pose a distraction in our lives. Even though some people can get distracted much easier than others, one aspect poses the same threat to falling into all habits easily – technology.

Think about it – we spend most of the day in front of a screen. Before continuing, we want you to check the screen time spent on your phone – the number may surprise you! Eventually, it has turned into a habit that trumps going outside for a walk, seeing your friends, or doing something around the home. Have you ever thought about the effects technology has had on the overall quality of life? People who want to turn to healthy habits tend to avoid sitting in front of a screen for an extended period. This is because they have realized the negative effect it can have on their progress.

If you are unaware of how technology can impact your life, here are three ways it can pose an obstacle on your way to success:

1. You are always available – being available all the time sounds like the perfect solution for everything – except when it is not. Availability seems to have become something we take for granted nowadays, and putting yourself out there for other people’s needs means you are not meeting your own needs. This can interfere with your progress. For that reason, we advise you to shut down, literally! Turn off your electronics or mute your notifications and find the time to do some activities that can improve your overall well-being.
2. Eating while you work – technology can also impact your dietary habits. We are overwhelmed with work, we want to relax and watch a series, and what do we do? We eat in front of a screen. This is not a mindful way to consume food and can negatively impact your lifestyle more than you can imagine. People usually forget that food is a luxury and should be treated as such. So, instead of idly watching your screen, invite a friend to eat together! It’s bound to be more interesting than any other show!
3. Ignoring everything else – you are probably one who buries their face in the phone as soon as you are alone (don’t worry, all of us are). This removes the possibility of enjoying the world around you and yourself on a higher level, which causes less than an optimal lifestyle. Be present and appreciate the world around you! Everything on your phone will surely stay there – you don’t have to attend to every notification immediately!

Don’t worry; all bad habit cycles can be broken – sometimes, you only need the right kind of support!

How can a wellness transformation coach help manage stress?

Once you realize that you need some assistance to form healthier habits in life, nothing can stop you – except yourself. It is only natural to turn to a great support system in these situations. Going to a wellness transformation coach to create some of the best healthy habits is an incredible step!

Undergoing a wellness transformation means changing your views toward life and yourself. It means providing the space to allow good things and healthy habits to flow into your life. There are many positive aspects that you can enjoy while you are on your wellness transformation journey.

View the wellness transformation coach as the means to get to a healthier and happier stage in your life. They help you undergo a specific program that includes several aspects of mindfulness. Some of these steps include:

1. Positive emotion – adding a healthy dose of optimism can significantly reduce stress levels. Coaching is a great way to experience this. Practice mindfulness, gratitude, and physical and mental well-being.
2. Relationships – nurturing a strong and healthy relationship with yourself and others can reduce the level of stress you experience. Once you establish that, you will realize that the connection we have with ourselves and the people around us is the biggest support system.
3. Achievement – finally, after all the wellness coaching, you will feel more accomplished and start achieving everything you have wanted in life. Elevated well-being is tightly connected to a strong and independent feeling of self. Even the smallest achievement should be celebrated as the biggest win!

The best feeling one can experience comes after forming a series of healthy habits that give the proper support through life. We are hoping that, as we have covered some of the most popular aspects of life which are affected by stress nowadays, we have provided a path for you that you can take each time you feel an onset of stress. Habits are essential, so focus on giving yourself the time to learn the healthiest ones!

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