Live Whole Health #235: Habits: What’s serving you today?

I’m a strong believer in habits. When we want to make a change in our lives—become more active, eat more fruits and vegetables, take up woodworking, etc.—setting up a routine for ourselves is often the best way to make it happen. I recently heard about someone who read about an actor who goes to the gym to reads on his rest days, just to stay in the habit of going to the gym!

In the military, they certainly know the importance of habits to help people change. From the very beginning of Basic Training, the focus is on adhering to a schedule, following checklists and routines, and repeating actions and sequences until they’re second nature. The faster you can lock into that routine, the more successful you are.

Habits can become a problem when they’re no longer serving our needs. If you’re training for a 10K race or marathon, running 4-5 times a week is important. When the race is over and you want to spend more time with your family or start tackling household projects, you’ll find better uses for the time you previously spent running. Maybe you wanted to learn to play the guitar but now you don’t enjoy it as much as you had hoped. Forcing yourself to practice 30 minutes a day won’t serve you anymore.

Learning to let go

We go through stages in our lives where we need and want different things. A habit that used to be helpful may not be anymore. Letting go of habits that no longer serve their purpose can give you more time to find newer ones that can be beneficial to you in the now.

This 5-minute video by Robert Eric Dinenberg, Whole Health physician with the St. Louis VA Healthcare System, encourages you to pause and focus on being in the present moment.

After completing this exercise, consider taking time to reflect on what habits and routines you have now. What do you want to let go? What do you want to recommit to? What old habits were helpful that you want to bring back? Appreciating the value of habits—and knowing when to set them aside—can improve your health and well-being.