If I make a promise - I keep it. Whether it’s to friends, family, or even a stranger. I am reliable and I love making others happy. So, why is it that when it comes to making promises to myself, I rarely follow through? I can’t count the number of times I have told myself “diet starts monday". I wonder how many Sunday’s in my life have been “the last” Sunday for me.

This one is for the girlies (and guys) who make excuses for themselves. This one is for the people pleasers. For the people who prioritize everyone over themselves. For the givers. Let’s do this together. I want to share with you all *in real time*, the changes I will be implementing in my day to day life to maximize the quality of my days. Welcome to volume one of my health and wellness collection.

Let’s start with something that has truly changed my life and routines tremendously:

HABIT STACKING

I first heard of habit stacking from Lauryn Bosstick, on her podcast The skinny confidential: a lifestyle blog, podcast, and brand. If you are not familiar with the skinny confidential, I highly recommend you check it out! Lauryn and Michael Bosstick discuss an array of topics with a focus on health and wellness. Their podcast has been so educational and helpful to me on my journey to becoming the best version of myself.

So, what is habit stacking? Habit stacking is taking your daily routines, and pairing new habits with your current ones to build a new habit. When done correctly, you can habit stack almost your entire day to maximize and create new, healthy habits. The formula to Habit stacking is:

After/Before [CURRENT HABIT], I will [NEW HABIT].

Here’s an example: If you want to add more movement in your day to day, or even a full workout, you can either pick a time to implement that habit on it’s own, OR you can habit stack. There’s many ways you can habit stack movement or a workout in your daily routines. You could do some squats or lunges while brushing your teeth. Daily movement is one of my non-negotiables. Today I habit stacked my daily movement by walking on the treadmill during my virtual therapy session. Most days, I walk on the treadmill while checking my socials or writing blogs.

Some more examples of habit stacking are: saying daily affirmations while you wash your face (or after.) Before I brew my morning coffee, I will drink a glass of water. Before I go to bed, I will write in my gratitude journal. After brushing my teeth, I will Gua sha my face. There are truly so many different ways you can use habit stacking to multi-task positive habits and behaviors in your day to day life.

For more information on habit stacking and how to use this tool to change your life - visit HERE

Non-Negotiables

I am starting my health and wellness journey by figuring out my non-negotiables. Think of this as setting a baseline or bare minimum for things you would like to get done DAILY (or weekly). Of course, we are all human and some days will be harder than others. Start small with habits or activities that are realistic. It’s not realistic to set a goal to run a mile a day if you never run as it is. Even on your no good, very bad days, there are non-negotiable things that must be done. Eating food, drinking water, brushing your teeth, etc

. You can add to this list by prioritizing other positive habits you would like to form. It is very important to start small with this step so you can use it long-term and not just as a quick fix.

To be completely transparent, my ‘non-negotiables’ have been… pretty negotiable lately. That being said, I am determined to succeed and to commit to myself. So what are my new (daily) non-negotiables?

no.1 shower daily. This might be pretty standard, but as a busy mom there are some days when I just don’t find the time to shower.

no.2 Gua sha. I cannot stress enough the difference that consistently committing to a gua sha routine can make.

no.3 Drink MORE water. I am not setting an exact amount,just encouraging myself to drink more water every chance I can throughout the day.

No.4 Daily movement. Whether it’s walking, stretching, yoga, or a workout. Just get moving! you WILL feel better.

I am going to start with four non negotiables, as I don’t want to overwhelm myself. It’s not about being perfect, It’s about doing the work and putting in the effort to better yourself every single day. As time goes on, and as I succeed with my current non negotiables, I will surely add more to this list.

When starting my brand and blog, it took me some time to settle on a name that I felt actually held meaning. Not only to me, but to my audience as well. Oftentimes, I have to remind myself that things are not that serious. My husband has told me for years that I need to “go with the flow.” So now, I grow with the flow. As a first time mom, and A stereotypical virgo - My days must go according to plan or I will feel completely derailed. If we are running late or behind I fear I will spiral. It is very hard to let go of this strive for timeliness and perfection, especially in motherhood and marriage.

The world is not going to collapse if you forget to start the laundry. It’s not that deep. It’s not that serious. As I build this brand and blog, I am taking all of the steps to regulate my emotions and make my life easier. Life shouldn’t be so hard. You know what you’re capable of and you know all of the steps you need to take to get yourself in the place you want to be. You are fully capable of implementing change and giving yourself the same grace you give others. Your life now is a result of your actions one year ago, Your actions today will influence where you will be a year from now.

As I start my health and wellness collection I will be blogging about all sorts of different topics and I am so excited to be able to share my experiences with you! I will be sharing products I use in my daily life as well as tips and tricks that have worked for me personally.

How you spend your days, is how you spend your life. You will never get back yesterday. Take control of your life and keep the promises to yourself, you deserve it.