Sometimes the day gets away from you so fast.
You start out with a list of good intentions and then, bam! Work, family, traffic… all the stresses of daily life barge in, and suddenly that new yoga class is no longer on the calendar, and you’re tempted to think about hitting a drive-through window for lunch.
Well, this happens to me less often ever since I came up with my Sacred 3. That’s my list of three non-negotiables, the small habits I do every day, no matter how busy I get.
You should try it! It’s super-simple to do. Just take a few minutes to write down all the daily habits you currently do or wish you were doing. Then narrow it down to just 1 to 3 items that you can commit to without fail.
Be real with this. Remember how crazy things got last week… Or that day last month… Is something like that going to happen again?
Probably! Because life happens, despite our best intentions.
Here are some possible non-negotiables to consider.
Drinking enough water.
Getting outside for a few minutes.
Closing your eyes and taking deep breaths for one minute.
Eating five servings of fruits and vegetables.
Moving your body with intention every day, even if it’s just a 15-minute walk around the block. (Remember, we’re going for the bare minimum here, so this isn’t a place to list “I will work out every day for 1 hour.”)
Taking a moment to give thanks.
Does this list get you thinking in the right direction? The point isn’t to tell you that these should make up your own Sacred 3. That’s up to you!
Ever since I made my own list, and then set about guarding it with a passion, I find that I have fewer days where I feel overwhelmed, like my life is out of control. Every day that I’m able to stay on track – even if it’s just with these three little things – is another day I’m not giving up, not falling back to old habits, and not despairing.
It’s a powerful tactic to shut out the noise and the stress of the rest of the world!
