I recently posted on Facebook about the beautiful sunrise and that yep, I was up to see it. Someone commented back asking if I got up and saw up or if I was still up from the night before.
That made me smile. I used to be a night owl and would sometimes pull all-nighters and see the sun come up before I went to bed. That was the only way I saw a sunrise.
Now my sleep habits have changed. My caffeine habits have changed. My thought habits have changed.
That is the kicker.
I took pride in being in night owl and working all night, going to bed when the rest of the world was getting up and heading off to work. I sometimes still work late, but in general, having a fairly regular sleep schedule has helped me feel tremendously better.
I thought my energy level was pretty good before, and now I feel even better.
The basics are often overlooked because they are basic. Besides sleeping, eating on a normal schedule has entered my life too. DUH! I know. Most people eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day, but I never ate breakfast. Lunch was whenever I got around to it.
Now I start my day with something simple like yogurt and granola. The glorious part is eating my goodies in my sunroom and watching the sky turn shades of blue and orange through the trees.
The sight of those colors stirs my soul and gets me in a good place as I start my day.
Is the idea of sleeping, eating (and exercising), anything new? Of course not. As Mark Twain said, “There is nothing new under the sun.” What is new is the idea that people can take on new habits.
Absolutely.
As you enter 2012, do not for one second believe that you are “stuck” the way you are. If you want something to be different, it can. What I’ve learned and what I teach my clients is that implementing new habits is not the hard part; letting go of old ingrained patterns of thought is the sticky wicket.
That is what takes time. 21 days to incorporate a new habit. Slightly longer to let go of an old habit. Usually habits are the thoughts we think, what we tell ourselves. A lot of those thoughts have been around since childhood.
Something simple as “I am a night owl. I am not an early bird,” is a thought habit first. Pay attention to your “I am” statements. What and how do you want to be? Practice your I AM statements.
I am a writer. I am an inspirational speaker. I am a happiness coach. I am happy. I am blessed. I am loved. I am adored.
Too many of us play a different tape in our heads: I am fat. I am stupid. I am ugly. I am not lovable. I am not worthy of wealth. I am a loser. I am lonely. I am sad. I am always going to be this way.
Stop that reel right now. The best thing you can do for yourself as you embark on a new year is to notice what you are telling yourself. Reframe your “I am” statements into what you want to be. And watch it come to fruition.
(Kelly is author, speaker, and happiness coach. Join Kelly’s 7-week online course to get happy, confident, and have more fun. www.kellyepperson.com/programs/
