Habits you will regret not starting sooner

Let's do a quick test, what is your most regret in life? Which category does it fall into? action( something you did that you don't like) or inaction( something you didn't do at all) Which one is it? If it's something you did then you are amongst the 30%  of weird people. A whopping 70% of people regret actions they didn't take. According to the National Library of Medicine, more people regret the action they don't take.

I'll be benevolent enough to tell you 10 habits you might regret not starting sooner. Yesterday was the best time to start getting better but today is also a good time to start. You can download a step-by-step tracker that helps you track your most difficult goals. 

Listed below are 10 life-changing habits you should start now.

1. Reading: 

There is a popular saying " If you want to keep something from a black man hide it in a book". This already denotes that people don't read. However, I'll love to put it to you that sometimes it doesn't matter whether it's a book or not as far as the knowledge is being passed across then it's fine. 

The goal is to get yourself familiar with information concerning various subject matters. It could be Youtube, podcast, Instagram, mail, or any learning app.

2. Communication skills: 

The first step to being a good communicator is Active listening. We must learn to listen to people patiently not just to reply but to carefully understand the person's perspective.

 Make nonverbal communication like a nod or statements like "wow"  to show you are actively engaged in the conversation. Maintain eye contact except if the person is an elder and the culture doesn't permit it.

3. Emotional intelligence: 

When the topic of emotional intelligence comes up different things come to different people's minds so I'll define it to ensure we are on the same page.

Emotional intelligence or EI is the ability to understand and manage your own emotions, and those of the people around you.

The earlier we learn emotional intelligence, the better our communication and presentation. 

4. Learning a skill:  

This is one of the greatest regret people have. You should learn a skill outside your basic degree at the University. You can choose to learn one skill and master it. It can be basic or complex whichever suits you. We are in a tech-driven world and tech skills are highly in demand now.

Don't just learn a skill, also plan toward monetizing the skill you learned. It might not be what you would do full time but at least you would have gained from the knowledge.

5. Building family relationships: 

I know the way adulting feels. "Abby kin salo ni" has been the slang in your mouth. There is this rush to leave home and start a new life. However, I'll advise you to enjoy your home relationships at much as you can.

6. Gratitude: 

Hold on to what you long for while being grateful for what you have in your hands right now. You know what? I know there are one thousand and one reasons to grumble. 

Life hasn't been fair towards you and talking about it from now till tomorrow will be very valid. However, if it's happiness you seek that won't be a good move at all, you've got to focus on the bright side of things.

One thing that helps me is journaling, get a journal and every day write something you are grateful for every day.

7.  Healthy Living: 

One of the most underrated things in life is " Good health". There are no truer sayings than the saying "health is wealth". Living a healthy lifestyle comprises watching your food and sugar intake, exercise, check-ups, and mental health.

To get the life we desire we must consciously put systems in place for our goals to spring forth.

8. Boundaries:

 When discussing boundaries, people fall into one of these categories.

1. Doesn't set boundaries

2. Doesn't respect people's boundaries 

3. The combination of 1 and 2.

I love the guy that falls in number 3. You might want to know why, so I'll tell you.

The guy that falls in number doesn't set boundaries hence people don't respect his boundaries and that's fair. Do me I do you.

 There is always someone around you who doesn't have boundaries and it might be YOU. Here is how to know, they are easy to like, free-going, people please, and easily taken advantage of.

9. Concentration:

 Our mind is like a stage filled with several actors, we can't control their activities but we can control the spotlight. 

So picture your mind as a stage and on that stage, you have anger, joy, peace, resentment, anxiety, fear, laughter, and all emotions you can feel as a person. 

In this instance, you can't control all the emotions but you can determine the spotlight, and what you choose to focus on. 

Another form of concentration that you must learn is "being present", taking one task at a time. Our minds are used to being distracted. The more we get distracted, the better we get at being distracted. To unlearn distraction, we must learn concentration.  

10.  Discipline: 

Pain is what we live with, you're either living with the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. We all have the same 24 hours in a day. To do more of what will make you better, you have to do less of what you are currently doing. 

From today, you must begin to make a conscious effort to learn discipline. If you're just starting in learning discipline. Don't give yourself big tasks like reading 5 hours a day, you won't read up to 10 minutes. The thought alone of reading up to 5 hours discourages you.

If you are struggling to build a habit. There are two simple solutions to the problem. I call it B.P. 

B - for breaking the task down  

P - Attach pleasure to your win. 

For example, you have a goal to read a book in a month. Calculate the number of pages in the book and divide it by the number of days in that month. If it's 300 pages, you can read as little as 10 pages per day. If 10 pages is still a lot at a stretch then read 5 pages in the morning and 5 pages at night.

Secondly, attach pleasure to your win. After reading the allocated pages.

 Call your babe or someone that you can do anything to please. Make that your reward.

Remember, habits don't create themselves, you create them. All these things will just be information in your head if you fail to be intentional about creating them.