#sciencebased

Start with a “Wheel of Life”

Put these 8 categories listed below from a scale of 1-10 based on how close you are to your dream life:

- Physical Health, Mental Health, Family and Friends, Romantic Relationship, Career, Finances, Personal Growth, Purpose and Contribution

Now for each of these categories, write a short summary of how you feel about each of these areas of your life and specifics about what you would like to improve. Also write about your ideals for these categories and what you want your end goal to be.

This will act as a reference for the rest of the week. Of course, things always change, so you can re-evaluate at the end of every week to see what has improved and what you want to improve.

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Day 1: Morning Routine

Make it as achievable as possible for you. The easier it is to achieve, the more likely you are to accomplish it, but whatever works best for you. Things can always be tweaked later.

Write down your ideal morning routine. For reference, here is mine:

Wake up at 6:00, drink water, brush teeth, wash face, skin care, get dressed, do makeup, do hair, eat breakfast, drink coffee, sit outside for a few minutes, pack lunch, pack bag, leave for work.

This is my ideal so depending on whether I give myself enough time to do everything will determine on what I get done. Sometimes I’m quick with my hair, I won’t have time to sit outside, I have to take my coffee on the go, stuff like that. Don’t beat yourself up if you can’t do it perfect everyday. Consistency of the routine beats perfection.

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Day 2: Declutter

You don’t have to do everything in one day, but you feel so much better if you do at least a few things from each category.

- Declutter Digital Space: unfollow accounts that don’t benefit you or bring you joy, updated and polish your profiles, unsubscribe from things that don’t resonate anymore, clear up old apps you don’t use, clear emails that are no longer important, get rid of photos/screenshots you don’t need or want, etc.

- Declutter Physical Space: clear out trash and dirty dishes, put away clean clothes, do laundry, do dishes, dust, scrub/wipe surfaces, organize, get rid of things you haven’t used in a long time, etc.

- Declutter Mental Space: journal, meditate, therapy, breathing exercises, listen to relaxing music and close your eyes for a few minutes (whatever you do to relax and ease your mind)

(Side note: I swear to you, you feel so good and light at the end of the day. I felt so accomplished after the first time I did this.)

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Day 3: Upgrade Your Operating System or “Hardware”

- Sleep Optimization: make room dark/use warm ambient light at the end of the day, keep bedroom cool and quiet, no caffeine after noon, no alcohol before bed, set bed time alarm (this is a game changer because you give yourself time to get tired and relaxed so you feel ready to go to sleep), avoid using devices at least an hour before bed

- Commitment to Movement: JUST SHOW UP! Put on the gym clothes and go, you can always leave whenever you want. Don’t even set a time goal, just go. Put out the yoga mat on your floor and sit down, do a few stretches. If that’s it, then that’s it, at least you showed up, but if you start, you are more likely to keep going because you are already there.

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Day 4: Train your Edge

Using your “Wheel of Life” as a reference, look at the areas that need improvement. Just pick one category. Use this day to put effort towards improving that area of your life. Read books to help improve skills, take classes, practice, etc.

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Day 5: Rewire Your Mental “Software”

- Stop ‘Should’-ing All Over Yourself: Change “I should” to “I want/get to,” for example; “I should drink this bottle of water” to “I want/get to drink this bottle of water.” Remind yourself why you want to or get to do this thing.

- Create Simple Magic and Joy in the Everyday: Write down the things that give you the most joy, even just the simple things like drinking tea or walking in nature. Put it somewhere you can see it. If you are having a rough day, use it as a ‘pick-me-up’ reference sheet. It will make your day just that much better.

- Gratitude Journaling and Affirmations: It’s recommended to try to do this everyday. It will improve your perspective of your life and situation. If you are grateful for something, write it down and say why. Whether it be a person, place, thing, an aspect of your personality, the weather, the food you’re eating, a drink you had, absolutely anything you are grateful for. Be kind to yourself. If you adopt positive thoughts, you will attract positive things. You will start to focus on positive things as opposed to negative.

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Day 6: Reconnect Your Power Source

Text or call the people you love or care about. Focus on forming deep connection. Have deep conversations. Be vulnerable and curious. You might even help the other person and improve their day as well. We all desperately need connection in times like these. Get off the internet and ground yourself in a bit of reality. Real people and personalities are out there, you just have to discover and find them.

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Day 7: Lock in Your Transformation

Cement these changes into permanent systems. Do another “Wheel of Life” and reassess. Compare it to last week. Change accordingly. Why did the changes happen, what made the difference, what impacted you the most, what would you like to keep, what would you like to let go of?

Decide on 3 action points for the upcoming week. What would you like to try, add, or do differently?

Acknowledge all the effort you have put in. It might not feel like it’s working sometimes. That’s okay, but realize and remember the conscious efforts you are constantly taking to improve your life. Your persistence to reach your goals and obtain that dream life is what matters. Feel the gratitude and point it towards yourself for actively trying to change, whether these efforts were big or small. You will gain your own trust when you are consistent with yourself and recommit to your self-improvement and development.

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And then repeat every week! :)

Thank you, Dr. Izzy Sealey for making such an amazing 7 Day Challenge! It really has helped me tremendously!