Introduction

The secret to health and happiness is cultivating good habits. These habits work as the foundation upon which the rest of your life is built.

If your habits are unhealthy, your foundation is weak and at risk of falling apart.

Healthy habits that nurture your body and mind provide a strong foundation that will make everything else in your life run more smoothly.

A healthy diet and plenty of exercise are the cornerstones of this foundation but there are other healthy habits that you probably never even thought to include.

This book is meant to provide you with a look into 12 of those unique habits that are all too easy to overlook but still essential to a healthy, happy life.

Each of the following chapters focuses on a specific habit. You’ll learn what the habit is, how it affects your health and wellbeing, and get specific steps and strategies for incorporating the habit into your own routine.

Remember: the key to making long term, sustainable lifestyle changes (like adopting new habits) is to pace yourself. Don’t try to start doing all 12 of these habits at once. You might succeed for the first couple of days but you’ll soon get frustrated and fall back into your old habits. You’re setting yourself up for disappointment if you try to tackle them all at the same time .

So, to avoid disappointment and failure, work on cultivating one habit at a time. Slowly add in new habits at a pace that works for you. I recommend adding one habit each week. As you add in a new habit, remember to continue working on the habits you have already added.

By slowly adding new habits one week at a time, you give yourself the time to get used to the small, gradual changes that you are making to your lifestyle.

The transition to a new, healthier lifestyle will be so smooth, you will hardly realize that anything has changed—except for the fact that you’ll feel healthier, more energetic, less stressed out, and just generally happier with your body and your life!

The habits you’ll learn about in this book include simple changes like taking off your shoes when you come in the house as well as bigger changes like learning to manage and release your anger in healthy ways.

Each of these habits will help you get healthier (physically and emotionally) which will make losing weight easier and taking on bigger habit changes (like diet changes or adding exercise routines) much easier to handle.

So, keep reading and get ready to make some changes to your lifestyle so that you can feel healthier and happier in your new life!