3135: 7 Daily Habits to Change Your Life Forever by Joshua Becker of Becoming Minimalist on Personal Transformation

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[00:01:41] Living Daily.

[00:01:43] This is Optimal Living Daily, episode 3135, 7 Daily Habits to Change Your Life Forever

[00:01:50] by Joshua Becker of becomingminimalist.com and I'm Justin Malik.

[00:01:55] Now let's jump right into today's post as we optimize your life.

[00:02:03] 7 Daily Habits to Change Your Life Forever by Joshua Becker of becomingminimalist.com

[00:02:09] Quote, you'll never change your life until you change something you do daily.

[00:02:16] The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.

[00:02:21] John C. Maxwell

[00:02:23] The direction of our lives is decided more by the daily choices we make than anything

[00:02:29] else.

[00:02:30] And these choices are more influential to the person we are becoming than we often realize.

[00:02:36] Habits become ingrained, automatic and often slowly creep into your life so subtly that

[00:02:42] they become routine.

[00:02:44] So if you want to change your life, start by changing one thing that you do each

[00:02:49] day.

[00:02:50] But change can be hard.

[00:02:52] So let me offer today a list of 7 simple daily habits that will positively change your life

[00:02:58] forever.

[00:03:00] Most of these habits can be completed in just a few minutes each day.

[00:03:04] In each of them I have seen personally alter the trajectory of my life.

[00:03:09] Number 1, 3-Item to Do List.

[00:03:13] The 3-Item to Do List has revolutionized my life.

[00:03:17] Every morning with my cup of coffee I write down the 3 most important tasks that I need

[00:03:22] to complete that day.

[00:03:24] It's a practice I cannot recommend enough.

[00:03:27] The 3-Item to Do List will keep you focused on your priorities, but more than that it

[00:03:33] will allow you to feel a sense of accomplishment at the end of the day assuming you accomplished

[00:03:37] them.

[00:03:38] It has taken away my feeling of I never get enough done and replaced it with I accomplished

[00:03:44] my most important work.

[00:03:46] And that is a beautiful feeling.

[00:03:49] Number 2, Exercise.

[00:03:51] When I lived in Vermont I had a mentor named Jeff that I looked up to quite a bit, still

[00:03:56] do actually.

[00:03:58] Jeff used to ask me and other men an unusual question when we would spend time together.

[00:04:04] He'd ask, so are you staying physically active?

[00:04:07] I used to think Jeff was concerned with my physical health, which I'm sure he

[00:04:11] was, but as I have embraced a daily practice of exercise I have learned the benefits are

[00:04:16] not just physical, they're mental and emotional as well.

[00:04:21] Jeff knew physical activity was an important key to a healthy and productive life.

[00:04:27] Don't overthink exercise daily.

[00:04:29] This doesn't need to be a 3 mile run or tennis match every day.

[00:04:34] Go for a walk, stretch, mow the lawn, or work out to a YouTube video.

[00:04:40] Number 3, Turn Off Television.

[00:04:44] Not only are the negative effects of TV detrimental to our lives, the opportunity cost is great.

[00:04:51] There are just better, more fulfilling things we could be doing with our lives than watching

[00:04:55] someone else live theirs.

[00:04:58] When we decided to watch less television years ago, we were immediately forced to fill

[00:05:03] our evenings with something else.

[00:05:06] Surprisingly, it wasn't that hard to find a more life-giving activity than television.

[00:05:12] We spent more time together as a family.

[00:05:14] We spent more time outdoors.

[00:05:16] I began to write more.

[00:05:18] I visited the gym more frequently.

[00:05:20] I took more control over my life and my decisions.

[00:05:24] These are all good things, healthy habits, and cutting out television provided opportunity

[00:05:30] for me to accomplish them.

[00:05:32] The same will happen for you.

[00:05:35] Number 4, Practice Gratitude.

[00:05:38] Say a prayer, keep a gratitude journal, meditate, or discuss the high points of your day over

[00:05:44] dinner with your family.

[00:05:46] Whatever works best for you, express gratitude at some point every single day.

[00:05:52] Gratitude reframes our circumstances.

[00:05:55] It drives out discontent.

[00:05:57] It directs our attention to the good things in our lives.

[00:06:00] It brings attentiveness and intentionality, and it more appropriately positions our attitude

[00:06:05] in relation to the universe and world around us.

[00:06:10] Gratitude as a habit is a discipline to practice daily because when gratitude is the hardest

[00:06:16] to find, is when we need it the most.

[00:06:20] Number 5, Write Something.

