The 6 Best Habits For a Healthy Life

By Ryan Spence

1. Meditation: It helps with Reducing Anxiety, Better Communication, Lowers Stress Levels, Improves sleep Improves mindfulness and overall quality of life just to name a FEW!

• I HIGHLY recommend the HeadSpace app #NotSponsored and doing it either: AS SOON as you wake up in the morning for a very mindful & intentional day, during a lunch break at work--which really helped me personally de-stress and be productive in the afternoon AND/OR right before bed, to clear out anxious thoughts for a more restful sleep!

2. Counseling: I recommend this to just about everyone--ESPECIALLY if you live alone or you like to have an unbiased opinion about what’s going on in your life! I used to feel there is a negative stigma that “You only go to a counselor if you are REALLY struggling” but I’ve found that most people can benefit from having them to talk to. Our society, life in general, relationships, love, work...ALL these things can be pretty challenging. ALSO, we are VERY complicated beings with emotions that many of us DO not express or understand as much as we could.

• MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE- I've met with a counselor for 6 yrs--really focusing around dating/relationships and building overall confidence.

• Our sessions are generally me venting about how things are going and her pointing out behaviors that aren't serving me.

3. Life Coaching: FULL disclosure! I am a coach and this is my website to offer coaching services--BUT I really DO feel like this has helped me a TON in my life and I’ve encouraged many people to seek coaches other than myself!

How does Life coaching differ from Counseling?:

LIFE COACHES: Can do many of those same things + help you be more proactive about what you want to change in life. A coach will EMPOWER YOU to find your barriers to your goals and break through those without reliance on others!

• Of course, Life coaches generally aren’t certified in mental health fields, but some are! A Counselor may be more equipped to help with deep rooted issues. HOWEVER, in my experience, I’ve come to many of the same conclusions MYSELF having conversations both with a counselor and a Life Coach.

• AS ALWAYS--do what you feel best serves you. I have personally appreciated the proactive style of a life coach vs the passive style of my counselor but both have been great for me respectively. I recommend both a counselor and a life coach if you have the means for it! You can never go wrong investing in yourself!

MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE- I’ve met with 3 different coaches over the last 5+ yrs for various lengths of time depending on my current life stage.

• They have helped me with: building confidence, feeling more loved, improving how I communicate with others, heal emotional wounds, achieve my personal & professional goals, be my authentic self, make friends that I have a TRUE connection with, be more vulnerable and figure out my life path to happiness!

4. Prioritizing Sleep: Sleep is EASILY one of the most important activities we do. It regulates mood, your brain function, your metabolism and SO many other things--YET, most people do not prioritize sleep. I totally get why-- our society has a negative stigma around “going to bed on time” and I’ve get teased and pressured by friends to stay up later--some of those friends I actually stopped talking to because it was a little toxic. It also does not sound fun to “go to bed” as opposed to “going out with friends, or staying up late to play games.”

• Of course, I’m not saying NEVER go out with your friends or enjoy games. BUT regularly getting 7+ hrs of sleep (depending on your age & other factors) is SUPER critical to SO MANY things in our life that we could solve a lot of our problems for ourselves if we just commit to a good night sleep more often.

• A sleep schedule IS IMPORTANT for regulating sleep because we ARE creatures of habit and it sets us up for success. Of course, that doesn’t mean you have to go to bed super early, but I work at 8am so I commit to hitting the bed at 9p and falling asleep by 10p to wake up around 630a.

5. Eating right/Cooking: Much like sleep, eating right and cooking can be a challenge to prioritize in your daily life. There are so many temptations to get fast food, go out to eat with friends or just “not have time to cook.” Just like sleep, it is something you really have to prioritize in your life. The benefits of eating right are MONUMENTAL for your health and your brain’s function. It’s not just weight loss but eating well just helps your body work more efficiently. You wouldn’t expect to pour corn syrup in your car and have it run efficiently, right!?

• I emphasize cooking because you can control the ingredients you put into your body which is usually much better than any restaurant.

• It’s actually going to save you a TON of money as opposed to take out options. Of course, if you struggle with finding the time or knowledge to cook, MORE and MORE cooking services are popping up to help you out--and they are worth the extra money and time savings.

• I ALSO recognize “eating right” is VERY hard to determine because there is a lot of misinformation about what is healthy and there are various diets out there that contradict each other.

• In general, you cannot go wrong with eating tons of fresh veggies, some fruits and avoiding PROCESSED FOODS--in other words, foods that have a massive list of ingredients filled with things that NO ONE can actually spell

6. Regular Exercise: You KNEW this one was coming, right!? Our bodies were not meant to be sitting in chairs/couches for 8+ hrs a day. They were built to be spent all day foraging for food. I am NOT suggesting you find some Buffalo to hunt--unless you’re into that, WHICH IS cool! Exercise improves our mood, helps us sleep better, builds confidence, helps prevent diseases among a plethora of other benefits-- Maybe the more motivating one is, we ALL really want to look good naked, right?!

• Exercise, like Sleep and Cooking can be tough to prioritize in our busy lives. I HIGHLY HIGHLY encourage finding exercise YOU ENJOY! Not just what you have easiest access to. The reason why is if you ENJOY the exercise, it won’t feel like a chore and it is MUCH easier to install in your life.

• I personally have done MANY different types of exercise programs--home workouts, group fitness, training for races, bicycling. ALL have their special benefits.

BONUS habit: YouTube Advice: YES, REALLY, YOUTUBE!: The main reason why I wanted to start MY YouTube channel is because of all the really great wisdom and advice I’ve found from it!! 2019 especially was a tough year for me and the content creators I found have propelled me to make 2020 my best year yet personally!

• Getting so much great advice and connecting with great coaches has inspired me to use YouTube as MY medium also to help as many people as possible. My life path is all about sharing wisdom and helping others and I wouldn’t have found that without many of the YouTubers I’ve discovered last year.

• So if you have something you want to learn MORE about for yourself, there is a good chance there are many quality videos already covering the topic that can help you make positive changes in your life!

There are other habits I have that I considered putting on this list BUT I wanted to try to keep THIS brief! I love you guys and stay healthy!