Habits Archives - Page 4 of 5 - Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Healthy Positive Thoughts To Start Your Day (Part 2 of 2)

Positive thoughts like “you got this” can make a positive impact in your day.

positive thoughts and vibes.

And starting your day with a heart healthy recipe (🍓 below) like this delicious quinoa bowl can get you excited.

strawberry quinoa cereal. — Easy strawberry quinoa cereal recipe below. 🍓

If you’re wanting a better day, you recognize the difference between positive thoughts and negative ones. Thoughts all start in the divided minds we’re given, that’s either hurting or helping us. And if this is new territory for you, start there.

Maybe you recognize which bucket your negative or positive thoughts belongs in, but you don’t know how to toss out the draining ones. They can show up anytime: when you wake up on the wrong side of the bed or when triggered by a memory, situation, or person.

And then the subconscious mind (ego) feeds off the nourishment of holding onto negative feelings or pain as a form of protection and masks its agenda from you. But now you know better. Bypass the unnecessary time wasted in dramatic sorrow. Be proactive with positive affirmations, meditation, yoga, or healthy distractions that are great ideas to reset and get rid of thoughts that have no good business being with you in the first place.

Sounds like a plan, right?

But then going about your day or even seconds later, new thoughts occur from news headlines you read, someone offends or irritates you, a situation stirs an emotional chord, and then you’re right back to negative thoughts and moods. It’s daily and non-stop. Your mind and the negative thoughts grow even if you think you’re living in a safe bubble.

The unhelpful thoughts never have a chance to go away until you decide the one thing you can change and have in common in every thought is YOU.

And so, I share in this detailed blog article what needs to change to get the happy and helpful thought life you want.

This is the second part of the article from last week on relaxing your mind for the best ideas.

Managing thoughts is essential for lifelong learners, and as a prerequisite to being your most productive self, unleashing your creative self, attracting people to your energy, and living your optimal life.

Years ago, I thought traveling to exciting, new places and feeling in woo would conquer negative thoughts, as they temporarily disappeared when senses were heightened (like when you’re newly in love or starting passion work). But those fickle feelings don’t last and things always change after the newness wears off.

So then I dipped my toe in collaborating and aligning myself with the Universe and how to manifest the best life (that’s woo woo to some). For me, I was on the right path and things were looking up, but I still had to do the inner core work in my mind. When all that eventually clicked together, then I could feel the woo hoo! And that’s what we all can celebrate in our lives if and when we get there.

It takes all the pieces–knowledge, process, and application. And if you’re feeling lost, it helps to have a guide.

These are a few guiding and starter points that helped me and hopefully can help you or anyone else who’s trying to figure out a better (thought) life.

The first part can be the hardest–knowing that it all starts in your mind and not someone or somewhere else. This seems elementary after you learn this, but the ego wants to steer you in another direction like something else is the cause or problem. So if you’re busy or not paying attention, that can happen and go on until you’ve had enough.

Another point is, don’t let nagging thoughts (or drama in your mind) that won’t leave you alone play out for longer than needed which is no more than a minute.

And in relationships, especially. It takes just one step to cross the invisible boundaries of another person with your words that originated from thoughts. Walk away from your thoughts to give yourself more peace. Below I have some suggestions on what to do.

So, How to Change From Negative to Positive Thoughts…

Our thoughts are natural to us, and they cause us to take action that can appear inconsistent or as disconnects to others.

To change this, operating from awareness is imperative. Initially, this may feel like work and working harder (like walking uphill with heavy boots instead of sliding downhill). But it’s totally worth it.

You learn a life skill to purge those unwanted thoughts that pop up impromptu and when triggered. I think there should be a required course on this that you learn early on (and would solve some of the world’s problems as people are the problem or solution).

But anyway… changing thoughts gets easier when you’ve learned the skill and it becomes more automatic. The negative thoughts won’t disappear immediately, but much quicker than before in your thought choice, and you’ll be wise enough to know you don’t have to act out or say aloud negative thoughts. Which btw, doesn’t change your personality. It makes you more attractive to the right people.

And that’s part of what separates our discerning brains from animals, young children, or when we were younger…

We all started out immature compared to who we’ve become today.

So here’s how you can reset and get your loving daily juice. To promote loving thoughts, witness your thoughts (I’m sure you’ve heard of this). And practice being aware of what’s coming in. If it’s garbage, then reject or walk away.

If it’s something that you have feelings about and need to process or work through, then allow yourself that grace. Again, you don’t have to air your thoughts to anyone, and not putting energy into negative thoughts is going to help you avoid wasted time. Let them pass through and find the loving side of those thoughts (i.e. how can these thoughts help me?).

In the beginning, as you’re learning or practicing, you want to draw a line in the sand and separate thoughts as helpful or hurtful, good, or bad. Make it easy on yourself and not leave thoughts in the confusing gray zone that’s part of the baggage carried around.

And let’s be clear, these are thoughts and not the actions that could follow. We want to nip them in the bud.

The good thoughts you accept and the bad ones you reject for your own good. If it hurts others, then you toss in the reject pile and you figure out a win-win or kinder way to confront if that’s needed. Ask yourself daily and often: What just came out of my mouth and what’s going on in my head? Hit the archive button if it’s a worry thought until you can find answers, and hit the delete button if it’s a harmful thought to you or anyone else.

Know those thoughts will still be there if you need them, which you won’t, but your brain tries to convince you that they’re important to protect you when they’re not needed (for survival). You can blame the ego (yet again) on that.

So, after you start to live life this deliberate-thinking way and focus on positive thoughts, you can see the difference in the quality of your life and the better air that’s there. You’ll feel more peace, and that helps your stress level and health.

You allow room for ideas to come in, and you become more useful to the world with your abilities. You become part of the solution.

Find A Mantra for Positive Thoughts

Pre-social media days, we were not part of an aware culture like we are in today.

In those days along my journey, I came across these words: “Whatever the question, love is the answer.” I don’t know who the author is that wrote that, but I knew back then that I wanted that. So I printed out and framed those wise words that are now ingrained in memory.

With intention, I used that as my mantra. And even though I didn’t know how to apply it in every difficult situation, I knew that if I aspired to the meaning behind the words, it would one day catch up with me and my self-actualized desires.

So, if you have similar aspirations of a learner mindset, find a mantra or intention (or use the one I used) to go to if you’re trying to change to more positive thoughts and aspirations. It can be used as a distraction from negative thoughts. And you eventually become your words and what you think of.

Use Your Internal Guide

As mentioned, it can be helpful to have a guide and for those ahead of us in certain areas and times in our lives. But the best overall guide is your internal compass.

Sometimes our moods are body-mind imbalanced or off track for a season and we can restore them much quicker if we know what to do.

Our daily and busy lives can do this to us.

But we want to change them because sour moods can crowd out positive thoughts and exacerbate our need to judge, be critical of others or ourselves, and get easily irritated which can cause our negative words or actions.

