The 3 Things That Changed My Life This Week
Three tweaks, one semi-functional adult
This week marks week two of me making small, lifestyle changes. Whether that was something simple as changing my wake-up time to as energy-sucking as stopping myself mid-rumination to bring me back to reality when my mind wanted to go on a side quest. Change is hard, but when done in small doses, you can make everlasting change on your life.
I’m a big (corporate jargon incoming) “boil the ocean” kind of person. I dream big, I want what I dream of, and I want it now. Newsflash: that’s not how it works. Small choices every day add up to your life. These changes are hard at the beginning. They’re supposed to be. To make change less daunting, I noticed three things that made change bearable this week:
Gratitude
(Not just in the morning either)
“No shit. This is basic and boring…NEXT.”
HEAR ME OUT.
Unfortunately, everyone was right. Starting your day off on a high note, even when you wake up on the wrong side of the bed, and calling out a few things you’re grateful for truly does turn that frown upside down.
One morning I’m popping out of bed like a kid on Christmas morning ready to get after it. The next I’m just praying gratitude that God woke me up that morning and I have a warm bed to sleep in. Both hold equal weight in the world of gratitude, but it’s the fluctuation of what I’m grateful for that took me by surprise.
But it didn’t stop there. The part that saved me this week was that I wasn’t just praying gratitude in the morning and hoping it would carry me through the day. I was praying gratitude through everything. Even Miami traffic (if you know you know). Just when I was about to spiral into anger and stress, my mind flipped to, “Thank you, Jesus, for my car that is built to keep me safe.”
If you’re one of my siblings or childhood friends reading this you’re probably thinking, “Who is your ghostwriter, and what have they done with Syd?” It’s true. I’m a retired Reactive to my negative emotions. Practicing gratitude every morning is important, but don’t forget the rest of the day, too. There are blessings all around us constantly – we just need to train our minds to call them out when we see them.
Nighttime Routine
Getting into the groove of waking up to an alarm earlier than what I’m used to wasn’t the problem when I was looking to make lifestyle changes. I was an athlete my whole life until I graduated college, and now I work in healthcare. My alarm goes off sometimes as early as 4:00 AM. What saved me this week was adding a few things into my nighttime routine to make that 4:00 AM, 5:15 AM, or 6:00 AM alarm sound not so shrill.
Charge my phone across my room starting at 8:30 PM:
No screentime, no problem. I was putting my phone away 90 minutes before bed. Sometimes I’d read; other nights I sit in limerence about my next day. It’s okay to be bored because that will put you to sleep. Also, when my alarm would go off in the morning, I had to get up, walk across my room to turn it off, then I’d immediately brush my teeth. This creates energy in your body on a micro level to start waking up.
Stop eating 3 hours before bed:
Even up to three hours after we eat, our bodies are still digesting our food. That’s why when we’re super full, we get tired, but shortly thereafter, we get another burst of energy. By eating the last meal or snack of the day three hours before bed, we allow our bodies to get all that energy out so we can sleep soundly. What we don’t want is our body to be using energy to digest food while we sleep therefore ruining any deep or REM we could’ve otherwise been getting.
Optional Sleep Aid:
We all know the old reliable melatonin gummies used to sleep. Overtime, taking melatonin everyday could potentially affect the melatonin we naturally produce and, for women, lead to imbalances hormonally (so I’ve heard from the internet). This week, Ryze Mushroom Hot Cocoa, saved me and left me feeling revived the next morning. I refrained from having a warm cup of hot chocolate every night, but the few nights I allowed myself this sweet treat, I had the best dreams.
Adding just a few things into your evening to optimize sleep will leave you feeling like you’re giving your brain and nervous system a giant hug.
Doing It “Just Because”
A huge issue I run into is trying to give justification to decisions I make. Paralysis by analysis.
“Should I go on a walk now or do it later? What are the pros and cons?”
“What time should I post this at? What are the benefits?”
“If I want to have a second coffee then I should probably eat with it but I want to get up earlier tomorrow, so should I?”
BE SO FOR REAL.
After a few days of that, I decided I would just decide and do it just because. There doesn’t always have to be a justification or a reason for everything. Getting too caught up on the potential outcomes or “why” behind doing something could leave you in a cycle of not doing anything. Just do it.
Everything that saved me this week isn’t brand new information. These are things people have been doing for years, but the hard part comes when trying to find what works for you and how to edit when life changes.
The only thing that is ever constant is change. Having some tools in your toolkit and picking from it will ultimately lead you to where you want to go – one small change at a time.
If any of these words resonated with you, and you’d like to support me while I keep writing more of these reflections,
You can buy me a coffee here: Buy Me a Coffee🤍
Or… You, me, and a few honest thoughts every week. Let’s make it official, shall we?
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