Chatterbox: Habit and Motivation + Little Changes to be Your Best Self (01/08/2026 - 01/14/2026)
Hey y'all let's see what's up today! Seeing as last week we opened discussion for goal setting, tips, tricks, and the logic behind why New Year's Resolutions don't work, let's put some habit changes into motion! We'll be talking about small things that you can do to move toward your best self, or your long term goals.
Habit and Motivation
Before we get into the fun stuff, let's talk about habits and motivation first. I find that they work hand in hand when you're trying to achieve a goal, and we'll discuss how to utilize them as well.
Motivation: This is the starting point, if you aren't motivated to change or do better then you're going to start slipping back into old habits really quickly. It can be easy to lose motivation, this is why I stress the importance of having vision boards displayed clearly for yourself. Find out what drives you, do you want to look a certain way? Do you have a vacation you want to save for? Are you looking to take a step up in your career? All of these are good motivators to begin making small habit changes.
Habit: Habits are the actions encouraged by motivation such as going to the gym, using a planner, or going to work just a little bit early to make yourself stand out. After you do these habits for a longer period of time, they become part of your routine and soon you'll find that you are slowly inching towards those goals that you want to accomplish.
5 Good Habits to Adapt
The best way to really see change is to implement good habits first and foremost. This can be hard for a lot of us, especially if you deal with a chronic illness like I do, however it can be done. Here are some good habits that I have been personally adapting to slowly make my way up toward bigger and better practices.
#1 Wake Up Earlier: I generally get up pretty early anyway, but instead of getting up at 7:30 which I had started doing while I was off work for a bit, I started getting up at 5 again. Allowing myself to kind of slowly wake up and get into the right state of mind for the day has really helped me keep on top of things that I want to do outside of work. I also find that it's nice to have the extra time to eat and get ready for the day has made mornings much less stressful which is another bonus.
#2 Read For At Least 15 Minutes a Day: It may sound hard, but once you're in the habit of doing it it's not so bad. I like reading at the end of the day to kind of relax into my evening routine, and when you have a lengthy TBR list this can help you work through that as well.
#3 Eat at Home More: While this certainly isn't convenient, more and more people are losing vital skills such as cooking meals from home because of the convenience of fast food. I made the choice to do more cooking at home instead, and have found that I can make even my favorite fast food meals easily at home and the cost of the groceries kind of evens out when I can make several meals instead of just paying for one.
#4 Move Around a Bit: I'm not saying you have to go on a big lengthy physical fitness journey or anything like that, but move around a bit. Stretch, take a walk, do some sit ups or squats if you're able! For every hour that I sit down I try to get up and move for at least 2 minutes. It's really helped my joints and boosted my activity level considering I work an office job.
#5 Take Care of Your Body: Obviously you don't need a 500 step hygiene routine, but find products that are good for your skin and hair types and make sure that you use them regularly. I wasn't using the right products for my skin and hair for years and it was not only doing physical damage but the physical damage made it insufferable to have any sort of good skincare routine.
4 Bad Habits to Let Go Of
We've discussed some good habits to get us through but what are some bad habits that we can let go of?
#1 Using Generative AI to Solve Problems: I'm not the type of person to buy into ChatGPT or anything like that, but using it to solve all of your problems is something that you really need to let go of in the new year if you're using it consistently. AI has statistically lowered the comprehension skills of the populace that's using it and you deserve better than that for yourself!
#2 Being Unwilling to Listen: When you approach someone with a problem, if you're unwilling to listen to what they have to say you aren't going to get the help that you need from it. Being open to hearing people out is something that we've let go of a lot in recent years and I think its something that we need to really bring back in 2026 going forward.
#3 Not Making Space For Others: Having time to yourself is fantastic, I'm all for it as someone who prefers having alone time. However, completely closing yourself off and not making space for friendships, relationships, and those you hold dear are the quickest ways to lose them. It's something that I didn't think a lot of when I was younger, but at 25 I realized I missed out on a lot by being anti-social and not holding space for the people in my life that I care about.
#4 Being Unwilling to Learn: It seems like the more time has gone on the more closed minded people have come to learning. I find this to be extremely concerning because if you don't take the time to learn and grow you're not going to get anywhere. Be open to learning something new, try a new recipe, learn a new skill, or pick up a new hobby. I would even suggest taking the free college courses offered by Harvard. There's always something new to learn.
Closing
That's all that I have for you guys right now, I will be back with you guys next week for another Chatterbox post. In the meantime feel free to add to this post by sharing what habits you'd like to pick up and what habits you'd like to drop in the new year! If you want to see more from me feel free to click the link below where you can find my other socials. Y'all take care, and thanks for stopping by!
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