Being in healthy alignment with yourself is better because, in the end, you and your caretakers are the only ones that will be with you. And you’re the only one that’s with you (and your thoughts) always, wherever you move or travel to.

Sometimes, listening to your internal guide can be countercultural and a bit uncomfortable when you make decisions that aren’t popular or go with the flow. And especially if you’re a harmonious or extroverted person who just wants to get along or people please.

That can make it difficult to live in integrity (doing, saying, and thinking the same thing). Robots will have it easier than us in this way, but sadly the tin man is missing a heart. 🤖

As humans, when our thoughts don’t align that’s when we have a new chance to re-adjust.

Years ago, no one talked about mental health or wellness as part of the daily talk. Now we embrace “knowing better” in our lives.

We don’t have to just take our thoughts (or others at face value) that turn into actions that don’t always get good results and can even get us in trouble in a hyper-sensitive society. Plus, we have more options to change the channels in every sense. And we’re more accountable.

We need this accountability. It makes us better as individual people and all together in our complex world.

So these are some accountable thoughts and maybe some personal growth homework (should you choose to accept the mission?) for turning sour cherry thoughts into sweet ones.

As a bonus, you’ll become a better person as a byproduct. I know because this is all stuff I went through. It takes one to know one, and we’re all here to figure out our best life and selves. So, no judgment here (and actually that’s one of the assignments) 🧡

Pause on the gossiping:

Here’s the better way: if you wouldn’t share the news with others and the person you’re gossiping about in the room, then find a way to filter and say less. And if you’re not sure, ask. More likely you’ll just zip your lip and that’s fine too. It’s really that simple. But even simpler is just not gossiping at all. That becomes an automatic, better way.

When you find you can’t sit and talk in the same conversations with those who gossip, then you know you’ve changed that about yourself. You end up productively filling your time with better ways that lead to better things.

Learn to not judge:

We never know the full picture of what’s going on with anyone else no matter how much we think we do. Take the objective and loving-kind stance.

If you want to have an optimal life, the sooner you learn to let go (of judgment) and to stop controlling so much, the sooner that will start. A prerequisite for this type of freedom (that it is), is to stop judging others at the first judgmental thought that enters and let the negative thoughts pass through.

Quit complaints:

If you say negative things, then you become a negative person when what you really want is happiness.

So if the first thought that enters your mind is to emphasize complaining, that hurts you. Maybe you’re used to complaining to get your way (and learned the squeaky wheel gets the grease).

But also what’s happening in the process is you’ll be seen as a complainer. People who don’t complain will stay away from you, so you’re in company with complainers or those who want you to complain for them or their causes, bringing more negativity in your life and less in theirs.

…If you can make these 3 life changes, you’ll be well on your way to a more peaceful life. It’s simple, but not always easy in the beginning. It takes desire, self-control, and holding yourself accountable. Be patient and easy on yourself. The good news is these traits are changeable with practice.

And if you find people to support your efforts (and let go of the ones who aren’t), it’s easier. Your supporters are your best allies.

Ultimately you decide what type of life you want to live. And you get to decide what thoughts you keep. Copy that.

Heart Healthy Strawberry Quinoa Cereal

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Ingredients

Red quinoa
Organic fresh strawberries
Almond milk

Instructions

Cook quinoa to soft. You can use red or traditional quinoa.
Chop strawberries. Use organic and fresh strawberries. You can freeze what you don't use in a few days.
Add milk.

Healthy Foods Substituting Ingredients

Healthy foods can substitute processed and other ingredients that your body doesn’t use as nutrition.

Getting to love these foods can take gradual changes.

And food variety and curiosity can create opportunities.

Eating healthy got me interested in cooking healthy foods and using healthier ingredients later in life post-catering management work days. Those days I rarely cooked as I was always around decadent foods from a hotel kitchen.

And then stepping away from party planning and into the pandemic days, I started to home cook and bake daily.

One ingredient at a time, I exchanged filler and not so great ingredients for healthy ones.

It started with interest and fascination with exchanging a simple ingredient like yeast for eggs, gives you risen bread instead of pasta.

That’s the same sort of small ingredient change that you can make in daily meal planning (even if you don’t cook today), that can make a big difference in your health.

But first, you need to know what to do.

“When you know better, you do better.” -Maya Angelou

Btw, as of today, Maya Angelou is now appearing on minted quarters (so her legacy advice is even more valuable!).

But anyway… long before I learned to cook, I didn’t care so much about the quality of ingredients as I did the final product taste.

And for work, I planned catering events in hotels and restaurants, and I can’t think of a single instance where there was a request for a full-on healthy party menu (over good tasting meals). That theme never came up in conversations. In throwing successful events, enjoyable and making happy memories in those situations means serving an unforgettable mouthful of delicious.

Once in a while, sprinkled in the mix, there would be a request for healthier alternatives because of food allergies, or for a raw vegetable crudite platter that was considered veg-forward, and to start the party off on a light note. Or for conference event planning, where the catered food was the main daily food the guests were eating and the host planner wanted healthier energy and “brain food” served. But those were the exceptions.

And that’s partly because eating rich foods for a day or eating out for a few days doesn’t have the same consequences as it does for daily eating that become the routines and habits.

When you have an overall goal to stay healthy or be health-conscious, you care about the overall weekly diet and the ingredients. And if you’re the one cooking and adding the ingredients, you get to decide how much of this or that you add to meals. That can very rewarding and I share a few tips below whether or not you cook today.

…You just never know what will be a good source of inspo to get you cookin’ and as I found on my journey.

I never say never, but if you live near a city especially, gardening isn’t usually the main source for full-on meals. But many of us cook regularly as we want to learn how to make new dishes and develop cooking skills confidence.

So that’s my first tip for anyone: to try and cook more often even if you don’t think you can boil an egg or make a box of pasta. We all start somewhere! When you make/cook your food, you start to think about your foods more than when you’re just eating, heating, or ordering food in. And that brings more awareness to eating healthy foods if that’s a goal you have.

And in that case, making everyday recipes that have sticks of butter or shortening just won’t cut it. At first, you can be feeling at odds following recipes that have a mix of healthy and not-so-healthy ingredients. That’s part of the journey.

I always start with the ingredients. If I don’t like what’s in it, then I just skip the recipe or food. But when you’re starting out, following a recipe is easier and can be more fruitful… just in case you needed some cooking encouragement to keep trying.

Our EVOO society has also made it easier. That’s what I call it because EVOO (thank you to the Mediterranean diet) is often used in restaurants over butter, that used to be the standard.

A healthy monounsaturated fat like EVOO (as in EVeryday olive oil + extra virgin) used with a light hand drizzle is going to be a good substitute for your body health. Just add a few drops and then spread it around the pan with a baton flick of the ninja cooking wrist 😊. Just sayin’ too much of a good thing is too much.

But a little bit benefits your cooking too. Besides food flavor and a glisten, this keeps your food and pans from cooking heat burns.

