By now, we are at the end of 2021. Did you make new year’s resolutions? This time we will not give you advice on how to keep up the habits, but we will give you 4 habits you need to stop doing. And more importantly, how you convert those into good habits.
Negative thinking
We all experience them: negative thoughts. Perhaps you are shaking your head… but often you have them without realising it or dwelling on them. You have definitely had them once on a bad day. All positive things suddenly look bleak. Even the sun has turned into a thunder cloud. Time to change it up and get yourself out of this spiral of negative thinking.
How do you do that? Be aware of the fact that these thoughts are negative and try to convert them into neutral or positive thoughts. So look for the positive sides of that one event you consider to be negative. Remind yourself and your brain that you don’t want those negative thoughts and try to focus on something else, something positive.
Bad sleeping habits
We live in a digital society. Most likely, your smartphone or laptop are part of your evening or morning ritual. Maybe you even watch television in bed? Stop it! The blue light of these devices disrupts your biological clock. Which makes it harder for you to fall asleep. Go for a book or some relaxing music. This will let your body know it is time to go to bed.
Choose a fixed sleeping pattern. Go to bed at a fixed time and set your alarm at the same time every day. This will help your body to create a sleep routine. Often, you will wake up at the right time without even needing to set your alarm. You will feel more well-rested and will be ready to start your day immediately. Hitting the snooze button will not be necessary.
Drinking too little water
You most likely have read it often before, but here we are again: you really need to drink at least 1,5 litres of water a day. You need to keep your body, and mostly your brains, hydrated. Do you not do that? Then you will often have a headache and/or a lack of focus. Stay far away from drinks full of sugar, even if they are light. Stick to what is best and that is water. You will get a better and smoother skin out of it too.
How do you drink more water? Put a big bottle of water in front of you while working. Remind yourself to drink water by means of post-its. You could always pimp your water by giving it a nice taste, such as adding ginger or lemon to it.
Looking for excuses not to exercise
A little voice that constantly thinks of new ecuses: ‘It is too cold’, ‘it is already dark’, ‘it has been such a difficult day’… Merely reasons not to exercise that day. We understand it is often hard to get yourself to exercise, but once you have completed your training, you get so much energy in return. That is exactly why it is good to refute that little voice and go for it anyway.
A few tips:
- Put your exercise activities on your calendar. This prepares your brain for the fact that you will exercise that day, which lessens your tendency to cancel.
- Wear your sporty outfit beforehand, even if it will still be two hours before you go. Then you pretty much lose any excuse to change your mind.
- Find a sporting buddy and motivate each other. You can even do this remotely. Plan a videocall and do a weekly workout together. Do you want to bet that you would not even dare to cancel?
- Stimulate your employer to go for an internal and integral well-being approach. A good example of such an integral well-being programme is ‘100 Days to an Energetic Workplace’, an online programme that activates employees to assume a healthier lifestyle.
