https://youtu.be/vH7aaSZJT_k (Animated video) I’ve learned dozens of self-help techniques designed to improve my life: affirmations, hypnosis, and the emotional freedom technique– to name a few. Yet, truth be told, most of them don’t work. These self-help miracle cures sound great theory, but don’t live up to the hype. However, among the many self-improvement habits I’ve encountered, there are a select few that really can transform your life. In this video, we’re going to separate the wheat from the chaff: you’re going to learn 5 habits that are scientifically proven to change your life for the better.
- Meditation Research has shown that meditation increases positive emotion, decreases stress, can treat anxiety, and depression, increases willpower, and improves focus. The scientific evidence for the benefits of meditation is overwhelming. As exciting as the benefits might be, few people make a habit of meditation. This is partly because of two widespread misconceptions about what meditation really is: Misconception 1- Meditation is religious: Meditation can be a spiritual practice, but it by no means needs to be. Scientific research on meditation generally focuses on mindfulness which is the practice of focusing on your breathing and becoming aware of your thoughts – there’s nothing woo-woo about it. Misconception 2 – Meditation is about emptying your mind: Many people believe the goal of meditation is to clear your mind of all thoughts. Eliminating all thought is an impossible task. When people think that’s the goal of meditation, they end up frustrated with meditation and give up on it. Meditation isn’t about getting rid of thoughts, it’s about changing your relationship with them. When you meditate, your goal is to become aware of your thoughts, not to make them go away. You’ll still have thoughts while you meditate, you’re just learning to create distance between you and your thoughts so that they don’t control or overwhelm you. ___________________________________________________________________________ Meditation can also be difficult to start because without proper guidance, it can be hard to know if you’re doing it right. Because of this, it can be helpful to start with guided meditations. The app, Calm has a great free series of 5-minute guided meditations that will teach you the fundamentals. Two other good options I’ve used personally are headspace, Tarabrach.com, (among others) you can find online. The benefits of meditation are profound, but it will take time for them to become noticeable in your day-to-day life. Meditation is similar to exercise in this way. When you first start working out, it’s challenging and stressful, and the benefits are minimal, but once you make exercise a habit it becomes enjoyable and the benefits are incredible (for more about how to make a habit stick, check out The Power of Self-Awareness, it includes a step-by-step guide to making any new behavior into an automatic habit). a. Exercise Scientific research has shown that exercise not only strengthens your physical health, it also reduces stress, can be as effective as anti-depressants for treating depression and anxiety, and even improves memory and thinking skills. Statistically, Americans are in dire need of more physical activity; the average adult only exercises 17 minutes per day (which is only four minutes more than seniors over the age of 65). x Most of us know that exercising more would be good for us, that’s why so many people make New Year’s resolutions to stick to a fitness regimen. Unfortunately, 80% of these resolutions fail by February, and 92% fail by the end of the year. If you want to get the benefits of exercising more, what can you do to be among the few who stick to their goals? First, and most importantly, make sure your exercise routine is enjoyable (or at the very least, not overly stressful). If you’re not used to exercising, and you start with a goal to lift weights 5 days a week, you’re very likely to give up on your routine within a few weeks. Instead, start including exercise in your life with something more enjoyable, like practicing basketball. If you want to build muscle, start with a weight-lifting routine that is sustainable – maybe 15-30 minutes to start, then build it up as you get comfortable with that. If by the end of your exercise, you feel miserable and stressed, you’re pushing yourself too hard emotionally, and you’re setting yourself up to burnout within a few weeks.
b. Journaling Experiments have shown journaling can reduce stress and anxiety while also generally improving your mood. A good journal can increase your self-awareness, and help you learn to appreciate the good things in life (we could all use more gratitude). There are hundreds of journaling methods you can experiment with – here’s the template I’ve found to be the most useful (which you can download for free in the description below): Three things that went well today: 1. 2. 3.
