Routine, you know, does not have a great reputation. When something becomes routine it loses interest, and it is often said that something “is routine” to mean that it holds no novelty, that it is boring, that one would rather be doing something else. We are the first to say that between the known and the unknown road we should always choose the latter, but it is also true that routine and certain habits matter a great deal. How could we have positive habits (which, as we often tell you, are the only ones that build lasting, positive changes) without having routines?
The repetition of certain gestures or sequences of actions also has another advantage: it builds a repetitive pattern that gives security in the chaos of life. In short: it is good to experiment and vary, but no one likes to have no reference points. Moreover, it’s impossible to measure the strength of change without comparing it to a stable system.
You can have many habits. We have these. They have one great virtue: they are not time-consuming and you can put them into practice anywhere. Don’t forget to tell us yours too, we are waiting for them in the comments :)
1. Drinking upon awakening
This one is really easy but very effective. Many vouch that it has more effect than coffee, and we confirm this. It’s amazing how much a very simple glass of cool water drunk as soon as you open your eyes can do-it’s like starting your engine and feeling all the parts of your body warm up and ready to go. How is that? Some say that, simply, water gives that gentle shock that reactivates cellular processes. Not that overnight they stop but let’s say it gives them some acceleration.
2. Doing free-body exercises
To complete the body’s awakening, why not do a quick session of free-body exercises? We love the Five Tibetans very much, but any kind of exercises that are not particularly strenuous or demanding is fine. Let’s say the right measure is “Feeling slightly fatigued.” In short, nothing traumatic. Yoga for example is just fine. And if you don’t think there is a need to reopen the chakras, think of doing so only because your body has been at rest for several hours and needs to be brought back to action bit by bit.
3. Meditate
Let a few minutes pass, and perhaps after eating a light breakfast, a 10 to 15-minute meditation session is a good thing. If you have never practiced it or think it is useless or a chore you want to avoid, a few breathing exercises – perhaps with your eyes closed – can give you a lot of comfort. And, who knows, you might be intrigued to try meditation: breathing is the basis of meditation after all. We told you…
4. Walking
If you don’t have to go to some wasteland and the car is the only means of transportation that can get you there, if you predominantly move around the city, do it by walking. And even if you need a car, try to walk every day. You may have heard of the 10,000 steps per day theory: although it is now understood to be a marketing gimmick, this does not mean it is wrong, quite the contrary. The message it conveys is simple: walking is always good for you, and taking 10,000 steps a day is a great habit. If you want to do more, all the better!
5. Be grateful
We often overlook the importance and strength that giving thanks has. Giving thanks means not taking anything for granted and recognizing the value of the deeds that others do for us. The stranger who holds open a door for you deserves thanks, the sun in the morning just as much, and so do a thousand other things that happen to you. Giving thanks has also the ability to tell your mind that you are able to notice good things, and this makes you feel better and able to give gratitude.
The power of thanks is so strong that you don’t even need to do it because someone has been gracious. You can also thank nothingness, or a canary on a branch or rain. The important thing is to do it, as much as possible.
6. Read
We know very well what it means to be overwhelmed with things to do and commitments. We know just as well how attractive it is to get lost in the rabbit hole of social scrolling: after all, it is a kind of reward, a dose of endorphins that makes us forget ourselves for a while.
The problem is not to take these breaks but to linger, eventually getting sucked into them. When you spend more than 15-20 minutes on it, think about what you could do otherwise. Reading a book, for example.
Why is it better to read a book instead of reading the Twitter feed or looking at Instagram or Tik Tok feeds? For one reason that is often overlooked: social media has no end, you could read them for hours on end, until the end of the world, literally. The fact that they have no end destabilizes your mind, which can never put a period on it and cannot get a sense that something that began has come to its conclusion. Not to mention how social media can alter your emotional state. To avoid it so you can also go to the next to last point, the penultimate point.
7. Don’t comment, don’t get upset, listen to the partita n. 6 by Bach
One of the many problems that social media has generated (envy, jealousy, complications in personal relationships, misunderstandings) is that many people take what they read there personally. Having a peaceful relationship with social media (you can have it, guaranteed!) starts from the premise of not letting it influence you. If the party you don’t like wins, it is not because fate hates you. If someone believes in some conspiracy, it is not an attack on your awareness that humanity is basically good. Not everything (very little, nothing in fact) has really anything to do with you, especially if it happens in a public place, real or virtual.
The most balanced people are not those who deal with every problem by solving it but those who distinguish between things that are within their power and that they can improve and things that happen that do not affect them or that they cannot change.
If something you have read or seen has bothered you, distressed you, hated you the advice is to:
A) think it doesn’t concern you
B) react by doing, watching, listening to something beautiful.
An effective method of reminding oneself that no matter how bad things may go, there is always something beautiful and sublime in the world is to listen to Bach’s Partita No. 5 (but No. 6 is fine, too. But all of them are fine, too).
8. Forget about it
Run. Is there any need to add more?