Let’s face it, change can be a challenge.  Yet with the start of the new year, many of us perform the requisite inventory of things we need to work on to better ourselves and better our lives.  This includes anything from dietary and exercise habits to simply wanting to have a different outlook on something that’s been on our minds.  So, how do we adopt a new habit? Perhaps our 7 Tips to Create Healthier Habits may help. 

Pause the Distractions

We’ve all got to-do lists a mile long and a fair amount of dependence on electronic devices along with juggling work and family responsibilities.  Our days are loaded with activity and for many, we’ve become masters at multi-tasking simply out of necessity.  It’s tricky and often fleeting to be 100% in the present moment while keeping all the balls in the air.

So, for starters, we’ve got to put it on mute for a few moments.  Without pausing our distractions, it’s difficult to have a clear and focused mind.  Without clarity, we literally can’t see clearly.  By taking some time to not have to be somewhere, not have to do something and to just be is an integral first step in creating awareness.  This can be just simply for a few minutes each morning or for longer, more intensive self-care rituals. Continue on for more of our 7 Tips to Create Healthier Habits.

Get Grounded to Create Healthier Habits

It’s important to slow down, quiet the noise, still the movement and get centered.  As mentioned above, our distractions, obligations and responsibilities in life can often have us feeling on autopilot most of the time.  One of the keys to managing it all is to get grounded; to essentially get our bearings and literally be still.  This can provide a feeling of stability and clarity.  See below for tips on where to begin.

Create A Quiet Space

Meditation can be performed anywhere, equally effective on a yoga mat or on a chair at the kitchen table. Walking meditation is also a great way to focus on your thoughts while getting the benefit of physical exercise.

For those, who want to commit to creating a small sanctuary in your home, it’s a great way to invest in the practice of self-care and can be highly enjoyable to curate.  Some folks like to set up an altar which can be the size of a shoebox (or literally a shoebox itself) or as large as a desk.  Maybe it includes your favorite candle, some crystals, incense and some leaves and flowers from your backyard? Some additional suggestions might be photos, inspirational quotes, deities, or prayer beads.  It’s all up to you to curate objects of which you feel connected, comforted, and inspired.

Articulating Your Thoughts & Intentions

Keep a notebook nearby.  As thoughts come to you, see what comes up and write them down.  Don’t judge them.  It’s important to be kind to yourself. This allows for clarity of mind.  To further describe this point, do you ever feel overwhelmed?  Just overwhelmed, in general? By isolating what is contributing to that feeling and state of mind, it allows us to chip away at the root of the cause.  In order to do this, we must first identify it; finding the words and descriptions.  You may be surprised by what ‘shows up’ as oftentimes our suppressed thoughts and feelings have a lot of power in driving our actions and habits. They’re stealthily hiding underneath our day-to-day distractions and what may seem, on the surface, an issue is actually something else completely.  Articulating your thoughts doesn’t have to be about saying them out loud. It can simply mean giving them words and descriptions and expanding from there.

Setting Intentions to Create Healthier Habits

Now that you’ve slowed things down, had time and space to reflect and noted some feelings, goals and intentions that have come up, it’s time to do something with it all.  Action happens with intention.  Setting intentions is the easy part.  Manifesting them is where the work comes in.  ‘Work’ may be a bit of a misnomer as the journey of seeing your goals and happiness come to fruition is a fun ride!

When setting intentions, it’s always recommended to be as specific as possible.  For example, if you want to buy that new Apple Computer you may want to set an intention by saving $100 per week for x number of weeks starting on January 1^st, 2022 and ending on July 1^st, 2022 and envisioning yourself walking into your local store to purchase it in the month of July.

Now that you’ve perused our 7 Tips to Create Healthier Habits, it’s time to make a plan and work your plan, as they say!

Incorporating Essential Oils for Manifestation

It goes without saying that we, here at Artisan Aromatics love essential oils!  Certain scents remind of us of specific people, places, experiences and can evoke the moods and intentions that we desire like relaxation and mental focus just to name a few.  Choosing essential oils to apply or diffuse during meditation doesn’t just have to be about having the popular single varieties like lavender, peppermint or lemon.  Our Robbers Essential Oils Blend has a lore associated with protection.  In Ayurvedic medicine, Cardamom Essential Oil is said to have a purifying effect that brings clarity and a rise in consciousness.  Palo Santo Essential Oil sourced from ‘holy wood’ is often used in rituals to remove negative energy.

Essential Oils can be utilized in meditation and intention setting through a few ways: diffusion, application on the body or inhalation.

To diffuse, passive diffusers require no electric and are great to include on personal altars.  They’re small and evoke the aromas of essential oils subtlety while ultrasonic diffusers can cast a scent throughout a room or larger space.

For application on the body, always remember to follow the guidelines for proper dilution. CLICK HERE for our Dilution for Topical Use Infographic.  Our Roll-On Essential Oils & Aromatherapy Blends are already diluted and ready-to go for application on pulse points on the body.

Inhalation can be performed by taking a few breaths of the 100% pure therapeutic essential oil keeping your nose at a safe distance from the bottle.  Our oils are highly concentrated!  For an even easier on-the-go solution, try out our Aromatherapy Inhalers.  Super easy to use and portable for self-care all day every day.

We encourage you to visit https://artisanaromatics.com, do your research on each essential oil and enjoy all the info you can find on each product description page.  Be open to crafting your own blends to suit your intentions and goals.  It’s fun and easy and it’s all about what works for you in what you’re trying to attract or create or let go.

The 21 Rule

Lastly, studies show that it takes 21 days to either break a habit or develop a new one.  Three weeks! So, grab that notebook again and record your daily journey.  It’s all about implementing the steps above and sticking with it!  On the days when working toward your goal is a breeze, make note of it.  On days when it’s challenging, make a note of it.  It’s all part of the journey…your journey.  The art of being still is self-care in of itself.  Enormous gifts like clarity, contentment, stability, and self-love can be products of stillness and mindfulness.

Self-care isn’t selfish or impossible.  It’s necessary, insightful, and rewarding.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this article on 7 Tips to Create Healthier Habits and will check out some of our others Blogs and this article on the Scientific Basis of Meditation.