This habit has changed my life

Hint: It’s not what you think…

There are so many healthy habits I could talk to you about. Such as sunlight in the morning to set your circadian rhythm, going for daily walks to boost your mood or practicing breath work to regulate your nervous system. Even my favorite, snuggling a pet or a 20-second hug to release oxytocin and reduce stress.

Each of these healthy habits are fantastic, and we hear about their benefits all the time.

But as much as I try to do these daily, sometimes life gets in the way. That’s where this healthy habit can help you.

More than ever, we are striving for the next thing—even in healthy ways—to improve our diet, exercise patterns or mental health. Therapy (another healthy habit) helped me find the balance between productivity and rest.  

That’s in fact, the place that gave me the permission and encouragement to practice this lesser discussed healthy habit: giving yourself grace.

You might think, is this really a “healthy habit?” The answer is yes, because it’s something we need to practice day-after-day to get better at. By definition, a habit is a settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up.

Once we practice a habit long enough, it becomes second nature. That’s why practicing giving yourself grace every day is a great habit to implement.

You should try it. And here’s why.

As Brene Brown says, “Grace means that all of your mistakes now serve a purpose instead of serving shame.”

When we give ourselves grace, it makes space for us to move forward and embrace the things that matter most.

Here are 3 practical ways to start giving yourself grace today:

Pause throughout your day. Take a minute to just close your eyes and sit still. You can almost immediately feel the tension melting away. Or try looking out the window for a few minutes and take 5 deep breaths. While doing this let your mind rest and thank your body for taking care of you.

Laugh at yourself; don’t take yourself too seriously. Life is short and it’s okay not to be perfect. In fact, none of us are or ever could be. Once we accept that fact, our mindset changes. As a recovering perfectionist myself, knowing that mistakes, running late and slip-ups are going to be part of life allow me to be more gentle with myself when they inevitably happen.

Surround yourself with positivity. I try to do this in every area of my life. From applying to companies that have a positive work culture, where we spend so much of time, to spending time with friends that add sparkle when I don’t feel my best.  
I also surround myself with positive affirmations in my space, with post-it notes on my desk to phone backgrounds as a reminder to give myself grace throughout the day.

Did you know that 60% of Americans believe they don't have enough time in the day to complete their to-do list? This 2023 Pew Research survey doesn’t surprise me.

When we can sit back and accept that our lives are busy, we can give ourselves grace that we simply will never be able to fully complete our to-do list.

Guess what? That means we’re still living and breathing (and that’s a good thing).