Break the routine for new good habits

It’s important to know why we keep doing what we do. Each day is an opportunity to accomplish the goals we’ve set, become the person we want to be and nurture relationships with the people we hold dear. Each day should be a work in progress.

Admittedly, it feels good to list all these new goals in our planners or journals. Just imagining how great it would feel if everything is achieved by the end of the year is more than enough motivation for us to go out and get them. Feels good to start anew.

But apparently, for most of us, we lose track of our goals as the days pass. By the end of the first quarter of the year, there are lesser people in the gym, more chips and sweets in the pantry, lesser motivation, more excuses, more or less, same as last year’s beginning. And that’s because we keep doing old bad habits and going about familiar routines.

Wake up at around six or seven in the morning, prepare for work, go about the day, go home at around 7 p.m., watch television at home and tomorrow, do it all over again. Routine means comfort zone. And nothing comes out extraordinary from comfort zones.

Find your passion

Since weekdays are dedicated for work and other responsibilities, the weekend is a chance for change, progress and self-improvement. It’s not about spending the money you’ve earned from working all week. Yes, it feels good to shop and eat once in a while. There’s more to life than having material things and expensive experiences.

Life is about living for the things that make us feel alive, the things that we are passionate about. To live is not to have an “ideal lifestyle” on social media; to live means to become oneself.

Having something to be passionate about and nurturing it is taking care of one’s emotional and mental health. It can be anything that piques your interest — baking, cooking, painting, poetry, arts, biking, trekking, outreach, volunteer work, etc.

We’re not robots programmed to follow strict routines. Go attend weekend workshops, enroll in online classes, learn a new skill, apply for a driver’s license, enhance a talent. Through pursuing things we are passionate about, we satisfy our question for meaning, why we do things, what are we working for, how are we different and what does it mean to live.

Keep motivated

At the beginning of this year, everybody’s all about fitness goals. Encouraging as it may seem, choosing to live a healthy life is not only about achieving #bodygoals but also about developing a good habit of taking care of one’s self. From being conscious of what your body ingests, to getting enough hours of sleep is already a great improvement in one’s mindset and habit.

You don’t have to be sporty if that’s not your personality. You just have to learn to take better care of yourself. This is where frustration comes from, compelling oneself to become what the current trend dictates. As cliché as it sounds, we’re all different in our own way. Do something that makes you feel fulfilled. Be someone you can love. Be someone you’re happy looking at in the mirror.

It’s important to have something you’re really good at, you’re really passionate about (aside from your profession) because it will give you that sense of self. This is where your drive will come from. It gives relief and satisfaction that we don’t only live to pay bills.

Not everyone gets his or her dream job immediately. Sometimes one’s job can be the source of their frustrations, hence the dying motivation. Doing things, not for monetary gain or popularity or an enhanced image online but for self-improvement and fulfillment replaces frustrations and keeps us motivated. It keeps us optimistic and more focused on our goals. Furthermore, it helps us identify ourselves from the crowd.

Find something you love to do because it makes you a better person and it makes you feel that everything is possible when you put your heart in it. It doesn’t have to be whatever’s trending online, just something you really like. You’ll know you found it if you stop making excuses why you can’t, but keep doing it because you can even when it’s difficult.

How we spend our day is how we spend our life, as a famous saying goes. Make time for things you are passionate about.