Last week I came across this Quora post: Mini Habits To Practice Each Day
I want to point out two of those answers which - at least in my mind - mirror the same behavior.
- Make the bed the minute you wake up in the morning.
This gives you 1) you a first small achievement of a task and a great start into the day. 2) Whatever happens that day, you will come home to a perfectly prepared bed, no way around it.
- Put things back to where you've found them after you used them.
I am this kind of person: I clean the room and two days later it looks exactly the same. Old clothes left on the chair, as I had come home just throwing my things there to mentally arrive at home. After reading the post I started to put things where they belong after using them. Meaning, before I eat I get out a plate and cutlery for eating. Sometimes I waited for two days to clean the accrued dishes. It was just more valuable to me to spend the time after the meal not with cleaning the dishes, but enjoying the satisfying moment of having finished a good meal. Now, I always clean the dishes and embrace the feeling knowing that I also already cleaned everything and put it back where it belongs. Same with my clothes: dirty: to the box for dirty clothes, wear again: for ex jeans, back to the wardrobe. Use a pen: put it back. Getting out a document: sort it back again.
You sense it: I am embracing this experience and evolvement and love the effects of it + the results and impacts on my mind and therefore other behavior. For me it helps you to get rid of any physical clutter in your life.
This will have a follow up post about the topic. At this point I just want to encourage everyone to try those habits - if you don't already have them - still, leaving you a bit in the dark, if the effort is actually worth it. Every person is different and needs other needs filled. Thus, I can't promise it. I can truly say that I will put importance into those small habits and general attitudes to teach my children those aspects.
So, I will say. Trust me here and if you followed them for 30 days and admit that it didn't have any positive effect for you, then that is sad. I am not saying that I am sorry leading you into putting the used energy and sacrifices to trying it. I really wanted it for you to help, so I acted with the best intention in mind and I wouldn't change it. Especially since the upsides outweighs the downside by a mile. Let's just assume it did help you. Wouldn't it be worth to try something for 30 days and having the chance of improving your life for all the years ahead living with a higher life quality? I phrased it obviously like this, but here is a trade off everything should be happily willing to do.
Try it and I will link back to this article for the follow up post. So no need for you to take the energy of remembering this to confront me with it. Focus the energy on those to mini habits.
Go out, experiment, explore, and find whatever rocks your personal boat.