Fresh Take On Old Things – 6 Easy Habits I Do Everyday
I follow Rachel Zoe on Instagram, and at the start of the new year she posted one of those word search looking things that reads “the first 4 words you see are your mantra for 2024.” I always play along with these things but rarely share the results. However, the first 4 words I saw were strength, family, growth, and alignment. I accept this as my 2024 mantra!
Alignment resonated the most. I could feel the word as I read it off the screen of my phone, ya know?! Last year was rough for me. A whole new world of figuring things out emotionally and mentally. This was both a blessing and a curse. Healing is a hard and exhausting journey, but it is also abundantly rewarding. I was not prepared to feel comfortable, and that’s exactly where I found myself at the start of last year … I wasn’t surviving anymore. I was living! And I had no idea what that felt like. When you are a trauma survivor, you dream of waking up in the morning and not feeling like it’s just another day to survive. Survival mode is the entire premise of your existence.
And then one day you heal…
And I was not prepared for the emotional and mental shift from survival to living. I figured it out, but it took me a solid eight months to regulate and accept. HEALING IS HARD. I will scream this from every hill and mountain top for the rest of my life. But it really is the best thing I could have ever done for myself. I’m entering year 8 of my healing journey. EIGHT, that’s almost a decade. The trauma doesn’t haunt me anymore. I’ve relearned what comfortable means, I’ve relearned how to feel.
I’ve learned how to just live.
So, as I continue to embrace this year of alignment, I wanted to share 6 easy practices I really leaned into the last few months of 2023 and have made part of my everyday routine. You probably already do a few!
- Water – I’m not going to camp out for a Stanley cup, but my 40oz of ice-cold water with fresh fruit or cucumber goes everywhere with me. Water is fuel for the soul! Also bubble baths. This is one I need to add back to the 2024 schedule…
- Sleep – one of my nearest and dearest best friends told me to stop hitting the snooze button. Shockingly, I listened to this advice, and it has in fact been a game changer! I also don’t watch TV anymore going to sleep.
- Eating – I eat what I want. PERIOD. But I try to only eat between the hours of 8am-8pm. I’ve gotten pretty good at this, and I’ve lost 10lbs…
- Breathing – obviously we all do it but when you have anxiety, I feel like your relationship is a little more intimate. I’m very intentional with my breathing. I also say Hail Marys. I talk with Mary every day. She really helps calm my nerves.
- Slow Mornings – this is the best, most unexpected gift. I don’t think the significance was truly recognized until I realized my son’s first tardy of the school year was the Monday following spring forward. He’s in 6th grade, and we usually have 15x the tardies by this point of the school year. Also see #2.
- Daily Walks – this is my favorite part of my routine (and my doggies too)! The times vary but I generally walk 2 miles a day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. It’s the perfect way to let out anxious energy and helps my vitamin D deficiency.
