Hello everyone! Sending you love and sunshine your way wherever you are. So, I was thinking to myself “What motivational blog post should I share this week? ..and I thought of this one – Sharing my personal Healthy Habits and Daily Rituals with tips that help me personally achieve more of my full potential. Sharing the things I do every single day which have changed my life around. I have been doing some of them for 7 years now and the list keeps increasing as I get the grip of the ones that reap results over time.
Photos: ChristofferStaar
Make Up: XSarmitex
THE BENEFITS OF RITUALS
Aristotle once said, “We are what we repeatedly do.” We need rituals because they help guide us and give our lives a rhythm we can dance to. We also count on them as lovely little reminders of what we actually care about. Rituals keep us in close proximity to our purpose and are sometimes defined as the outward demonstration of an inward value. To be honest, I couldn’t agree more. recently, I didn’t realise that some of the most important things I do throughout my day, are deeply connected to my core values.
Sometimes I think we forget that as humans we are creatures of habit. We thrive on predictability and repetition. Of course, this doesn’t crush the many bonuses gained from impulsivity and trying something new. In fact, think about this: the more we can rely upon constants, the more we are able to positively engage in spontaneity and new things!
We all have some negative habits, and we spend years trying to break their patterns. We are human and we are not perfect. But what many people don’t know is that we can also cultivate healthy habits and utilise them as a positive tool to increase happiness, hopefulness and positive well-being. I am most interested in helping others create mindful, intentional, almost ceremonial everyday rituals that can help boost physical and mental well-being because since I ve been practising rituals, my life has become so much more fulfilling. That is why I share some of these on Instagram Stories @graziellecamilleri. it’s to say hey! If I Grazielle can do it, so can anyone of you.
I ASK MYSELF: WHAT IS IT THAT I NEED IN MY LIFE IN ORDER TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN LOVE, CAREER, RELATIONSHIPS?
It all starts with self love and the time I dedicate to give myself the strength, peace and wisdom I need to keep myself strong and peaceful and with that energy I can then help to lift others who need or ask for help or guidance.
My Personal Healthy Habits & Rituals
1. Daily Exercise
Every day we (Marco, Luna and myself)have the healthy habit of performing an early morning routine which includes a 5 K jog with some toning exercises half way next to the sea coast. We make this a family session because it is the only way for both husband and I to exercise in the morning and it is wonderful that our 5 year old Luna is with us in her pram, spending time with us, doing her own little jogs and exercises and she is also seeing by our disciplined actions that morning fitness is good for us and is keeping us healthy and happy. Because we have been doing it since she was born every day, we never ask the question “ Are we going jogging today?” because it is a Habit now and the only times we skip are when it is really rainy or when I have a very early make up call for a photoshoot or TV filming session.
We jog but everyone can certainly find one type of exercise that they are attracted to, with perhaps some direction from their doctor or sports coach – the list is endless – yoga, tai chi, running, walking, dancing, aerobics, weight training, swimming. Find that something that you are doing for your body, your temple to keep functional and in good condition. Let s face it. We have one physical body to use to get us around, to land us a new job or whatever we do, so we might as well treat it well and with love. No obsession is healthy either so let s not fuss about too much hours at the gym or too much calorie counting. Just do something that you feel works for you. If you want to. If you really want to, you will find a way and ask for help especially in families with children. Both mummies and daddies need to feel good right!
2. Positive Affirmations
During the jog, the 3 of us take it in turns to say our Positive Verbal Affirmations such as “ I am love, I am light, I am happy, I am joy, I am grateful for all everything in my life, Im grateful for my family, my health, my wealth, my inner and outer strength, I m grateful for my peace at heart, creativity, my talents, my wonderful friends, all the opportunities the Universe has aligned for me. Already the Mindset is Totally focused on Gratitude (Even on days when some things are not as we wish them we still go out feeling a little shaken or worried, and with these affirmations, we immediately feel better to face the day, from Gratitude).
You can create your own Positive Affirmations to re-calibrate your brain how you want it to think and repeat them everyday for at least a week, then a month, and change affirmations according what you wish changed in your life. For example, for persons who wish to have Love in their life or simply strengthen the bond they have with their partners, here are a few Lovely Positive Affirmations To use:
Positive Affirmations for Love
• I radiate love and others reflect love back to me.
• I am loving and so lovable.
• I am attractive and beautiful.
• My romantic relationship is healthy, long-lasting and full of love.
• My partner is kind, compassionate and understanding.
• My partner is very physically and spiritually attracted to me.
• I am with my soulmate and we share a life full of love.
• Life is full of love and I find it everywhere I go.
• My relationship is divine, and my partner and I are perfectly matched.
3. Meditation – Calm The Mind
We meditate once or twice daily. Once early morning before or after jog, once in the evening after the entire day, before we close our eyes to sleep. We meditate with crystals using meditation calming music, to help align our energies in our bodies and to increase the power of our set intentions. Meditating at night before I sleep helps me relax my mind and body and sets the tone for a beautiful sleep with vivid dreams sometimes.
