Keystone Habit Examples
Keystone Habit Examples
In this post I give you two keystone habit examples and the reasons why you’ll want to choose one of them to begin practicing now.
Eating Earlier, Lighter Dinners before dark
Early to Bed – going to bed by 10 pm
The first step in developing a keystone habit is in knowing where to place your focus. Most of us want to change a lot of things at once. Not to mention that we get frustrated if our new habits don’t lock into place quickly.
By starting with a focus on aligning your body to it’s natural circadian rhythm, you’ll not only feel more balanced and energized quickly, but you’ll also develop a keystone habit that will lead to upholding other positive habits throughout your lifetime.
How Earlier, Lighter Dinners can be your keystone habit.
In a recent 5-day challenge that I led for my Habits to Thrive members, we implemented the habit of eating earlier, lighter dinners in order to allow participants to experience stronger digestion, which leads to better sleep.
When you eat an earlier, lighter dinner you are essentially putting in the final keystone of your archway for today. Eating lighter and earlier in the evening will allow more light and energy to flow into your day tomorrow.
How?
An earlier, lighter dinner matches your body’s clock, its natural circadian rhythm.
Giving yourself nourishment at the end of the day is important, yet we want to respect that our organs and endocrine system respond to the changes in light levels throughout the 24 hour cycle of a day.
Our digestive processes are at their peak during the day and begin to slow down gradually after 2 pm and are very slow by night fall.
Eating an earlier, lighter dinner sets you up to feel satiated, but not dull and heavy. You actually feel light and at ease when you eat in sync with your circadian rhythm and choose not to tax your digestive system with a bigger meal in the evening.
Eating earlier and lighter means you have time to really connect with the people you love through conversation or a fun activity after dinner. Plus, you give your digestive system time to assimilate your food well before bedtime, when it’s processing capacities aren’t as strong as during mid-day.
When you put this positive keystone habit example in place, your body is supported to fall asleep faster (it won’t be wasting energy digesting food) and rest more deeply.
In fact, with the food out of the way your body can focus on cell repair and processing the thoughts and emotions you encountered during the day.
When your body repairs itself properly each evening it will optimize your health, rather than degrade it.
We often don’t realize that the body processes calories differently at different times. Eating after dark, when the body is powering down for the day, can lead to storing calories as fat rather than burning them.
Once you begin eating earlier, lighter dinners your body will be more in sync with it’s natural clock and optimal metabolism.
The result…you’ll wake well rested, rejuvenated, and ready for the day with a full tank of energy!
Do you see how this one simple shift, to eating earlier, lighter dinners most nights, can be the keystone to starting your day right the following morning?
Want help establishing the habit of Earlier, Lighter Dinners?
I have limited availability to help a few positive people get this habit in motion before April 20th.
Book a complimentary 20 minute call and get customized coaching to propel you forward to a life where you truly thrive.
How Early to Bed can be your keystone habit.
While you probably know the importance of a morning routine for peak performance, you may not have linked your morning routine to your nighttime routine
While I certainly won’t discredit the power of a morning routine, I find that shifting your attention to your evening routine is one of the best ways to establish a keystone habit that supports an empowered morning and maximizes your energy.
If you don’t have a keystone habit on autopilot and you’re ready for some serious transformation in your life, focus on the keystone habit example of Early to Bed.
It’s one of the primary building blocks in getting my Journey to Thrive members aligned with their circadian rhythm and functioning at their prime.
The habit of Early to Bed synchronizes your body clock, which follows the Ayurvedic Clock, by making sure that you are asleep by 10:00 p.m. most nights.
This is the time when your body is primed for sleep. Allowing yourself a full 7 to 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep gives nature proper time to repair and re-energize your body and mind.
With our never ending access to information and screen time, it’s becoming more and more common for people to ignore, or attempt to suppress, their basic biological need for sleep.
When you make getting to bed early a priority you’ll find that it sets you up for the next 24 hours to be the best they can be.
Early to Bed can be the keystone habit to a life where you truly thrive!
Your evening routine to get to bed early is strongly influenced by your dosha. If you aren’t clear on how to work with, rather than against your unique constitution and its sleep patterns, let’s have a conversation so that you can begin to optimize your health.
Want help getting to bed early?
Book a complimentary 20 minute call before April 20th and get customized coaching to propel you forward to a life where you truly thrive.
Photo credit: Karla Caloca