6 Life Habits I Highly Recommend
Soul Letter #35
Hello👋 folks, Shubham here.
I am back with another edition of Soul Letter 🗞
Today I will be sharing six life-changing habits I picked up from the countless articles I have devoured.
Adopting these habits in my routine has definitely enhanced my quality of life, and might help you too.
Let’s begin.
Flow State
Have you ever been so immersed in an activity that you lost track of time? And no, binge-watching Netflix for hours doesn’t qualify as one. The activity has to challenge you, something like studying or programming.
If the answer is Yes then my friend you have experienced what’s known as the Flow State.
A flow state can be achieved through deep work where you are completely focused on your task with no heed to any distractions.
I am sure you must have witnessed the magic of flow state, it feels nothing less than a superpower⚡
When you are in the zone you can conquer anything from mastering Einstein’s Theory of relativity to running a freaking 5k marathon.
And that’s not all.
The work you do while you are in a flow state provides a deep sense of satisfaction that can’t be matched with any artificial vice.
An ideal situation would be when your flow state organically assists your profession. Freelance writers are a great example of this, they love to write and make a living out of it.
However, this isn’t mandatory and I can vouch for it. Being an average ex-software engineer, writing code rarely intrigued me yet at times it trudged me into a flow state.
Try to attain a flow state at least for a few hours a day.
If your work isn’t as exciting find a hobby that pushes you to the next level. Keep experimenting guys!
Mindfulness
Mindfulness basically means to be fully present in the moment, cognizant of our feelings thoughts, and corresponding actions.
It helps to stay calm and composed.
Meditation is the best-known practice to inculcate mindfulness, but it isn’t the only route.
You can also practice mindfulness for a few minutes just by observing the different feelings in the body, or focusing on your breath, or labeling your thoughts.
Nowadays we live in a disorienting world of smartphones. We are surrounded by more screens than humans. At times we unlock the phone and start swiping without a task in mind or keep refreshing the social media feeds again and again.
Mindfulness can help to cure these anxieties. It can teach us to slow down to recognize these negative patterns and distractions.
Remember the blue pill💊 Morpheus offered Neo that broke his ignorance as he learned a few life-changing truths.
Mindfulness is our blue pill. It’s up to us either to swallow and break the illusions or continue living oblivious lies.
Health
Thanks to social media and movies what’s the first thing which comes to mind when someone says exercise - dudes flaunting their 6-pack-abs, Herculean biceps, or gals exhibiting perfected toned bodies or doing headstands.
And since it’s almost impossible to attain these elusive goals we feel exercise isn’t for a common person like us. Adding to that apparently, we are so busy reminders are needed to drink water. On top of that exercise is a tedious task that is hardly appealing.
Who wouldn’t love a perfectly chiseled body but the effort needed is worth more than we can garner : (
I believe our idea of health and fitness is a bit fuzzy.
One doesn’t need to hit the gym daily to be declared fit.
Just a brisk walk 30 minutes every day can increase cardiovascular fitness, strengthen bones, reduce excess body fat, and boost muscle power and endurance.
Staying fit has a plethora of benefits — a healthier mind, more energy, better mood.
If exercising doesn’t resonate with you give an outdoor sport a try. Running, badminton, football the options are plenty.
What’s the point of working 24*7 if a huge chunk of your earnings will be consumed by the hospital bills(Dude, they charge a crazy amount nowadays).
All the top CEOs find time from their busy schedules (you can’t be busier than a CEO I mean come on) to hit the gyms because they know they can’t disregard health.
Along with the physical drills, a decent diet is a must. Avoid fast food, sugary drinks, smoking, alcohol, drugs anything these capitalists try to sell you.
Yet there is one mandatory ingredient to good health — Sleep, which is the next topic.
Sleep
Sleep😴 is one of those activities we share with other living beings. It’s a natural method drafted by mother nature to aid our functioning.
Like exercise, sleep has several benefits like a sharper brain, mood boost, healthier heart, fitter body, and so on.
However we humans, supposedly the smartest animal on earth, found a way to ruin this too.
Matthew Walker is a sleep scientist. In his Ted Talk, he highlighted we are the only species on earth dealing with sleep deprivation.
Funny isn’t it?
In our busy lives where health gets barely placed at the bottom of the priority list, sleep doesn’t make it to the list.
Science suggests an average person should sleep for 7-9 hours.
However each one of us has individual circadian rhythms, therefore the number may vary accordingly.
7-8 hours suits me so I try to hit that.
Chronic sleep deprivation can lead to high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attack, heart failure, or stroke.
In his book Why We Sleep, Matthew went on to say “Swiss Army knife of health and wellness sleep truly is.”
Journal
Of all the habits listed till now, this is the toughest one to stay consistent with(at least for me).
Why?
Because inevitably it starts to feel like a chore. Additionally, there’s a grim possibility that someone else might read it (which would be embarrassing).
Since the last few months, I have shifted to an app instead of a diary. Yes, the sublime pen-paper experience had to be compromised but now I can sleep with peace.
Journaling✍ too has numerous advantages — inspires creativity, keeps your thoughts streamlined, organizes your mind, minimizes stress, and much more.
Once the thoughts that befuddle us are out on a paper (or screen) it calms our mind. Writing them acts as an acknowledgment that we are ready to work on them.
According to me, the coolest thing about journaling is to be able to look back at your former entries. Reading old journals is probably the closest phenomenon to time travel(Although, it is unidirectional).
You can teleport back in time to watch a young immature you make big life decisions that scare the hell out of them. You smile (as they fret) knowing eventually things work out for the best to which the junior you is oblivious.
It would be fascinating watching yourself grow, realizing how far you have come.
I often read my old blogs to get a feel of how life was back then. It’ll be fun reading old Soul Letters two-three years down the line😋
Gratitude journal is a new fad, where you daily note down three things you are grateful for.
Science says expressing gratitude increases optimism thereby leaving you with much positive outlook towards life.
At times we take things like having a roof over our head or going on vacation for granted. A gratitude journal acts as a reminder of our mundane luxuries.
Reading
I can’t stress enough how the simple practice of reading books can transform your life.
One common habit among all the people I admire is reading.
Whenever I see their podcasts or interviews there’s always a huge library in the background.
"The only thing that you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library."
- Albert Einstein.
It’s sad 😢 the culture of reading and libraries is becoming extinct.
Today there are YouTube channels that encapsulate the summary of the books within minutes.
It is bizarre to think watching a 2-minute review video is equivalent to reading a book.
I truly believe reading has one of the highest ROI. There are lots of scientific benefits of reading however unlike the prior habits I don’t want to sell you reading.
I genuinely wish to ignite the passion for books📚
We all love watching movies because we see ourselves in the characters. There’s always a sense of dejection at the end of a film. Only if it could last a little longer. Right?
Now multiply that exact feeling by 1000 that what’s book can make you experience.
In case I convinced you well and good or else I intend to do a dedicated newsletter on reading. Hope it may change your mind.
Happy Reading😁
Final Words
People frequently ask me “which single habit transformed my life?”
I can’t pinpoint anyone. It’s the amalgamation of the above six and several others which have helped me become a better human being.
If Soul Letter 🗞 encourages anyone to start reading, take care of their health, or make any positive change to their life, I will consider my job is done.
Hope you enjoyed this edition.
Signing off for today :) Until next time, Houdoe! 🙋♂️