The biggest goes to body health of course. So, my second tip is to substitute butter with healthier ingredients like applesauce or yogurt for baking, and ghee or EVOO for cooking when you can.

Traditional Christmas Cookies are the sweet recipe exception I have found that isn’t the same without the buttery taste-texture. But even in that context, I still think (and from my own baking experiments) know that butter can be substituted, and still be just as delicious and enjoyable. You may just have to get a ‘lil more creative with the cookie decorating.

…I made these (above photo) bak-love-a layers with light EVOO (that’s great for sweet and savory baking). I only used butter to add on the top layer glaze to please my younger self.🤷🏻‍♀️

Just an example that balanced moderation can be effectively added into recipes where it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. I find hard and fast rules can fall flat and in the category elimination diet that I tend to stay away from. I think eating diverse, mostly plant-based, and moderation for most everything else is the way to go and the way I go (and maybe you too?).

But, this is a healthy leap from when I started my baking journey using ingredients like shortening that you still see in Southern comfort cooking recipes.

Aah… but, when I knew better, I did better. And that could be your journey.

Like I learned butter is made from heavy cream and if you keep whipping, it easily turns to butter. It’s lessons like this where you can get revelations like I did, that an ingredient’s makeup and consistency is (ex)changeable. And so, ingredients are not fixed as what we know them as. They can be substituted and swapped in recipes.

A good example would be substituting sugar with healthy foods like dried fruits, fruit zest, or honey (that can help allergies too).

These types of little changes make big difference to health, and how you feel in your day. And, maybe the bottom line… or the waistline (yay!).

Or, maybe you’re a natural Vata (or know of some)…that’s me too 🙋🏻‍♀️, where you may have inherited the thinner genes and higher metabolism. You still have to watch the fats.

If you’re a female adult, you wanna make sure you’re not “skinny fat” that’s a good healthy measurement. You can do this by comparing your waist to hip ratio (where most women can aim for under 80%).

There are no shortcuts to good health as your body has a different opinion on what it needs that’s different than our tastes and wants.

Another healthy substitute is oats and grits for pie crusts, cookies, and brownies mixed with apple sauce or yogurt and honey. When you bake, then you can make these swaps pretty easily, both butter and gluten-free (without flour).

Healthy foods like grits can be used as the pie base.

But when you shop from grocery shelves that’s a different story as pie shells look harmless, despite not-so healthy ingredients. And healthy foods don’t jump off the shelves either.

You can just as easily add Greek yogurt and jam or fresh fruit to your gritty pie shell.. that’ll hold up beautifully!

That’s how I started, not really paying attention to nutrition labels and ingredients. Then along my healthful journey, I decided not to choose Mister Donut of any kind, fresh or not, because I knew and know what’s in them. Besides taste, very little. And lots of sugar and fat. And I trained myself from awareness to look at them like that, and see the missing-ness through the hole in the middle.

But for others, and you, that could just as easily be another processed food item where the consequence is known and inevitable.

When a tradeoff is determined as individually undesirable, then you beneficially want to give it up (and don’t HAVE to give it up that can cause an internal conflict).

These btw (below) are “donut hole” inspo w-hole bites and balls of energy that anyone can bake and substitute for high-sugar and fat.

Black bean “brownie-inspo” ball of energy bites

When you pause on the processed foods, you can gradually not desire to eat the super-sweet stuff anymore. It can work if you work it. And then you actually like the taste of healthy foods.

Your habits then become your choices.

If you’ve ever fasted, then you probably know the feeling… because after a while you can stop caring or obsessing about eating (like I did in fasting experiences). I’m not a good faster but I’ve attempted fasting sweets.

After a day or so, you can stop craving whatever you’re fasting from because you, your mind, and your body are in agreement that you don’t need those foods (at least not now). So, then you’re satisfied. And that’s all you need to care about when it comes to eating enjoyment. Being content to be happy.

…I remember the days when I got teased by friends for eating healthy and selecting healthy food choices. I felt bad they didn’t know what I knew in nutrition, and sadly, that adds aging stress on the body. Our bodies are tricky and complex and has a different daily systematic agenda that doesn’t necessarily like our unhealthy choices after swallowed or initial taste bud food changes that we choose (that can be unhealthy or healthy foods).

I knew back then (even if it was subconscious) that I wanted to live without eating regrets or damaging the one body we’re given, so I followed my instincts and those became habits. When you don’t take for granted your body’s resiliency, that can help you to want to be healthier.

Plus, we have so much more food sources and healthy information available to us now that allows us to buy ingredients in person, online, and from global sources.

When your body is used to you eating healthy, another healthy food strategy (and final tip) is to switch up the healthy foods and ingredients regularly. Switching up foods is fun.

It’s an enjoyable game you can play that you’ll never get sick of and is what your body wants for you as it craves good taste and healthy variety.

Plus, if a food is labeled bad or good and that evolves or changes, like nuts used to be deemed bad and now are great healthy fats, then you haven’t put all your eggs in one basket 🥚🥚… you know what I mean, Jelly Bean 😉.

And you can make your own baklava… baking and phyllo dough is as fun as pasta making along with the Great British Baking Show.

Mediterranean Phyllo Dough For Baklava

Course Dessert

Cuisine lebanese

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup flour
1 cup water
pinch of salt
honey
chopped nuts
dates, orange, and cinnamon (optional)

Instructions

Making phyllo is a lot like making homemade pasta, but much thinner.
Make a mound and a hole in the middlle where you can add the olive oil and slowly add water. Knead for about 5 minutes and then form a dough disc. Let rest.
Roll out as thin as possible and then you can slip into the pasta maker if you have one, adjusting until you get to the thinnest setting (e.g. 1). It will look opaque but the hope is that there will be no holes.
Cut into strips that you will use as layers for the baklava.
For the baklava, you can brush honey and top with chopped dates and nuts (walnuts or pistachios work well) on every other layer if you make 7 layers ending with the top layer with honey and nuts. Sprinkle each layer with cinnamon and orange zest if you like (good for Ayurvedic Vata balancing!).

7 Habits of Highly Effective People Learned Lessons

7 Habits of Highly Effective People are habit principles you can use in most aspects of your life. I learned this from teacher and author, Stephen Covey who taught from his principle book: 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

I can’t think of anything more work adrenaline-filled than putting on a moving-part event production. That’s how I felt when I would plan and then orchestrate large events with over 100 guests, where the habits from 7 Habits of Highly Effective People were put to good use.

Setting up event success meant planning milestone meetings with chefs and managers (and plenty of meetings with myself) with a 5 P’s mantra: Proper planning prevents poor performance.

That’s not a personal mission statement, but it’s a success value statement. In my event planning, I learned many powerful lessons that can be applied to personal change and growth.

On event nights, the party starts at the ready time or at least the staff and I have to be ready.

That’s when we know whether the prep work laid out hours beforehand pays off with a successful event. And this actually starts weeks and sometimes months in advance by planning menus, setup, and details with planners and chefs.

Each event is like its own wedding event even though it may have fewer mini-events and agendas.

