Photo: Torsten Kellermann

In 2019, I published this video on my Youtube channel, called "Five habits that will change your life in 2019". 

Well, it's 2022 and I STILL implement these habits on a regular basis! They changed my life and they can change yours too... if you implement them right away. I really think everyone should do those things to become better people, better entrepreneurs, better parents, better everything! 

Watch the video:

1. Have a morning routine

Before Septembre 2017, I never heard about morning routines, I didn't even know it was a thing. Before I started implementing a morning routine, what usually happened was: the alarm ran off, I hit the snooze button, then I woke up at the last minute. And the I was all stressed out and I started yelling at the kids because we were late for school. And I was late for everything. 

So when I heard about morning routines, I decided to try and it CHANGED MY LIFE, for real! 

There are many things you can do during your morning routine, but the main idea is to take time for yourself to do things that you want to do and that are just for you. 

2. Wake up early

I voluntarily separate having a morning routine and waking up early, because for me it's really two different things. Even if you wake up at 10 a:m, it's perfectly fine. It's still good for you to have a morning routine to take some time (even if it's only 15 or 20 minutes) just for yourself, to reflect on your day, your goals, your projects... Take this time to craft a vision of what's going to happen in the next hours, days, or years, instead of rushing out to do whatever you have to do. You san absolutely have a morning routine event if you DON'T wake up early. 

I would say that waking up early is the next level, and it's great! If you want to wake up early but you don't know where to start, I highly recommend this book from Hal Elrod called The Miracle Morning. There's a whole series of the Miracle Morning books: for entrepreneurs, writers, college students, etc. You will definitely find one that will meet your needs. I personally read the original one and the entrepreneurs version, and both are very interesting. 

Just to sum it up, the main idea of the Miracle Morning is that you should wake up early (well, actually you don't HAVE to, but it's even more impactful if you do) and do all the practices called the S.A.V.E.R.S. to start your day on the right foot. S.A.V.E.R.S is an acronym: S for Silence, A for Affirmations, V for Visualization, E for Exercise, R for Reading, and S for Scribing (journaling or writing, if you prefer). The principle of the book is that you do all these things and you start your day feeling pumped, healthy, motivated, etc. 

The Miracle Morning is the book that kickstarted my personal development journey. I started implementing all my new healthy habits after reading this book and I think it's a great read for someone who's willing to start making changes in their live. 

Meditation

We've all heard how good meditation is for the mind, for the body and for the soul... but believe me, when you start ACTUALLY doing it, it's amazing. It's not easy at first: your mind will always be wandering everywhere. But when you start getting used to it and getting better at it, it really changes your perspective on the world. 

If you've never meditated before and don't know anything about meditation, there are a lot of great apps out there: Headspace, Calm, Breethe, and many more. They usually have free trials, so you might try a few to find the one that suits you best. 

Exercise

I'm not talking about the occasional exercise that you do until you stop being motivated and stop going to the gym. I'm talking about regular exercise, several times a week. I know it's not easy to find the time to exercise regularly, because obviously we have jobs and lives... I found that the best way to really exercise regularly was to do it during my morning routine. To be honest, I think the exercising habit was probably the one that was the most difficult for me to stick to because I've never been a sporty person. I had to force myself at first. But now, exercise has become an important part of my day, I can't spend more than two days without practicing a form of exercise, whether it's Yoga, cardio, or a brisk walk. 

Journaling

If you're like me, you probably don't remember what you had for lunch two days ago, and you probably have no idea where you will be in three years. When I started journaling, I realize that there were so many things that happened in my life that I didn't even remember a few days or a few months after. Now that I journal, I like going back to my old journals and remembering some meaningful events, or how I felt at a certain point, the good things and the bad things. I think journaling is excellent to let ideas flow out of your mind, sometimes they need to! It's good to express yourself. Sometimes there are just things you just can't, or don't want to tell people around you. But you can tell your journal anything and it can be so cathartic. Since I started journaling, I uncovered things that were somewhere in my mind an I could finally let them out. And now that they're out, I feel relieved, I feel lighter, and I feel better. 

Let's recap: the five habits that can change your life are: having a morning routine, waking up early, meditating, exercising, and journaling. And there is no better moment to start than now. 

So, what are you waiting for?