So, what do you think: Is it harder to start a new habit or quit an old one?
With our current busy schedule, I've been so good at planning ahead and keeping organized. It's the only thing that is keeping me on track! As I've been planning I've been thinking about my mission statement for the year and ways that I can better accomplish that as we enter the second half of 2018. (It's almost June!!)
So many of our goals are all about starting new habits or doing something new. Like: starting a workout routine, or making a new budget. Maybe it's my mind set lately, but all I can think of are things I want to stop doing!
Here is what I'm thinking:
I want to stop talking about myself.
In all honesty, I think this habit got started because of blogging. If you come to my blog then you obviously do care some measure about me and my life. But I cannot assume that everyone in real life cares about the details I share here.
I've noticed in many conversations lately that I'm turning the subject back to myself. Ironically, I hate it when other people do this to me. If someone changes the subject like that, it makes you feel like what you were saying wasn't important or that they don't care. That's not what I want to do to somebody, especially because I do care what they are saying. It's just a bad habit, and most of the time it's because I don't what else to say.
Instead, I would really like to ask more questions about whatever it is the person is saying and show them that I truly do care about them and their life. It's so flattering when someone takes an interest in you like that!
I want to stop checking my phone so often.
It's not a secret that I have an obsessive personality, so I'm not really sure how much of this I can blame on myself and blame on that. I find myself checking my phone ALL the time. It's not just when I have a notification, it's when I'm bored or even for no reason at all.
One day I decided I was only going to check Instagram once that day. Then around 11 am I sat down to take a break from whatever I was doing and my finger just habitually clicked on Instagram! I was so annoyed that I couldn't go 3 hours.
I would really like to be able to go all day without browsing, and then only check my phone when I hear a notification that I need to respond to. I'd like to say that I wouldn't even need to check it then, but I know myself and if I don't respond to a text right away I will forget to.
I want to stop going to bed with makeup on my face.
I used to be awful about this! So I am happy to say I've made improvements. Half the battle was finding a skin care routine that I liked, and I'm loving my DIY system. I do that faithfully every morning. But some nights I fall asleep on the couch and then into bed when Blake wakes me up a little while later.
Now that I'm in my late twenties, I know that skin care is crucial! This falls in line so well with my goal for the year of doing things I will thank myself for later. I know I will thank myself in the future for taking good care of my skin now!
I think what will help me, is developing an after dinner routine. It may be lame to get get into pjs at 6 o'clock but if I do my skin care routine then, I can relax and not worry about trying to do it at 10 when all I want to do is sleep. (Because face it I'm usually asleep by 9.)
In summary:
It's important to be proud of the good habits you've got down pat! I try to think of the things I'm doing well often. Because, let's face it, it's a slippery slope and all too easy to only dwell on the things you don't like or want to change.
But, if you want to reach your goals you do have to do an audit once in awhile! Striving to be a better person is what I would call my ultimate life goal. I think working on these three things will help me do that. The first two will help me be more engaged and more in the moment! The last thing won't necessarily make me a good person, but spending time caring for yourself is important. You can't pour from an empty cup, after all.
So, leave a comment below with how you are doing with your yearly goals! Are your goals more oriented to what you want to start doing or what you want to stop doing? Tell me a habit you are proud of, and one you'd like to work on!