The first two habits (of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People) always took center stage to anticipate changes:

1. Be proactive

2. Begin with the end in mind

During the parties, when there were too many moving parts, being in the moment, keeping focused on the guests, gauging the temperature of the room, and checking in on the party host (be proactive) was part of event success (begin with the end in mind).

And in your daily life, you probably don’t plan events (or not in a live event space today anyway)…but most of us plan our daily event schedules.

So most of us are planners. On the calendar, you can (and may already) practice be(ing) proactive and begin with the end in mind habits.

One effective way is, if you only have an activity that requires a bi-weekly (or bi-anytime) habit… and to succeed with those tasks, you could fill the non-weeks or time with another activity so that your mind has to search for the “either/or” activity.

If you don’t create a weekly placeholder activity then you could unintentionally forget/skip the bi-weekly intended one. The mind needs a replacement to substitute.

If it’s an every other day activity, then you could fill that same activity time for another activity, that follows a daily habit (or the habit stacking concept most of us have come to love and know from the more recent Atomic Habits by James Clear).

And that’s why I personally got rid of calendars because of building habits.

It’s much easier for the habit to stick (and for consistency to happen) when you have an “automatic” method programming your mind.

That’s easier and in event planning, that’s the “you got this” feeling in event planning when you’re on top of everything and proactive. You’re not writing everything down in those critical seconds needed to make a decision.

Most professions have these “make or break” moments. For a surgeon in a hospital emergency room, if the doctor has to look up procedural answers then, that’s not a good sign.

And in event planning that I know, being reactive with situations is crushing and it can be a snowball effect where the plates come out late or cold. And there’s a complaint about the room temperature and drinks.. and in those humbling times, you can’t wait until the end of the event, that’s only a matter of time.

To get to the proactive level takes planning, proficiency, and experience that creates confidence. And that starts from building consistent habits.

Consistency is the end-all, be-all that builds progress, and confidence and works for every important habit that I can think of at least. You consistently follow a habit. And when a better habit idea comes along, you replace that habit.

But consistency isn’t without downfall. It can be at odds with creativity, so consider looking at them as the yin-and-yang, or the sugar and the salt in baking that give the balanced spice in life.

And using solid principles like that from Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People can improve your effectiveness.

They can help you in life’s productivity and also deeper areas like finding your life’s purpose, a proactive choice that can easily get los in life’s busyness and commotion of what’s seemingly urgent but not important to you.

You’re headed in the right direction when you keep developing yourself and pivoting. You keep practicing new skills, putting one step in front of the other and looking at your compass.

The Universe is constantly guiding you and offering an invisible hand to help you and give you a hand up.

The healthy and growth mind set knows that a re-route is to help you move up in the climb of your life and get off the roller coaster ride.

If you begin thinking with the desired outcome end in mind, then your process in the middle is improved when you set your eyes on the end goal.

You can better Ready, Fire, and Aim.

And when you stay focused and open to feedback using habits #3 and #4 from seven Habits of Highly Effective People:

3. Put first things first

4. Think win-win

These days prioritizing what’s important is more blurred than in the past.

Most of us live a double life to some degree with our digital lives and real lives, so putting first things first (habit #3) is not the easiest thing and can be complex.

Both lives are authentic. Your sweet spot is what makes you stand out and the skills that you’re good at that are relevant.

The biggest competitor you could run into for a win-win approach (habit #4) can be yourself and your moods (we used to blame much more on others). We’re now a more openly aware and collaborative society.

Being able to give is a gift. It’s a win-win.

There’s a cosmic exchange when you give your energy away in optimism, and then the world dances. When you give your time (service) or money (generous giving), that can also create buzz and impact for your endeavors.

When you can start looking at how you fit in the world, not selfishly, but what you can give in the abundant overflow you’re given in personality, gifts, and talents, then you can grow to your highest and best use purpose (habit #2).

In self-awareness, then you can create a continuing growth environment (kaizen is the Japanese word in business terms) for you and others around you (habits # 5-7):

5. Seek first to understand, then to be understood

6. Synergize

7. Sharpen the saw

“You have two ears and one mouth,” I remember Author Stephen Covey saying in his workshops.

Listening is more importing than talking.

Habit #5 summed up: Hearing, selective listening, and active listening are 3 different processes. The first is naturally automatic, the second is tuning in/out when multi-tasking, and the third is focusing, taking notes, and coming up with unique ideas from what you heard in your frame of reference and experiences.

In my event planning days, if a client had an issue, it was best to listen to them, then give them available options based on what they communicated (habit #5) and let them decide which options to take (habit #6). Seasoned event planners know how to do that every time, and let those dialogues roll off their tongues (habit #7). And that way the client felt in charge and if things didn’t go as planned, then they owned part of the outcome. That’s the behind-the-scenes smoothness in event planning.

And that helps in most ways when you work with others. If you fill them in with communication nd what you’re up to, there’s a greater chance they can fill in and help in ways you wouldn’t even know how, now.

Habit #6: 1+1=3 or synergy is exponential growth that happens when you have collaboration. And when you keep adding/evolving collectively to what you’re doing, then you’re getting better. By default, you’ll avoid the things you didn’t like or “been there done that,” and keep seeking newer, better ways for yourself. That leads to growth and…

Habit #7: Evolved learners focus most of their time on the present moment and not on the past or future that hasn’t happened.

They know where they’re at and that the past brought them to where they are today. And without the past, they would not have learned (from their history) what they need to do to improve.

And when you get out of the negative emotions of that headspace or focus on the happy memories, you can feel good and alive.

When you can reflect, you can see why things happened and how they helped you even though it didn’t seem that way when you were learning the lesson.

Everything happens for a good reason (believe that!) and sometimes that takes a little longer to realize… and, at every turn you are gaining a little more confidence in who you are becoming.

And you gain a clearer vision for the future and better strategies that you can better evaluate from time to time.

In events, dessert were always a must. Baklava was on the Mediterranean-Lebanese restaurant menus. We didn’t make baklava in-house, but you can with this low-sugar recipe. 🥮

Mediterranean Phyllo Dough For Baklava

Course Dessert

Cuisine lebanese

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup flour
1 cup water
pinch of salt
honey
chopped nuts
dates, orange, and cinnamon (optional)

Instructions

Making phyllo is a lot like making homemade pasta, but much thinner.
Make a mound and a hole in the middlle where you can add the olive oil and slowly add water. Knead for about 5 minutes and then form a dough disc. Let rest.
Roll out as thin as possible and then you can slip into the pasta maker if you have one, adjusting until you get to the thinnest setting (e.g. 1). It will look opaque but the hope is that there will be no holes.
Cut into strips that you will use as layers for the baklava.
For the baklava, you can brush honey and top with chopped dates and nuts (walnuts or pistachios work well) on every other layer if you make 7 layers ending with the top layer with honey and nuts. Sprinkle each layer with cinnamon and orange zest if you like (good for Ayurvedic Vata balancing!).

