My Sovereign Self
The gateway to my freedom
is my commitment to radical self-love,
honoring what I know to be true,
and listening to the whispers of Spirit
rising from within me.
I value my time, energy, and ideas.
I value what matters most deeply to me,
and I design my life around
embodying my luminous self –
in how I play, work, rest,
move my body, be with others,
and co-create with the Divine.
I claim my power,
my pleasure,
and my authentic expression.
I am whole.
I am loved.
I am light.
Lisa McCrohan, © 2021
I’ve been on an Atomic Habits kick recently and I’ve been sharing all the wonderful stuff in this book with “my people” – my family, clients, and friends. Ready my blog post, Atomic Habits, Mega Love. Today, I want to share with you a second “good habit hack” coupled with a dose of self-love: habit stacking.
A few months ago, I decided that I wanted to improve my balance and ankle strength. This might sound like no big deal to some people. But for me, this was a way of me reclaiming my health and well-being. Let me explain. My balance and ankle strength have been a bit “off” since I fell off a treadmill, was flung backward, and hit the treadmill behind me. (Yeah, it was painful!). I did months of vestibular physical therapy. And even after all that PT, my ankle strength and balance just weren’t as good as before. I figured that that is just how it was going to be from now on. So for years, I just assumed I didn’t have good balance anymore.
But one day in August, I just thought, “I want to reclaim my balance and ankle strength! Let’s see what I can do!”
So, I did some “habit stacking” with some major self-love.
This is what I did: when I brushed my teeth (morning and evening), I would practice a balancing posture. That’s two minutes, twice a day, every day! Some mornings, I’d do a really basic “tree pose” on one leg and then on the other. Some evenings, I’d raise one leg in the air or to the side, and then the other. There are days when my husband would walk into the bathroom and see me with one leg stretched out in front hovering above the sink counter for a tiny bit of support!
I’d smile at myself in the mirror – even if I was wobbly. I’d make faces and play around. I had FUN doing it. I didn’t judge myself harshly for not being able to do a “low tree” yoga posture with out wobbling. I didn’t push myself to do 40 minutes of balancing postures. I just loved myself no matter how balanced or wobbly I was for the two minutes I was brushing my teeth.
And guess, what? I loved it and had so much fun with it that soon, I started taking my “habit stacking” of practicing balancing postures into the kitchen! When I was standing at the kitchen sink filling up a glass of water or doing dishes, I’d do a basic balancing posture! When I’d be standing at the kitchen island, same thing! (Don’t worry – I didn’t do balancing postures while holding a knife and cutting!)
And a few months later, I feel stronger! My ankles are stronger and I am much better at balancing! Stacking the already set habits of brushing my teeth, washing dishes, and preparing meals at the kitchen island with improving my balance and ankle (and leg!) strength, I am definitely stronger! That’s all it took – a few minutes here, a few minutes there. Even just practicing for thirty seconds — I practiced every day a few times a day.
That’s what habit stacking is all about. You take an already set habit – like brushing your teeth or washing dishes at the kitchen sink – and you “stack” a NEW desired habit along with it. A SMALL habit. It doesn’t have to be HUGE, in fact, creating a “mini” or “atomic” habit helps you to get things started. And when you do that mini habit over and over on a consistent basis, the impact “compounds” – like compounding interest. When a new habit is mini, it’s more doable. And you are more likely to DO IT!
I’m so proud of myself! I can FEEL that compounded effect.
Habit stacking with self-love is so doable and even FUN that I want to share it with you. It can be a way of your committing to radical self-love…valuing your time, energy, and ideas. It can be a way of embodying your luminous self in how yo play, work, rest, move your body, be with others, and co-create with the Divine.
What’s one new habit you want to start?
One new mini habit to reclaim your power, your pleasure, or your authentic expression?
Start small. Start mini! Start FUN! Start simple.
Identify the habit that you “just do” every day (like brushing your teeth, making a cup of coffee, reading the newspaper, getting on social media, opening your email, eating breakfast) and “stack” your new habit on top of it.
James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits, talks about this: “AFTER I (habit you already have), I WILL (new habit you want to start).”
You can also do this: “WHEN I (habit you already have), I WILL (new habit you want to start).”
When I brush your teeth, I will say a loving affirmation to yourself (I just talked with a client about this today! This is her new “habit stacking” habit with self-love!)
When I drink a glass of water, I will practice naming one thing I am grateful for.
After I send an email, I will take one full breath – a full exhale and a full inhale.
After I pour myself a cup of coffee, I will journal for one minute.
After I finish work, I will immediately change into workout clothes.
What shift/change or new habit do you want to embody in your life? YOU CAN DO IT! In tiny, mini doses. In everyday moments of habit stacking. With tons of self-love.
You deserve the shift. You deserve the attention and care. You deserve to reclaim your time, attention, energy, and life.
Try it out! I’d love to hear how you are habit stacking with major self-love. I’m rooting for you!
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Blessings,