What I learned today: 1. 2. 3. This template is based on the recommendation of famed psychologist Martin Seligman, he writes, “Every night for the next week, set aside ten minutes before you go to sleep. Write down three things that went well today and why they went well. The three things need not be earthshaking in importance (‘My husband picked up my favorite ice cream for dessert on the way home from work today”). Next to each positive event, answer the question ‘Why did this happen?’ For example, if you wrote that your husband picked up ice cream, write ‘because my husband is really thoughtful sometimes’ or ‘because I remembered to call him from work and remind him to stop by the grocery store’. Writing a daily journal is powerful because it helps us combat the human tendency to fixate on the negative. Author Hara Estroff Marano writes, “Our capacity to weigh negative input so heavily most likely evolved for a good reason—to keep us out of harm's way. From the dawn of human history, our very survival depended on our skill at dodging danger. The brain developed systems that would make it unavoidable for us not to notice danger and thus, hopefully, respond to it.” By default, we overvalue the negative events, thoughts, and emotions in our life, and undervalue the positive. Taking a few minutes to write about the positive can help combat that tendency. I included a section titled, “what did I learn today,” so that I could reflect on what happened throughout the day and take in the most valuable lessons. I’ve found this to be extremely helpful because it allows me to get a sort of bird’s eye view on my own behavior, and this leads to some valuable insights. To get the benefits of journaling, you’ll need to make it a daily habit. Writing a journal isn’t hard, but it’s easy to forget to do it some days. To avoid this, you can set up environmental triggers for journaling. For example, if you prefer writing on a computer, you can leave your journal’s word document open throughout the day, so you don’t forget about it. Or, if you use paper, you can put your journal on your bed in the morning so that you remember to write it. You can also set a notification reminder on your phone using your calendar application. Journaling is a powerful tool – and it only takes a few minutes a day to get all the benefits from it. You can download a journal template here to get started. c. Reading Research has shown that, over time, reading can increase your intelligence scores. The more we read, the more ideas we expose ourselves to. This gives us a broader, deeper understanding of the world. Most of us are a bit skeptical of self-help, but a study by Dr. Forrest Scogin showed that self-help books can have a significant impact. In Dr. Scogin’s study, patients with major depression were given a copy of, Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy. Four weeks later, two-thirds of the patients who read the book experienced either significant improvements or recovered entirely from their depression. Of course, the benefits you get from reading are determined by the books you read. If you’re reading specifically to improve your life , autobiographies, philosophy, and high quality self-help books are the most useful books for improving your life (in my opinion). Not every book you read will be equally helpful, but some books can change the entire course of your life. For example, I’ve received emails from multiple successful entrepreneurs who credit The 4 Hour Workweek by Tim Ferris as being the book that opened their minds to becoming online entrepreneurs in the first place. Even if you don’t have any time in your day for reading, you can listen to audiobooks during your commute to and from work or while in the gym. Audible and Scribd both have vast collections of books you can listen to. In a single book you can learn all the best insights the author had throughout their entire life. You can learn from psychologists, philosophers, scientists, businesspeople – you can learn anything you want from the worlds greatest experts, and it’s inexpensive to do so. The value of reading cannot be overestimated.
d. Visualization Research has shown that mental practice is almost as effective as physical practice. The Journal of Consulting Psychology released a study in which job seeking adults were split into two groups. The first group was given traditional interview coaching, while the second group was given both traditional interview coaching and was taught visualization techniques. In the next two months, 66 percent of those in the visualization group found a new job (only 21 percent in the non-visualization group found a new job). Many top performers credit visualization as a major factor in their success. This list includes Connor McGregor, Will Smith, Jim Carey, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tiger Woods, and Michael Phelps. Visualization is so powerful because it strengthens our vision – when we imagine ourselves achieving our goals, we’re telling our subconscious mind that the future we want to create is both possible and exciting. To make visualization a habit, you can use what’s known as habit stacking. For example, we all have a morning routine in which we do things like brush our teeth, make coffee, etc. If you stack visualization onto that routine, it will be much easier to turn it into an automatic habit. I recommend visualizing between 5 and 10 minutes to get the most out of it. You should visualize whatever inspires you: you might see yourself accomplishing your goals, working hard and enjoying it, receiving prestigious awards, etc. The gist is to visualize yourself in the future accomplishing and getting the things you most want in life. You know your visualization is powerful if it makes you feel energized and positive afterwards.
Conclusion
Meditation, exercise, journaling, reading, and visualization are all scientifically proven to change your life for the better if you make them a habit. Some of these habits may seem overly obvious, yet few people actually use them in their own lives – that’s why I’ve provided you with specific strategies for implementing each habit into your daily routine. The effect of these habits is subtle at first, but builds over time. Perhaps the biggest reason we have trouble integrating new habits into our lives is that we expect a fast, dramatic change, but in reality, the benefits from new behaviors are incredibly subtle. Temper your short-term expectations and you’ll be much more likely to follow through on these habits and reap the long-term rewards.
Submitted June 09, 2018 at 10:26PM by Transformationalpsyc https://ift.tt/2sI1GDw
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