How Atomic Habits Inspire Ayurvedic Habits (Part 2)

My first career job was in hotel catering. Those were the days where I learned the hardest management lessons. And as a young adult who was free to make choices, I could develop habits. These eventually evolved into the modern ayurvedic-inspired atomic habits I do today (that I share below).

You see… back then, it became obvious to me that I didn’t have a work-life balance as I missed all the new Friends (and my friends’) episodes, weddings, and any other current events happening other than the ones I was booking.

I didn’t have body balance (I was lucky I was young 😉). And I didn’t think about anti-inflammatory spices as they weren’t existing headlines in western world, metro-city area living.

Instead, I was surrounded by high-calorie, buttery-tempting, sweet foods from a daily chef-prepared food spread and kitchen where I spent most of my day.

I had a dilemma because part of me liked the rich foodie foods, and part of me just wanted to eat healthy every day. I knew I had to find a middle ground.

So when I left that job and decadent eating world and lifestyle, I entered another dilemma… Yup… fresh Doubletree chocolate chip cookies 🍪 that sat inches away from my office desk (how dare they!). They made for a good snack I thought back then, and was a filling breakfast, high-calorie meal.

Life back then was a blur.

My good habits were going to work, surviving, and trying to do better tomorrow. Little did I know that I was creating space for better work-life habits.

And life improved when I started getting a work-life balance after switching careers. I was able to have a normal work life more like my friends. Working on me, personal growth, the life I wanted, and getting better habits became real.

The previous work must’ve been a test and as far as I’m concerned, all that matters is I passed 😊

But that didn’t come without consequences. I had to replace bad habits I accrued working in a sometimes dysfunctional work environment and from my past.

And I didn’t become serious about better habits until I learned ayurvedic best practices and yoga (about 7 years after I went to a “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” workshop that Stephen Covey taught).

I think the habit stacking idea that James Clear introduced in Atomic Habits (I mentioned in last week’s post) is perfectly timed for what we need now in our complicated society and lives just so we can keep up with all of our habits.

Habit Stacking

Today, in a lot of ways, it’s much easier to develop and stick with healthy habits like eating healthier as we have better resources and tools (digital calorie counters), researched information at our fingertips, and better food options. It’s also easier to get distracted.

But if you focus and lean into the homecourt advantages in your daily surroundings, you don’t have to compete with your possible two critics sitting on your shoulder, and your digital devices staring at you.

Technology and conveniences help us develop automatic and consistent habits, that can eventually become a part of who we are.

Like: I have a writing habit, so now I’m a writer (and a blogger at heart ❤️).

Or, if you can prepare at least 1-2 healthy meals every day, you’re a health-conscious person. In his book, Clear describes these identity shifts as helpful for your atomic habits to take solid root.

For me in my story, I could’ve started a healthy way in my long, hotel workdays, starting each day with a homemade, healthy breakfast (not a cookie) and a light dinner if I had made the decision to create a process or system for healthy eating habits. (Not an excuse, but it’s extra hard for a Vata, as variety is our middle name).

That wasn’t my story though. That would’ve required body-mind agreement in the stressful life I had back then. And I wouldn’t have known how to begin in my life’s busyness.

And that’s how many of us are:

We delay our best life… We can fall into the trap of thinking, “I’ll get healthy (or happy) when… (fill in the blank with the perfect situation… retirement, kids grow up, I have kids, etc..). We don’t know we can do a little here and there to influence a lot.

To make changes, doing the small stuff regularly makes big differences (atomic habits).

James Clear makes clear (his name works for him!) 4 traits to creating habits that stick.

They are: make it obvious, attractive, easy, and satisfying.

Your description of each of these will be different than mine but here is an example for creating a healthy snacking habit:

I purposefully set up a nice snack table (… festive decorating is part of the territory of someone who has worked in event planning 🎉). But you can set out a tablecloth and that would be just as good!

On the table, I set out a bowl of almonds or healthy nuts and other seasonal healthy snacks and fruits like baked apples and whole apples.

You won’t see a disguised trail mix, a bowl of M&M’s, or potato chips. That would defeat the purpose.

For the habit creation, I leave out healthy food items that can stay out (obvious food props) on a pleasing presentation (attractive display) that is convenient for a snack hankering (easy) and is enjoyable (satisfying).

And when it’s an afternoon snack or break time I can pull out any refrigerated items like this.

Atomic Habits — Healthy sweet snack: Sweet potato casserole with apple crisps, oatmeal, and lightly sprinkled toasted marshmallows.

You can take this same idea to other places or find a better way that works for you. In most cases, it’s up to you to create the work-life balance and lifestyle you want. Ideally, I try to make a short break, a small party. Life is short and I’m an Enneagram 7, so I lean into the enjoyable as a motivator and as often as I can.

…I have a smiling photo of me (on my about page) where I’m holding a Strawberry Twizzler, one of my favorite non-fussy sweet treats I can just pull out. You don’t see me holding a healthy baby carrot because that’s not a happy reward unless you’re a rabbit.

Carrots and almonds are the healthy snacks I default to the majority of the time. Because we all want a healthier body as an end goal, so beginning with the end in mind, I have a process (eating healthier most of the time) that supports that.

I keep the end goal in my mind as the compass pointing north.

If you want to be healthy and happy, and ultimately both, then maybe these unwritten rules can help you.

Let me start with… You can cheat along the way with unhealthy foods, but be mind-body aware that you are doing so, so you’re the one in control of your decisions. Make sense?

…Happy is happy (healthy or not), and most of us healthy-minded also want to be happy.

With my healthy identity, I’m no longer fully happy if I’m not overall healthy and I’m not happy if all I’m eating are bean sprouts and edamame pods. So having this happy-healthy (working with each other) attitude helps with daily micro-decisions that become overall atomic habits.

This mix of healthy and happy I believe is sustainable, balanced living and the right environment for creating healthy habits. Because if you diet or go to the extremes or deny yourself, then you can end up yo-yo dieting, quitting, or reverting backward. It starts out good and then is worse than when you started.

I use moderation as the measuring stick. So my internal dialogue can be something like this, where I ask myself, “is it satisfying enough?” or…”will a piece of fruit satisfy me now as much as a biscuit or cookie?”

And if you think you’re missing that gene or self-discipline, you’re not alone. But then you accept the consequences that instant gratification brings.

I know this isn’t new news, and if it’s a struggle for you, then it’s probably a touchy subject and especially if you’re trying to lose weight. But the less aspiration and more awareness you can apply to your situation, the more it can help to break down disconnects from getting you what you ultimately want in your life and what ends up happening.

Some may think who know me…”OK, that’s easy for you to say because you’re naturally trim.”

That btw, is a natural Vata body trait. But that’s not the complete picture… because back in my hotel catering days before I discovered my ideal weight, I fluctuated in my dress size.

Back then my daily dress size was at least a size or two larger, and I couldn’t fit into the clothes I wear today. There shouldn’t be comparisons because it’s all relative to your body because you only get one in your life marathon.

