25 Healthy Habits for 2020

At the end of the year (or start of the new year if it was a particularly busy holiday period), I always like taking the time to reflect on my previous year and the lessons I learned and the changes I will incorporate in the year ahead. Over the years I have changed my approach to goal setting, but I always find this act of reflection to be helpful. This year, instead of goals, I propose behaviour changes and intentions that encourage greater fulfilment and wellness in all aspects of your life.

For those that are setting goals, I want to point out a couple tricks that have been helpful for me in the past. The two main reasons most people don’t achieve their goals are because either their reason for achieving them weren’t clear or strong enough or they failed to clearly articulate them. If you want to increase your chances of achieving your goals, make sure you a) get clear on your reason for wanting to achieve the goal or intention, ideally journaling about it to make sure it is something that is actually meaningful to you and b) make your goals SMART – specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound. For example, instead of deciding that you want to lose weight this year, you can decide to lose 10 pounds by the end of June and do so by going to the gym five days per week and cutting out refined sugar (more on goal setting here).

Moreover, if you are someone that likes to set a lot of ambitious goals, don’t be discouraged if you don’t achieve all. It’s perfectly normal! Remind yourself that at least the act of setting a goal meant you were focused on achieving something more meaningful, even if you didn’t get there or decided in the process that it wasn’t as meaningful to you as you had initially thought. And consider Billionaire, Warren Buffet’s advice. He suggests setting no more than 5 goals at any particular time, the logic being that people aren’t able to focus on more than 3-5 goals at one time.

Below are 25 healthy habits that I am incorporating into my 2020:

1. More fun and adventures

2. Be a person that adds joy to other people's lives⠀

3. More belief in myself

4. More letting go when something is no longer working for me

5. More action, less deliberation (be bolder!)

6. More putting my phone away or on airplane mode

7. More creation, less consumption (no news or content until past 2pm)

8. More reading

9. More time in nature

10. More investment in meaningful relationships⁠⠀

11. More meditation, less worry

12. More slowing down, less unnecessary rushing

13. More forgiveness, less blaming

14. More gratitude

15. More compassion and kindness to myself and others (and release judgement)

16. More generosity

17. More proactive, less reactive

18. More laughter and smiling

19. More drinking water

20. More flexibility, less rigidity

21. More stepping out of my comfort zone

22. More progress in the areas that count, less busy

23. More sleep, less caffeine after noon

24. More labelling negative thoughts and reaching for good feeling thoughts (we can choose what we focus on)

25. More believing in magic

I hope this will inspire you to incorporate some meaningful healthy habits while on your journey to live your best life, find more happiness and live a healthier and more meaningful life – my greatest wish for everyone.

Have a wonderful, happy, successful and healthy 2020!

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