2020 has been a terrible year for most of us — it has tolled us mentally and physically. Many people have developed mental illnesses such as stress and anxiety due to the pandemic. For others, it has been a struggle to maintain fit physically. According to News Medical Sciences, “Nearly 70% reported more difficulty in achieving weight loss goals, while 48% had less exercise time, and 56% had less intensity in exercise.” Fortunately, we have the power to turn this around and build some new habits for the 2021 year.

 

Like James Clear stated in Atomic Habits, “Habits are not a finish line to be crossed, they are a lifestyle to be lived.” In order to make 2021 a better year, you have to make the habits down below a part of your daily lifestyle.

 

Mental Habits

 

1. Meditate: According to a KFF Tracking Poll, 53% of the adults reported that their mental health has been impacted due to stressing over COVID-19. Many people have suffered from stress and anxiety and meditation has many positive effects when it comes to mental health:
   1. Even spending a couple of minutes meditating can restore your calm and inner peace. It can produce a deep state of relaxation and a tranquil mind.
      1. Helps with anxiety, stress, and tension
   2. Allows you to focus your attention and eliminate jumbled thoughts that may be crowding your mind and causing stress
   3. Increasing Self-awareness
      1. Helps you realize how you feel and you learn skills to manage your stress
   4. Increasing Patience and Tolerance
      1. Sitting through meditation requires a lot of patience which clearly leads to better tolerance

 

2. Journaling: There are many people who overthink or have tons of thoughts roaming around in their heads, journaling helps with this:
   1. Keeps your Thoughts Organized
      1. It helps make your thoughts apprehensible. You can record daily events, thoughts, feelings, which essentially makes you feel more self-aware
   2. Relieves Stress
      1. Writing down your feelings helps you sort out your anxieties, frustrations, and pains. This helps relieve stress that you may have accumulated over time.

 

3. Time Blocking: A lot of people lose track of their time, and this helps with that
   1. Relieves Stress
      1. Organizing your day helps you keep track of time which relieves stress about getting stuff done on time

 

Physical Habits

 

1. Regular Exercise: The best way to keep yourself physically fit or even mentally happy
   1. It can Make you Feel Happier
      1. It produces changes in the parts of the brain the regulate stress and anxiety 
      2. It can also relieve feelings of depression
   2. Help with Weight Loss or Gaining Muscles
   3. It can increase your Energy Levels
      1. It also increases energy levels for people suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and other illnesses
   4. Relieves Stress
      1. Bumps up the production of endorphins and helps you relax

 

2. Yoga: Sometimes people tend to tense up and they need some time to relax and yoga can help people relax
   1. It can Decrease Stress
      1. Yoga is known to promote relaxation and ease stress
         1. A study showed that 131 people’s stress and anxiety reduced after 10 weeks of yoga
   2. Relieves Anxiety
      1. One study said that 34 women with an anxiety disorder had significantly lower levels of anxiety after they participated in yoga classes twice weekly for two months
   3. Improves Quality of Life

 

3. Getting an Adequate Amount of Sleep: not enough shut-eye usually leads to stress and anxiety so it is extremely crucial 

 

There are tons of other habits that one can develop in order to be mentally and physically healthy, however the ones listed above some of the most common. Like Warren Buffet said, “Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.” make sure the habits are engraved deep enough in order for them to become almost natural. 

 

Citations

 

Link, R. L. (2017, August 30). 13 Benefits of Yoga That Are Supported by Science. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/13-benefits-of-yoga#TOC_TITLE_HDR_2

 

Beard, C. B. (2018, February 18). 5 DAILY HABITS FOR A HEALTHY MINDSET. The Blissful Mind. https://theblissfulmind.com/healthy-mindset-habits/

 

Top 8 Benefits to Keep a Journal or a Diary. (n.d.). Journey.Cloud. Retrieved January 9, 2021, from https://journey.cloud/journaling-benefits

 

Landino, A. L. (n.d.). 21 Healthy Habits to Start in 2021. Gatluw House. Retrieved January 9, 2021, from https://gatluw.com/21habits/

 

Chidambaram, P. C., Panchal, N. P., Kamal, R. K., Oregra, K. O., Cox, C. C., Garfield, R. G., Hamel, L. H., & Muñana, C. M. (2020, August 21). The Implications of COVID-19 for Mental Health and Substance Use. Kaiser Family Foundation. https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/issue-brief/the-implications-of-covid-19-for-mental-health-and-substance-use/Clear, J. (2018). Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones (Illustrated ed.). Avery.