But, that’s how I know in my experience, that it is a healthy habit that makes the difference or at least gives you that edge to what you want, body and all. The body is important because without good health you can’t live your optimum life. And ideal weight is one of the medically accepted measurements to determine this. And low blood pressure is another.

So to me what our hearts look like is more important than how we look in jeans. So cardio is the ultimate for all. But to stay the same jeans size, here’s what I do:

I think of the small, regular daily habits as healthy ones that will make a difference (atomic habits principle)… and the rewarding, happy habits like having a weekly treat, as special celebratory ones.

You are better off when you stay sustainably moderate and don’t deny or go overboard either way. Staying consistent year-round is the ultimate test to seeing if a healthy-happy attitude (like I described above) is stacking into habits.

If you apply the 80/20 rule, then 5-6 days of the week you are eating healthy, and 1-2 days you can be roughly taking off. Like a yo-yo, you resiliently let your string out and pull it back in, and you say no thank you to any yo-yo fad diets that come your way.

I think it’s much easier to do this without keeping score. Your body is always keeping score, but you don’t know what the exact rules are or what the magic number is.

It’s a guess as to what your calorie balance or deficit goal is. …If only your body could give you those exact formulas at any moment?

So, in my opinion, artificial calorie counters or counting sugar grams take the enjoyment out of life when you could use that same useful time and energy to create natural atomic habits.

You can more or less feel the middle balance (and that becomes a worthwhile habit). It’s like training your brain to do quick math without a calculator, but much easier as you’re just using binary numbers 1=yes (eat) or 0=no (don’t eat).

In my world, that’s cutting down the sweets, cookies, and cakes (like those that used to be in open sight in my catering sales days). And now, not indulging in The Great British Bake Off recipes no matter how much I’m a fan of the show! The Jammie Dodgers will have to wait 😉

But I digress.

Healthy and Happy Atomic Habits

If we evaluate our current habits and see which ones are replaceable, tweakable, and what we want to happen, then we can have a balanced (healthy and happy) outcome in life. …And nowww we’re getting somewhere!

Here are 5 atomic habits you can also do if you want (that started small for me and made a big difference):

1.Daily Morning Atomic Habits:

Last time I talked about my morning yoga habit I created from habit stacking that took a lot of tweaking for my Vata self.

For you, maybe you just need to reframe and substitute “yoga” to “a stretching habit,” and then it’s doable and not a formal or intimidating practice that you’re not ready for.

When you get up, you’ve already stretched at least once or twice (so why not give a new name called “habit?”).

And from there, you can keep habit stacking, like doing a few situps or pushups, etc… your mantra here can be: a few adds up!

-Create a habit to be intentional for the day. Getting intentionally grateful for something or everything changed everything for me.

I used to have a weekly gratitude journal so I could really take in appreciation for the small stuff… and I mean small relative to my part of the world where people are blessed! (We all start somewhere as it keeps us humble, hungry, thirsty, and wisdom-seeking).

You can journal or simply look at a joyful image like a framed artwork, photo, or outside your picture window for inspiration.

In this place of gratitude, you find peace and contentment. There’s no room to complain. Or to put up with gossip. That changes your joyful outlook and what happens in your day as you create your next forward step. Don’t just look at what happens to you. See how you react and what your attitude and beliefs are, that will shape your habits.

-Check-in with yourself. Take at least 5 minutes in the quiet morning and scan your mind for any ideas and anything that isn’t in a place of appreciation for your day (or sitting as neutral thoughts)… remember, we all start somewhere.

Get up a little earlier if you have to, in order to claim your quiet minutes.

If you didn’t sleep well, shake off any negative energy, thoughts, and nightmares. You will be okay if you don’t hold onto those thoughts. Let your mind know that your skull is protecting your brain and your thoughts, so it doesn’t have to. I’m serious.

Forcibly if needed, let unforgiveness go. Let the world just be as is in your brand new day – no judgment or comparison to other days. That’s where peace is and you can save yourself the time from eye-shutting transcendental meditation (that I don’t do).

Decide to rise above your insecurities and let go of your worries. Shift to a loving higher road lens that ends fear. (I know because I started out in life afraid of just about anything and everything).

Reset to a day full of abundant possibilities that rely on your hopeful beliefs.

Then check if you feel something physically off in your body? Maybe your stomach needs food. Get to the bottom of what’s not feeling right, and stack onto your other healthy body habits like drinking water first thing.

And notice your bathroom habits in the morning. Are they regular? How can you healthily make them more regular? Depending on if you have a pronounced body imbalance, there are different fixes for each Ayurvedic body type.

Some interesting differences I can point out…

Vata, Pitta, and Kapha

Vatas are naturally alert, light sleepers, so having a lot of worrying thoughts is common. Not all worry is bad, but worry as a habit is.

As a Vata, we like a lot of variety. I think I could be a Vata poster child. Loving variety is my favorite Vata feature if I had to pick just one. But then there are times when this can go awry. Like if you’re in a relationship and your partner is a Pitta (a lot of men are).

They may not understand why there are so many different choices and cups of beverages around, and for different drinking desires.

For a pure Pitta, they like to drink their drink and move on.

A Kapha will leave things be and to what makes another happy (unless they’re not).

But that can be too stereotypical. …what was that movie line where the actor mentioned pigeon-holing or generalizing saves time, lol?

…ok where was I anyway?

Oh right.. we’re not just one type or the other and we can get imbalanced and change at any time. And that helps us build better habits.

As Vatas, we too have experienced impatience, being critical or more judgmental than usual, which are more Pitta traits. And have accumulated in every sense of the word (that’s more of a Kapha trait).

No one is 100% all Vata, Pitta or Kapha, ever. We can have our Vata, Pitta, and Kapha days and strengths or weaknesses (imbalances) happening all at the same time. But usually, it’s just one or two.

These human nuances I think are part of the fun in learning to read in Ayurveda 😊 (and not having to learn Sanskrit).

So then continuing on with habits… You (and I) can…

-Check in with breathing. After you’re fully awake, get in the habit of focusing on your breath so you can be more aware of this moment.

I often find I wake up with a slightly stuffy nose. If that’s you, practice breathing in and out of your mouth so you can get full breaths. See if that improves your mental clarity and from being slightly forgetful. Our brains (not just our lungs) need oxygen to optimally function.

You can also add a plant (adds oxygen), humidifier, and steaming (from the shower or in a pot on the stove). Watering can be part of the atomic habits you adopt for a more whole life.

2. Afternoon Atomic Habits:

Sandwich the news in the afternoon and early evening when you’re in the swing of things or eating lunch. I don’t recommend news in the early morning or late night (to start and end your day with other worries and gloomy thoughts).

Eating a heavier lunch will help carry you through at least part of the afternoon. I don’t combine breakfast and lunch (brunch). I actually eat breakfast, brunch, and lunch. And the afternoon snack already mentioned. And I add spices.

My body runs efficiently that way as I’ve taught it to work and burn calories when I feed it regularly, and it’s hungry for more.