Why do it ? Why Meditate?
Meditation is proven medically to reduce stress related conditions such as anxiety and depression. When we meditate, the brain and nervous system undergo radical changes that cause the reduction and prevention of these conditions. With crystals, the success rate is amplified.
Meditation increases blood flow to your brain… the brain can’t function without a strong steady flow of blood to it. The stronger and steadier the flow, the better the brain functions.
Meditation reduces cortisol production, a stress-induced hormone that suppresses the immune system and can make you feel anxious nervous and unsettled for no real reason (other than having too much cortisol in your system).
Meditation boosts the immune system. As we reduce our stress, the immune system is boosted and so is our general wellbeing.
Meditation slows the ageing process. Meditation significantly increases melatonin and DHEA and decreases cortisol, which has a significant impact on slowing the ageing process down.
I hope that these reasons alone, make you consider starting Meditation if you have never started yet.
Some links to videos I use to meditate with Here below
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=the4YdmI_YE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUVHgmXC63o
4. Connect with Partner & Daughter Once or Twice A Day
It has become a lovely habit for us to mentally take note of whether we have spent half an hour of our day, even a few minutes sometimes to just check in and ask eachother, Hey How was your day? What happened? How are you feeling? Really talking and listening to eachother. We also tell eachother I Love You every single day and hug eacbother, sometimes do it like the Trolls do in the cartoons… It’s Huggy Time!
I know it may sound so silly or scary to some of you, maybe some without kids but you know.. our lives have become so hectic and materialistic and hamster-reel like that some of us do go an entire week without talking to their partners or really talking to their kids from a loving standpoint, and then we wonder why we are feeling empty or sad or insecure. We need to Connect More and Communicate More to keep the peace, to keep aware, to feel that Gratitude. If you don’t have a partner or children, you certainly have a good friend you can message just to send Love across and have a quick chat no ? Try it in your routines and you will Love it.
5 Weekly Personal Treat To Myself
Every week I like to treat myself to something that feels good – Sometimes it s time with a friend for a few hours, sometimes a body massage, sometimes it s an extra online course for something I m interested in, sometimes it’s a walk in the countryside on my own without phones or anyone to enjoy my own company and breathe the beautiful fresh air, sometimes I will take half a day off and go sightseeing around my own island and feel like a tourist, talk to strangers and learn something from them, sometimes it’s a hairdressing treatment. Lately I have also been attending New Moon or Full Moon Rituals by Maltese Mystic Yogi and I am finding them great for spiritual inner work with a touch of yoga. Soon I wish to start dance and singing classes again … each season I ll change the treats to keep my life exciting!
We all need to do more things for ourselves. We are saying to ourselves “ I respect you and love you enough to treat you to this today.” Especially when we work so hard for our money or achievements, it’s so nice to pat ourselves on the back and smile.
These are my favourite 5 and I hope they have inspired you in some way to find your own.
HOW TO CREATE NEW RITUALS
So, what if you want to create rituals that are positively connected to your core values to help increase your happiness? Here are three manageable steps to help develop new rituals:
A) DISCOVER WHAT YOU REALLY WANT.
Find a moment to grab a notebook and start thinking ….What part of your life are you hoping to feel happier and healthier? Perhaps you want to optimize a certain area or make a positive impact? Maybe you want to find more ways to increase your self-care practice; maybe you want to strengthen your physical body; maybe you want to find more time and space to connect meaningfully with friends or family; maybe you want to devote more time to learning something new or being creative. Whatever it is, note it, meditate on it and get to know it. Take the time to brainstorm what it is you really care about and what it is you really want.
B) COMMIT TO ACTION STEPS.
Next is all about taking one of those values or desires you identified and cultivate practical, measurable actions. These should be ones you can easily do within your circumstances, and ones that directly relate back to the values you identified. Once you have identified what you want to do, then book yourself your action plan.
3) MAKE IT A HABIT.
Now it’s time to turn this positive action into a ritual. Decide on a day and time, and also how often you are going to commit to your routine — and then stick to it! Rituals that are familial or social are easier to do consistently because it becomes a group norm — and you also have built-in accountability and motivation. If you chose an individual ritual, don’t be afraid to ask a friend to keep you in check and on track with encouragement. It really helps to share the experience so that you feel shy to make EXCUSES …
In our fast-moving world, rituals have the power to ground us, and keep us focused and purposeful. They increase confidence, provide us with a sense of security, alleviate the weight of grief and because they reduce anxiety, they are a much more efficient way to increase your own happiness, your own dream life if you will. At our core, humans are extremely social with an innate need to come together.
So … Please share with me, which are your rituals or habits? Am I right in saying that they help you so much? If you have not started, I hope this Blog has seeded a little Desire in You to Make the First Step.
Love you all
Xxx
Grazielle
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