17 Healthy and Positive Lifestyle Habits You Should Be Doing Every Single Day

Having a great attitude has so many benefits!

Did you know that you can choose your attitude? It’s true! Having a healthy lifestyle starts with adopting a positive attitude, and it all begins with accepting positivity in your life. When life throws challenges our way, it’s easy to meet those obstacles with negativity. Instead, we offer these healthy and positive lifestyle habits to help you choose a different outlook. It will have amazing results for your health!

Think about the people you know who don’t let life get them down. They’ve probably trained themselves to see the bright side of life! Every challenge we face helps us grow and become better people, and these healthy and positive lifestyle habits help us see that. So, let’s dive right in and take a look at the top 17 habits you should adopt to start seeing things through rose-colored glasses!

17 Healthy and Positive Lifestyle Habits You Should Be Doing Every Single Day

drink more water

1. Practice Positivity

Want to know the best way to start seeing things in a positive light? Practice positivity! You’ll wire your brain to see the good things instead of focusing on the negative. Negativity can be exhausting, so you’ll find yourself with an immediate boost of energy by simply embracing positive vibes. You’ll also find that you’ll waste less time by not focusing on the small things that bring you down.

2. Exercise

exercise

Exercise is one of the most important healthy and positive lifestyle habits you should be taking part in every single day. It not only keeps your body shaped and toned, but physical activity also releases chemicals, known as endorphins, in the brain. These are basically “happy hormones” that boost your overall well-being. As a bonus, you’ll also increase your energy levels by working out!

Get started today with our beginner’s low-intensity cardio workout plan.

3. Stay Hydrated

Take our 30-day 8×8 Water Challenge, and you’ll see for yourself how much better you feel at the end of the month! Water not only helps us feel full, but it also nourishes our hair, skin, and nails. It will help you stay focused and full of energy so you’ll be ready to greet the day with positive vibes.

4. Try Meditating

meditate

If you’re having a hard time getting into a healthy and positive lifestyle, take a step back and start with meditation. Meditation is a proven way to kick-start weight loss, and it’s also a great way to silence your mind from time to time. You may find it gives you more peace in your life or at least the clarity to see things in a new light.

5. Let Go

This one is a hard one, but it’s definitely one of the healthy and positive lifestyle habits you should be enforcing every single day. Let go of the things that no longer serve you. That might be a toxic person in your life, a bad habit like smoking, or a memory from your past. If something is dragging you down into negative energy, meditate on letting it go or release it during yoga.

6. Ditch the Junk Food

ditch the junk food

The junk food has to go! It might taste great in the moment, but nothing tastes better than feeling fit. Junk food will only give you temporary happiness, and those empty calories are a surefire way to pack on the pounds. In fact, your immune system actually sees junk food as a virus, so keep yourself healthier by making healthy choices instead.

7. Eat Your Vegetables

Instead of loading up on junk food, substitute a healthy serving of vegetables instead. These nutrient-dense powerhouses will make you feel great from the inside out. If you can afford it, try buying organic vegetables. It’s the ultimate way to treat your body!

8. Practice Gratitude

Many successful millionaires talk about how important gratitude is as a healthy and positive lifestyle habit. Thinking about the things that fill you with gratitude will open your mind to seeing them more frequently. It trains your brain to become a positive magnet! Try journaling every morning or at night before you go to bed.

9. Get Some Plants

This might sound silly, but it really works! Surrounding yourself with living things will not only boost the oxygen in your environment, but it will put your mind in the right place, too. You’ll decrease your stress and anxiety levels while boosting your energy.

10. Smile

An old boss used to tell me to smile before picking up the phone when it rang. She said the person on the other end of the phone can actually hear your smile. I’m not sure if that’s true, but I do know that smiling helps put me in the right mood. It’s hard to be grumpy with a smile on your face!

11. Eat the Rainbow

eat the rainbow

Eating a plate full of vibrantly colored food is a surefire way to get excited about your meal. In addition to looking great, multi-colored food is actually more nutrient-dense than dull-colored food. Make it a habit to include at least two colors in your meals. An easy way to do that is by throwing a handful of freshly chopped herbs or some sliced red cabbage into your bowl.

12. Try Essential Oils

Essential oils are great for so many reasons. They can naturally boost your energy at work, and they can also help fight off stress and anxiety. Try peppermint oil, lemon oil, or rosemary oil if you’re just getting started. These oils are great for improving focus and mood.

13. Get Your Zzz’s

If you’re not sleeping enough, chances are good that you won’t be able to see things in a positive light. You may be more likely to jump to conclusions or respond to a confrontation in an irritable manner. Healthy bodies need at least seven hours of sleep each night to maintain focus and keep the metabolism running at peak performance.

14. Make New Friends

You might not think this is one of the healthy and positive lifestyle habits you should be doing every single day, but it really does help. Meeting new people will introduce you to new outlooks and differing points of view. You’ll have people to lean on when you need them, and that’s never a bad thing.

15. Watch Your Portion Sizes

Overeating leads to feeling terrible! You’ll feel bloated, gross, and sometimes ashamed (especially if you’re going over your calorie goals). Keep your body and mind feeling great by controlling portion sizes. It’s much better to eat multiple small meals than it is to eat a few large ones.

16. Compliment Yourself

It’s so easy to stare into that mirror and criticize yourself for your looks or lifestyle choices. Instead of thinking negatively, give yourself a compliment once a day. There are always things to work on, but take a moment to cherish yourself for who you are. You’ll see positive results when you think this way!

17. Appreciate The Small Things

Along with your daily gratitude journaling, try to take a moment each day to appreciate the small things. That might be a cool breeze on a hot day, a smile from a stranger, or a compliment from your boss. When you start appreciating the small things, it’ll be easier to accept that life is great – even when it’s not!

Adopting even just a few of these positive lifestyle habits can dramatically change your well-being and your outlook on life. We recommend starting one at a time and trying to incorporate each one into your daily routine—you’ll be amazed at how much happier it will make you!

What are some of your favorite positive lifestyle habits? Let us know in the comments! 

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Originally published on 8/29/2018.

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Chef Lindsay

Lindsay D. Mattison is a professional chef, recipe developer, and food writer. After graduating from Cascade Culinary School, Lindsay worked as the executive chef of a farm-to-table restaurant in Bend, Oregon. She is passionate about using local, organic ingredients and loves teaching home cooks how to incorporate seasonal food into their diet. While she spends most of her time writing these days, she still exercises her culinary muscles on the regular, taking any opportunity to create beautiful meals for her family. She lives with her husband in Colorado, where she enjoys the trials and errors of gardening.

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