Call it healthy snacking or what you want, but if you try small bites, that could be an atomic habit that works as it has for me.

I also turn music on in the afternoon and you may find that enhances your mood if you select the right genre.

3. Evening Atomic Habits:

Eat a light dinner. This works better for most body types because naturally, your body is winding down, getting ready for night and sleep that are just hours away. This is where I like to keep a light protein or plant-based meal based on the season. So that could be a homemade soup (low sodium) or a salad.

I reserve the lasagnas and similar heavier meals for leftovers. They taste better the next day anyway. I don’t eat the way I did growing up where we ate our heartiest meal at dinner.

And if you watch nightly media shows or television, end on neutral or warm and fuzzy thoughts. Watch a light-hearted comedy, cooking show, HGTV, or Friends.

4. Weekly Atomic Habits:

I moisturize A LOT. If you’re a Kapha, you don’t need to as much.

While I’m sitting down, I also make a list of revelations and progress that I made in the past week. They help me feel good and keep me focused on what I need to grow or start (that can become a good habit).

And I feed my mind-spirit with a weekly church where I hear stories and messages I can relate to (like podcast messages). I know I’m not alone. But I know a lot of people out there who feel they are.

So, frequently throughout the week in my quiet mornings and minutes I include outward prayer, higher intellect self-talk, and meditation as absorbing thoughts I get from the Universe while my eyes are open and I’m fully receiving and present.

I started this habit and process of attending church throughout the week, and spiritual identity around when my healthy identity changed. The practice makes everything else work and come alive.

5. Check Your Process (Are you missing anything?)

And FINALLY… homestretch here! For all of us, once you start a process you can recalibrate from that standpoint.

Like, when I restored my mind-body imbalances from Ayurvedic practical habits after I first learned what to do… and then I noticed sometime later, a new set of imbalances settled in.

It was like: Ok, you got this one down, now it’s time to learn and be tested with another.

…Isn’t that how most of Life feels?

I found sometimes the imbalance combinations overlapped like feeling tired in the morning and anxious heart palpitations in the afternoon, and sometimes lingering irritation thoughts from a previous season.

So I started paying attention more from the lens of healthy Ayurvedic habits I formed that complemented my spiritual-faith-based ones. Daily and seasonal restoration work is now natural to me and doesn’t feel like work, but they too have become atomic habits, when needed.

…but I am ALWAYS checking to see (and aware) if I’m missing anything in life (similar to checking if a jean zipper is pulled up).

A balanced mind-body-spirit supports a healthy, whole lifestyle, where you’re open, but not unsure of the most important things about you and your life.

It’s never too late (or too soon) to find what completes you. And, I hope I inspired you to never give up on your healthy life and the small, atomic habits you can start that can grow wings especially if you believe the Universe has your back.

You just never know how a split-second and tiny action can help lead you to what you’re wanting most, and even when you don’t know what that might be right now.

How Ayurvedic Habits Are Useful (Part 1)

Ayurvedic habits was introduced to me 13- years ago to date when I embarked on a new healthy way of doing life. Yoga was still a new concept to the western world. And I was about to start my first blog.

ayurvedic habits

Those were the days before personal awareness, #metoo movements, and before western Ayurveda ways caught on with some (like me and maybe you?).

I’d been striving for balance ever since the day I realized I didn’t have any, and in my memory as far back as when the popular Friends sitcom show first came on.

Those were pre-internet days where you never saw a laptop at the Central Perk television set or anywhere for that matter ☕️

You and I can laugh at the wired phone cord that would be fun to untangle now. Phones back then weren’t wireless or smart. And watches were used to just tell time.

Technology and life are interesting in how it’s constantly evolving, and never going backward. Along the way, your tastes and wants can also change as you grow up.

I’m not a traditionalist, so I lean towards growth and doing things differently.

…but I started out on a traditional college to the corporate work-life path (with no work-life balance). And through life’s swerves, hidden turns, and purposeful career switching, I gradually turned around the tide.

You know when you don’t have the life you want when you run into dead ends, and that makes you search for the unknown. You know there has to be better if you use the right optimistic attitude. That btw, teaches you to steer away from sarcasm and Murphy’s Law thinking that was common during the Friends and Seinfeld show era.

Starting out in my career in hotel catering management taught me that not filling hotel rooms with guests was the biggest (opportunity) cost to the bottom line. I carried that way of thinking into my life even back then when I wasn’t aware. I realized not doing my highest and best use (that was taught in college) was my biggest loss.

That concept became my motivator to leave jobs I was unhappy or miserable with that had no rewarding path I could see for personal growth or in their business improvement.

In my late 20’s I wanted work-life balance, and to end the 50-60 hour workweek rut I was in walking around like a zombie in my downtime, that I started out with.

I kept the mantra running in my mind that I would not get my time back…and when I saw no way out, I found a way out.

And that’s how I switched industries into corporate tech office work. There I experienced newfound balance, and after I got a taste of that, I wanted more.

I went from not-so-healthy to balance, healing, and eventually wholeness. It was an overnight change that took over a decade.

And somewhere in that mix, the economic downturn hit where I went back to where I began in hospitality work. I had changed but the industry had not, so I moved on yet again.

…And that’s why I believe for everyone, Life is meant to get better despite the curve balls thrown at you.

Yes, you age, but you grow wiser and smarter. And you can adopt the right attitude if you help yourself to get there. I would never want to go backward in time.

…and I know now time can be underrated, and that it’s our most valuable asset (especially as you enter your 30’s and beyond).

I also now know that time is well spent when all 365 days of the year, I practice healthy and happy balance (that means green smoothies, food variety, and never changing Strawberry Twizzlers!). Plus, daily reset and renewal, and Ayurveda prevention and restoring ways.

….And that last one is what I’m most proud of for taking care of my body and mind.

Learning Ayurvedic habits was a new concept for me as a mid-adult who had lived around suburban malls and eating prepared foods in popular restaurants (and some that I couldn’t resist as I marketed their foods).

So then when I switched to Ayurveda I had choices (it’s not a diet, as I don’t believe in those). It encourages you to lean into your body’s natural desires, and often those are against the popular culture desires or what you think you want, like restaurant food (where you have no control over the cooking and ingredients).

I like to think of modern, western Ayurveda as a flexible lifestyle where you choose balance. You have a healthy plan and you enjoy what you like that you don’t regret.

For example, you won’t see me ordering or drinking a coffee drink with 53 grams of sugar. If it starts out that way, I will order most of the fat and sugar off, or just choose a black cold brew. That’s how I roll.

And that’s an ingrained habit.

But someone may say, “that’s no fun.” And I would say, “it is for me. I want to feel and look good, and for a long time. Then I can have more fun!”

We’re a much more health-conscious society now, but you still have critics and that can be the one sitting on your shoulder giving you internal debates on choices.

These days, I prepare at least 80% of my meals (and 100% in the past year). And Ayurvedic habits have helped me with balance, prevention, and restoration. And they can help you too!

