- by Sally
Y’all know how much I love to talk about habits! This is because the key to changing anything when it comes to our behavior is to change our habits. Change your habits, change your life!
So I thought it would be fun this month to do what I’m calling “The Daily 5 Challenge”. These are 5 habits that are easy to do, not too time consuming, don’t require much to practice, but can completely transform your life!
Who’s ready to join me and transform their life this month?! Here are the Daily 5 Habits:
1. Start your day with Jesus
How you start your day will impact the rest of your day. So why not begin the day with your Creator and Savior, communing with Him and committing the day to Him?
I have started my day with Jesus for as long as I can remember, and I can’t imagine starting my day any other way. It calms my heart and helps me focus on Him rather than myself or my problems. It gets my heart happy for the day.
There is no right or wrong way to start your day with the Lord. As mentioned, you simply want to commune with Him and commit your day to Him. I have written a number of posts on studying the Bible and my favorite tools to use during my quiet times (see below for links to these and other posts!):
- My Favorite Bible Study Tools
- 10 Bible Reading Plans to Get You in the Word
- Why You Should Have a Morning Routine (I share more about what I do during my quiet times in this post)
- How to Have a Daily Quiet Time (great beginner’s guide or if you only have a few minutes in the morning)
This one daily habit can absolutely change your life! Don’t jump into your day without first meeting with Jesus. You will never regret time spent in His presence ππ»π
2. Take your Supplements
The daily habit of taking high quality supplements can greatly improve your overall health and well-being. Make sure to research the company of the supplements you take to ensure they are transparent, offer 3rd party testing, use high quality ingredients, and are reputable.
When it comes to a baseline for supplements everyone could benefit from, I recommend a high quality multivitamin and mineral supplement. (here are the ones I have used for years and love). This is another brand I love that is whole food based and high quality!
Obviously, there are a number of other helpful supplements that can be beneficial to overall health as well as specific health issues, but for our challenge (and especially if you’re new to a supplement regimen), I want you to just focus on a daily multivitamin and mineral. This will be a great starting point to help you establish this daily health habit! π
3. Move your Body
We are not meant to be sedentary! But our modern day lifestyle of scrolling our phones, fast food and Netflix binging makes the need to move our bodies even more important.
For our challenge, I want you to commit to just 20 minutes of movement each day (that’s just a smidge more than 1% of your entire day!). Everybody has 20 minutes!
There are all kinds of exercises you can do – walking, pilates, yoga, strength training, aerobics, classes at the gym, pickleball, tennis, etc. Find something you enjoy (and will stick with) and get moving! You will feel so much better when you do π
4. Eat one Plant-Based Meal
Okay, I’m not asking you to go vegan or 100% plant based. Just try swapping out one meal each day (breakfast, lunch or dinner) and making it plant based. You can do this with snacks and desserts as well! Here are some examples:
- Instead of Sausage & Egg Biscuit ——————> A bowl of oatmeal with fresh berries
- Instead of a Turkey Club Sandwich —————–> A chickpea salad wrap with lettuce
- Instead of a Burger ——————————–> A black bean burger or giant salad
- Instead of Dairy Ice-cream ————————-> Oatmilk or Almond milk ice cream
You get the picture! Make a plant-based swap for one meal each day for this challenge, and you will be well on your way to increasing your veggie, fruit, and greens intake π
5. Choose One De-Stressing Activity
For this last habit, I want you to make a list (on your phone, computer, or journal) of all the activities that bring you joy and replenish you. We’ll call it our JOY list. Then each day, choose one activity from your list and schedule it into your day (these don’t have to be big or cost $). Here are some examples:
- Take a bubble bath
- Read from a good book
- Get a massage
- Get your nails done
- Spend time doing your favorite craft (painting, calligraphy, etc.)
- Watch an old movie
- Write a card to a friend who needs encouragement
- Go for a walk
Just let your imagination go and keep adding to your JOY List! Having something you look forward to doing each day can help ease stress, increase happy hormones, and enrich your life.
Let’s put it all together! Make sure to subscribe to access my FREE Daily 5 Challenge Habit Tracker Printable below. This will keep you on track as you color in or check off each day’s circle. And please note, you don’t have to be perfect! If you miss a day or miss one of the habits in a day, it’s no big deal! It’s not about perfection, it’s about progress. Don’t get discouraged; just pick up the next day and keep moving forward. By the end of the month, you can be a completely different person if you don’t quit! π€
*This post contains affiliate links. Please see my D&D policy.