How to Establish Better Habits During Major Life Transitions
Photo by Jon Tyson
We all have to face major life transitions at one point or another. Transitional life events like moving, getting married, leaving a job, or ending a relationship are bound to create a sense of upheaval in your life. This is why life transitions are great opportunities to end unhealthy behaviors and replace them with better habits.
Filling your time with positive behaviors will leave little room for habits you’re trying to kick. At the same time, adopting healthy habits can help you address many of the reasons why breaking bad habits is so difficult—stress, lack of motivation, poor self-esteem, and social influence to name a few. Here are some tips to help you adopt healthy habits during times of transition.
Move Towards Healthy Eating Habits
Eating healthy, nutritious foods can help you feel balanced during times of transition. Embracing a diet packed with vitamins and minerals will help to moderate your mood and energy levels throughout the day, giving you the mental bandwidth to navigate this transition and say goodbye to unhealthy habits. Don’t worry about maintaining a strict diet. Simply being more mindful about what and how you’re eating can have a significant impact on the quality of your diet.
Find Time for Movement
Like healthy eating, exercising regularly is important for your mental and physical health. Physical activity can help alleviate stress during a tough transitional period while giving you the energy and motivation to stop bad habits. Again, don’t worry about sticking to a rigid routine. Whenever you have the time, try to get moving in a way that feels good to you, whether this means walking, running, yoga, strength training, or something else entirely.
Take Charge of Your Career
If you’re feeling stuck in your career, use this transitional period to take control over your career and pursue work that’s more fulfilling, whether this means negotiating a promotion, navigating a career change, or stepping away from the traditional 9-to-5 to start your own business.
Becoming your own boss is a one way to promote career satisfaction, learn new life skills, and increase your contribution to society. If you are not sure where to start, there are online resources available to help form a business. For example, you can use website building tools like Squarespace or Wix to establish an online presence, and accounting apps like Wave or QuickBooks to manage your business finances.
Step Away from Toxic Relationships
A transition is also a great time to evaluate your relationships. Consider cutting toxic people out of your life who are contributing to or encouraging your bad habits. Science of People explains that toxic people exhibit some common signs. For example, narcissists tend to be self-centered and inattentive to the needs of others. Emotional moochers suck the positivity out of any situation. Drama magnets are always looking for sympathy and support but never want solutions to their problems. Life transitions such as moving, graduating, or starting a new job provide an excellent chance to find new friends who support your healthy behaviors and make you feel your best!
When facing a major transition, many of us make resolutions to change our behaviors, adopt healthier habits, and start projects we’ve been putting off. While a chance at a fresh start is invigorating, it can be tough to know where to begin. Keep it simple and take things one step at a time. Building healthy behaviors is all about taking small, daily steps towards becoming the person you want to be.
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Looking for mental health help? Cleveland Health and Wellness Center offers holistic mental health care for adults, adolescents, and children. Schedule an appointment.