Charles Duhigg in his book “The Power of Habit“ coined the phrase keystone habit. These small habits lead to routines that can impact unintentionally other areas of our lives. They are according to Duhigg, “they are that central stone in an arch which locks the whole structure together.”

What to wear, what to eat, what to watch on Netflix, what to do at the weekend?…….the list of questions that we ask ourselves and decisions that we have to make on a daily basis sometimes seem exhausting. And for the most part, the smaller, more inconsequential questions are the ones that cause us so much deliberation, whilst more important life-changing decisions can be made in what seems a fraction of the time.

Are you the type of person who finds it hard to say no? Do you say yes to everything even when sometimes you are screaming No!! inside? Do you want everyone to like you and so find that you are never true to yourself? If this is you then it’s time you learned to stop trying to please everyone and focus on yourself.

Practicing gratitude is one of the simplest, quickest, and most effective ways of transforming your life for good. It costs nothing but can bring you all that you want from life. Apart from giving you your material desires, it can enrich your life in so many other ways, from emotional well-being to healthier relationships to an overall feeling of satisfaction and abundance.

Loss is an inevitable part of living, we can’t go through life without experiencing loss of some sort or another and grief is the natural process that we will go through to help us to heal from it. There is no quick fix to dealing with grief and no one-size-fits-all either. Whether it is the death of a loved one, the loss of a job, moving home, the loss of a beloved pet, loss of physical ability, or loss of financial security. Whatever the circumstances the feelings of grief and loss will be present and knowing how to deal with them and how to get through the period is crucial.

The way we talk and think about ourselves can have a very powerful effect on our mental and emotional state. This can be good or bad but for many people the way they talk to and about themselves internally is bad.

Psychologists term this negative self-talk, cognitive distortions and it is both very unhelpful and harmful. This type of mental bad habit can take us to places we really don’t want to go to. Therefore you have to ask yourself why do you do it?

Self-care is something that is fundamentally important to us in life but it is, unfortunately, something that not enough people give any priority to in their lives. For many, the idea of self-care means thinking about yourself which can be taken as being selfish but this is not the case at all. Everybody needs to practice self-care in order to have a healthy mind and body and to be able to function well in their life and within their relationships.