[00:06:23] Every day, sit down and write something.

[00:06:26] Anything.

[00:06:27] It could be a 3 sentence post on Instagram, a 3 paragraph private journal entry, or a

[00:06:33] 3 page blog post to share with the world.

[00:06:36] Where your writing ends up means far less than the impact it will have on your life.

[00:06:40] The habit of writing will force you to see the world in a more observant way.

[00:06:45] You'll rethink conversations, circumstances, and relationships.

[00:06:50] I once heard an old quote by Dawson Trotman.

[00:06:54] Thoughts disentangle themselves when they pass through the lips and fingertips.

[00:07:00] And I cannot tell you how true that it is.

[00:07:04] Writing helps us think better and interact better with the world around us.

[00:07:09] I was recently asked on Twitter, with the growth of YouTube and video content do you

[00:07:13] intend to keep blogging?

[00:07:16] My response was, yes, I found that I think and live better when I write because it

[00:07:22] forces me to become more observant.

[00:07:24] I'm a better person because I began writing.

[00:07:29] Number 6, Reset Your Kitchen.

[00:07:32] Every night before you go to bed, clean your kitchen.

[00:07:36] In a practical sense it will help brighten your mood in the morning.

[00:07:39] After all there are few things less desirable early in the morning than needing to clean

[00:07:43] up yesterday's mess.

[00:07:45] The habit helps brighten your morning in the kitchen and quickly spills over into

[00:07:50] other daily habits focused on keeping your home tidy.

[00:07:53] By the way, if resetting your kitchen every evening seems too difficult, you'll find

[00:07:59] it easier if you own less stuff.

[00:08:01] There's something magical about not dragging yesterday's mess into today and this practice

[00:08:08] extends far beyond clutter.

[00:08:11] And number 7, Eat Together.

[00:08:14] I realize of course if you live alone this final habit may not apply but I fear

[00:08:19] there are too many people living together who are also not applying this habit to their

[00:08:23] lives.

[00:08:25] If you're a parent or a spouse or a partner or a roommate, make every effort to eat one

[00:08:32] meal together each day.

[00:08:34] When shared with others, food becomes a bonding experience that is difficult to replicate

[00:08:39] anywhere else.

[00:08:40] Meals around a table are one of the rare moments in our day where we sit down

[00:08:45] facing one another.

[00:08:47] As the food nourishes our physical body, community and relationship feed our soul.

[00:08:53] It's difficult to be an intentional parent or spouse without sharing meals together

[00:08:57] with those we love the most.

[00:08:59] Again, this daily habit may not be possible for everyone but if it is, do not neglect

[00:09:04] to make it a priority.

[00:09:06] There are many who would gladly switch places with you.

[00:09:10] Pick one of these habits and begin practicing it daily.

[00:09:15] List one, not all seven.

[00:09:17] Once you take control of your habits, you begin taking control of your life.

[00:09:22] Any from this list will lead to positive results.

[00:09:30] You just listened to the post titled, 7 Daily Habits To Change Your Life Forever by Joshua

[00:09:35] Becker of becomingminimalist.com and I'll be right back with my commentary.

[00:09:41] Thank you to Joshua.

[00:09:42] By chance, this actually relates very well with what we were talking about yesterday in

[00:09:47] an article from Mark of markandangel.com.

[00:09:51] He was talking about conscious choices and at the end I was mentioning that while it

[00:09:56] might be obvious if we're running on autopilot we might not think to actually do it.

[00:10:02] And today Joshua has some more suggestions and it goes really well with Mark's list

[00:10:07] from yesterday.

[00:10:09] Like Joshua said, see if you can implement just one of these today.

[00:10:13] Whichever one sit out to you as a good idea or something that you haven't thought about

[00:10:18] before but maybe got you excited or got your wheel spinning because maybe you don't like

[00:10:24] writing.

[00:10:25] I'm okay with journaling but not a big fan of writing.

[00:10:29] Or like he said, maybe you don't live with someone so it could be difficult

[00:10:32] to eat with someone else.

[00:10:34] Different ideas and tips will resonate differently for you and me but there's likely something

[00:10:39] in there that you felt like was a good idea.

[00:10:42] Or again, maybe something to ponder from yesterday's episode.

[00:10:47] So something to think about but I'll leave it there for today.

[00:10:50] Thank you so much for sticking around until the end and coming back to listen every day.

[00:10:55] Wishing you a great start to your weekend and I'll see you tomorrow and over the

[00:10:59] weekend where your optimal life awaits.