How to Embrace Wellness Forward Living with Daily Micro-Habits…The Art of Building Joy in Very Ordinary Things™️
Need a quick primer on how to learn and apply intentional practices that increase your ability to find, embrace and execute a more wellness focused existence each day?
Being “wellness forward” means having the ability—gained through gradual awareness and the development of daily habits— no matter how small, in order to establish a pattern of thinking and doing that increases the health of your mind, body, spirit and essence, such that over time, you are able to improve your quality of life.
Habits cannot be improved upon or consistently implemented until they are created. Creating a habit means establishing awareness of a need, and then responding to that awareness through a behavior that supports and/or affirms it. Enter the micro-habit!
People think wellness forward living requires lots of money, fancy gym memberships, and expensive investments in self- care experiences. Can a wellness lifestyle include those things? Sure. But they are not required. They are bonuses IF they match the individual’s journey and goals. We are in fact a culture quite focused on “the individual’s journey”. But sometimes we have trouble getting out of our own way, we overthink EVERYTHING, and then get find ourselves stuck because the overwhelm in our “big plan of attack” buries us and we get lost in our own procrastination. Ever had that experience?
What’s the most effective way out of procrastination? Start TINY. Employ little pieces of action, one at a time. Set a timer and deliver 5 minutes worth of focused energy, then build from there. You’d be surprised at what you can accomplish in 5 minute deliberate intervals over time. Repetition of those specific efforts is absolutely impactful.
You can completely establish a wellness forward adventure, from anywhere, with some really helpful tools:
1) Creativity
2) A gratitude practice
3) An open mind and an open heart
4) Commitment to the process and the journey, not just the end result
5) Discipline
6) A willingness to acknowledge and appreciate joy in very ordinary things
7) A generosity of spirit towards self, which requires compassion and self love at the very basic level
Below is a list of our favorite timed-tips at Mizzi. We work to embrace each as we attempt to establish positive, daily micro-habits that move our wellness journey forwards, rather than backwards. One tip per day means a full month of micro-habits under the belt before long.
As an aside, you can always look back and see where you DON’T want to be as a barometer for future change, but if you linger there, you will be less likely to make plans that can be implemented in the NOW. Instead, why not keep your eyes open, your head up, and your heart engaged in where you DO want to be?
Remember, most of what we accomplish well in life, is initiated in baby steps.
And as the brilliant Mel Robbins often says, if you get discouraged or lose momentum along the way, ask yourself the following:
Why Not You?
What If It All Works Out?
We Give You Our Summer, Wellness Forward, Primer~
Daily Micro-Habits to Develop & Deliver for Optimizing Self Care and Joyful Living~
1) Talk a walk outside.
2) Meet a friend for coffee in the park or in a neighborhood you love.
3) Get your favorite colored chalk and write an inspirational message on the sidewalk.
4) Hug a puppy or pet that you know well.
5) Breathe deeply and look up into a blue sky.
6) Say thank you and mean it.
7) Dance barefoot in your kitchen to really inspiring music.
8) Bake your favorite, homemade cookies and share some with a neighbor.
9) Sing a song you love, all the way through, with your best Broadway energy.
10) Have a picnic in your living room, dessert first.
11) Sit down for 15 minutes and color with reckless abandon.
12) Change your sheets like it’s a workout.
13) Make a meal you’ve never made before and share the recipe with a friend.
14) Vacuum to really loud, fun, happy music as if your teenage self were making a video for MTV. (You know who you are!)
15) Walk on a beach and scrunch your toes into the sand with each step.
16) Go to bed 30 minutes early, without your phone nearby.
17) Hold someone’s hand.
18) Read a poem and appreciate it.
19) Listen to birds sing and HEAR with your heart.
20) Learn how to do a REALLY GOOD push up. Practice pushup power!
21) Talk more, text less.
22) Go to a Farmer’s Market and buy fresh flowers.
23) Watch a sunset and absorb it.
24)Sit still for 5 minutes and count your blessings, out loud.
25) Do a crossword for fun, even if you don’t get it right.
26) Play with Legos for creative inspiration.
27) Stretch your hamstrings. Seriously. STRETCH.
28) Watch an Oscar-winning film you’ve never seen.
29) Change your mind.
30) Say hello to strangers and smile with purpose.
Let us know how it turns out!
Joy & Hugs To You,
The Mizzi Crew