Western Ayurvedic Habits

The Ayurvedic habits I do are not new to our western culture like they would have been a few decades ago. Like: the neti pot works for preventing sinus infections and doing regular yoga helps with balance, flexibility, and strength building.

Sanskrit is not my native or secondary tongue, so some rituals I’ve walked into that I wish I didn’t. Like: incense (…you might as well smoke a pack of cigarettes.. thankfully you rarely run into either and if it’s a certain church occasion where incense is, you know to expect it).

Another less than desirable one is chanting, like in a new yoga class that gives me an eerie feeling. I don’t participate. The mystical woo stuff doesn’t woo me.

I like to have my feet planted on the western ground unless I’m doing fun acrobatics (photo up top and here). Just kidding.

ayurvedic habits

So some Ayurvedic habits and ways stuck with me and some didn’t, and from the beginning so I knew that they were meant (or not meant) for me.

And if you’re trying to figure out what Ayurveda or healthy lifestyle works or would work for you, then you can use your preferences as a natural guide if you don’t have a coach or someone helping you.

Essentially, Ayurveda is what’s healthy and natural to you, your body, and mind-body, so you can’t go wrong if it’s a healthy choice you like.

And when creating Ayurvedic habits, some habits need more practice to fully adopt than others.

In his NY Times bestseller, Atomic Habits, habit advice expert, James Clear, describes that habit stacking is an easier way to have a habit stick.

An example of this is: I conveniently have a yoga mat rolled out near my bathroom with a side door, so that I can do a few yoga stretches before I start my day and after brushing my teeth (habit stacking). For some people, that’s enough of a reminder to create a habit.

But for a heavy Vata mind-body where routine (and sticking to the same way) is not a natural friend, I tweaked this idea to work for me…

A few days later after the novelty of the yoga morning activity wore off (and the habit broke), I rolled up half the mat, which triggered me to see the mat change when I had to look down so I didn’t trip over it.

That reminded me to do yoga. And then slowly but surely I didn’t need to look down anymore because I knew where the roll ended. So I then took the half-rolled-up mat, and rolled it back down, and then rolled it in a different way several days later. I mixed it up. And now I have a mat under the mat to keep things interesting… and to keep me interested. That forced the habit to start, so it had a chance to stick.

I then reinforced the habit further with a set alarm. ...Phew! That was a lot for just one habit. But it’s worth it.

And you know what’s worth it for you, what works, and what it takes for you to create a habit! The harder part I think is figuring and finding out what habit to even start. And, knowing why you’re creating a habit.

Overall in the long run, when you do better habits, this keeps the healthy balance. You also improve and run your best marathon.

This is also how you keep growing. Keep trying new things (a Vata’s motto) until it becomes unhealthy or non-serving. Then in awareness of what you previously tried and want to improve, tweak again.

A good goal is to find what makes you happy, healthy, and whole, because without good physical and mental health, you can’t really optimally grow and contribute in your highest and best use way (maybe this is important to you too).

In the beginning, when I was forming Ayurvedic habits and concepts, I still felt stress or anxious even though I knew how to restore those feelings. I just hadn’t practiced enough.

And then I learned what worked for those symptoms and that became old hat like learning to ride a bicycle. And then I would feel other emotional symptoms like feeling irritated or judgmental. So then I fixed those.

While the symptoms were obvious, the changes were subtle (going in and out of moods). In those cases, I could’ve chosen to do nothing. And that’s what I think most people choose.

But that my friend (if I can call you that)… is not the highest-quality life, and maybe even semi-existence. I know because I lived that way in my no work-life balance-joy-robbing time that I will never go back to…

Feeling down, self-(fill in the blank ____), or negative thoughts and other big mood swings taking up mind real estate during prime leisure time and at night. But, I guess I was aware enough to do something about it. There’s always a silver lining.

For me, it would start with getting internally upset, angry, or irritated about something… and on and on it would spiral out of control spewing in my day and mood.

And I know that’s how a lot of people operate some of the time. And, that’s too much time!

There’s a much better way. 🎉

Transforming these ways has been worth going through the trials (to not lose any more valuable time), so that some of the time, becomes rarely or never when we learn better habits and ways.

These days, I choose peace. It’s a habit. Like most people, I have emotions running all the time and even more thoughts. And you can’t control how others behave towards you and some situations that happen to you. But you can control how you respond and react. So that’s what I do (and I encourage everyone to do that, so we can live our best lives now).

Ayurvedic habits allowed me to tap into daily peace, joy, and love that I already knew was there. That sounds so cliché and Hallmark card-ish, but that’s the nitty-gritty truth and what good habits can do for you.

You can get happiness (joy). Because if you find those things in you, your wants and feelings change. So the secret ingredient is getting healthy control over your thoughts and feelings. Letting go of the negative, and holding on to the good. And you can more easily get there if you’re healthy and balanced.

When you can remove (and nip in the bud) non-productive or toxic feelings and moods as soon as possible, you can avoid mental stress and stress on the body that can lead to inflammation.

And maybe that’s why I’m passionate about a balanced life. Because I know it’s in the palm of each of our hands and the ticket to true life’s success and happiness.

It took me not having it to discover it in a much deeper way.

So when I tested out new habits from the better information I gathered, I found it worked like a magic wand over the imbalances I had. It was like a magic pill without any pills or drugs. I didn’t know I had so much power to control.

Thirteen years in, it’s very easy for me to tell what’s happening in or out of balance for the mind by actions, and for the body by symptoms. And since my 20’s I’ve always been discerning and aligned with living balanced as my compass pointing north.

But I know not everyone is like this and many do better with boundaries and strict rules. And some do better with something they can relate to, like this car and body analogy…

Car and Body Analogy

Your Body is Like a Car (except it’s so much more valuable and you only get one in your life).

When you’re getting your car regularly maintained, the car shop can ask a few questions, and they can tell what’s wrong based on the slight off-ness.

All cars are not exactly the same as no one body is alike, even though you and I could both be Vata.

And all cars have wheels and need energy to run. And all our bodies alike have the same running parts like a heart, brain, and skin, with different product needs. Like, we all need moisturizers but in varying degrees to our dry vs. oily skin, and the ingredients that our specific skin likes.

And certain things happen as we travel around, like our bodies age and a car gets out of alignment with mileage and wear and tear. But the symptoms can appear the same. That’s why a doctor or a mechanic can diagnose ailments from inflammations or problems down the road.

And we humans living in our bodies can diagnose and restore our non-serious body irregularities.

When you have Ayurveda habits, you are intentionally preventing stress or letting your body get aggravated.

Next week, I’ll share my specific ayurvedic habits and routines and talk about the Ayurvedic body type habit nuances. If you want to be notified when that and future blog posts come out, you can sign up in the upper right-hand corner of the main/home website page.

And, if you want to get information about how to restore your current body imbalances, take my What is Your Imbalance Type? 2-minute body balance quiz.

ayurvedic habits