Introduction
I consider myself to be a high-achieving individual.
I can point to accolades like being an Eagle Scout, editor-in-chief of my high school newspaper, being on the show “It’s Academic,” graduating from college, completing two programs in film after graduating from college, watching 369 films in a year, and continuing to work as a creative professional despite limited career mobility.
But I also realize that my passionate drive to be high-achieving has had unintended consequences. It has led me to be hyper-focused on one task, while forgetting to enact daily habits that would maintain my capacity to thrive, remain stable, and succeed at a sustainable pace.
I’ll always act with determination to succeed and achieve, but this year, I’m working on creating intentional habit systems to create internal stability and the accumulation of positive self-capital to create long-term success.
Habits I’m Cultivating
Here are some habits I am working to cultivate in my life:
- Daily Future Self Journal: @the.holistic.psychologist on Instagram has a daily journal for people to write daily affirmations, promises to change one thought habit in a day, things you are thankful for, and writing traits that you wish to create within yourself. It shifts your mind to positive thoughts, new habits, and what kind of person you want to become. I’ve been writing for more than 100 days consistently. In the first 50 days that I did this journal, I experienced more freedom, more clarity, and release from past trauma than five years of counseling. It’s incredible, and I am truly thankful for Dr. Nicole LePera for giving me the tools to heal myself and empower myself to a new life. Her journal is in her Instagram bio, and her posts, videos and work are life-changing. Check it out!
- Working out 3-4 days a week: I go to a gym 3-4 days a week to do strength training. I’ve seen improvement in my strength and muscle tone, and it has given me more self-confidence. Some do more cardio work out, and I would probably swim if I did cardio, but keeping the workout promise to myself has been beneficial in multiple areas of my life.
- Posting on Instagram daily: I’ve been consistently posting on Instagram each day, and it’s an initial boost usually in the morning to show myself that I’ve accomplished something. It generates positive momentum at the beginning of the day.
- Content creation—I’ve been working to do a blog post every week, and a YouTube video every two weeks. So far, doing well on this.
- Reading quality mind discipline accounts on Instagram consistently—In addition to working on Instagram, I read quality posts that reinforces new healthy mind habits. These accounts include @the.holistic.psychologist, @thedailyshifts, @inspirethesol, @millennial.therapist. I’m continuing to find more, but those are my four most consistent sources of mind discipline.
There are more habits I will want to incorporate at the proper time. Some of my ideas include: writing for an hour a day on script-writing, paint once a week, swim three times a week, play a board game at least once a week, working an hour a day on creating a board game.
Implementing the Habits
The key is to keep small promises. It’s like interest that accumulates and compounds in the Bank of the Mind. That positive consistency creates resilience against negative thinking and builds positive space for good habit creation. You grow in confidence and then you grow in good habits, and then you grow in accomplishing things for the long haul.
You will encounter growing pains through this process. A bad day, a missed day, you’re tired one day—it happens. Be gentle on yourself and be more determined to do the habit the next day. I believe in you to create this growth in your life.
Hope you find this helpful!