13 Transformative Habits for Promoting Peace in 2024
Disclaimer: I assess all suggested products and services. If you choose to click on the links I share, I may earn compensation :)
As we step into a new year, it's the perfect time to reflect on our lifestyles and consider positive changes that can bring about a more balanced and fulfilling life. In 2024, I am committed to prioritizing my well-being by incorporating 13 habits that focus on nurturing my mind, caring for my body, and elevating my spirit.
Photo by Leeloo Thefirst
Craving peace over excitement
As I grow older, I find myself craving peace over excitement. Despite people’s beliefs of finding inner-peace, it is truly something that can only be found internally when the mind, body, and spirit are in balance. Plus, when I am balanced, things simply work out better. My energy isn't depleted – making me more creative in my job, kinder to my boyfriend, and overall happier (who doesn't like that, lol).
When contemplating my focus for 2024, I drew inspiration from Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith, the author of "Sacred Rest: Recover Your Life, Renew Your Energy, Restore Your Sanity," who identified 7 types of rest to combat burnout:
Physical
Creative
Social
Sensory
Mental
Emotional
Spiritual
Building your own habit list
Please note – depending on your personality, job, and lifestyle, your needs for rest may vary. For instance, my current situation doesn’t revolve around spending much time with people who drain my energy. ‘Social rest’ is pretty covered by working from home most days and having a solid friend group. On the other hand, my friend who works as a server and interacts with diverse crowds may need designated alone time or moments with uplifting individuals to recharge.
I always advocate for autonomy – especially for those in their twenties. We are all unique, and what one person may need for rest might not be necessary for another. Nevertheless, you may find a couple of these habits worthwhile. Here are 13 transformative habits to promote peace in 2024.
13 Transformative Habits for Promoting Peace in 2024
01. Continuous Learning
Whenever I feel stuck in life, I always recognize that there is something I am resisting—perhaps it's rest; at times, it's change. However, what consistently makes that period more bearable is continually learning about something. Personally, it allows me to feel more in control of my life, and I can loosen the reins a bit. You can literally learn about anything, from making sourdough to financial literacy, which also helps keep your brain sharp.
02. Journaling dumps + voice memos
I love a good journal prompt, but sometimes, all I need is to release whatever is in my mind onto paper. I have (self-diagnosed) ADHD, and quite often, it feels like my brain will never shut up. Many times, these are creative ideas that need to be put on paper for me to either discard or pay attention to later. If, for whatever reason, they pop up in my mind at a weird time, like while driving, I just turn on my voice memos app. According to neuroscience, expressing thoughts through linguistic terms, such as writing or talking, they can finally be released. The left side of your brain allows the ability of information to be processed efficiently, whereas keeping it inside your head only keeps the information in the right side of your brain – the area of imagination, but also, rumination.
03. Wearing sleep masks
In November of 2023, your girl got Covid :/ For a while, my energy levels were messed, but I realized how crucial sleep was for healing. During sleep, the nervous system shifts into "healing mode" – the parasympathetic nervous system repairs muscles, digests food, lowers blood pressure, and more. While I initially thought the duration of sleep determined a good night’s rest, research indicates that light is actually the most significant external factor affecting sleep quality. Due to a very annoyingly bright street light next to my bedroom, incorporating sleep masks into my life has completely changed the game for me. I prefer ones like these that allow a bit of room for my eyes; otherwise, I find them too tight!
04. Google Home as a morning alarm
Do you know how easy it is for me to doom scroll? Too easy. In 2024, I wanted to commit to no screens right before bed, but even if my phone is in my room, it’s too tempting. However, if I kept my phone downstairs, I would have nothing to set an alarm. That’s when I decided to invest in a Google Nest Audio. I love how I can set automations to wake me up at specific times during the week, plus, you don’t have to settle for those annoying alarm sounds that almost give you a heart attack every morning. What I like to do is play my favorite artist or playlist to gradually wake me up.
My current alarm playlist:
05. Candlelit Evening Routine
Photo by Ioana Motoc
Clearly, mental and sensory rest have been my main two priorities so far. Another way I’ve been trying to wind down in the evenings includes limiting any bright lights in my bedroom, kitchen, or bathroom. Personally, I’ve found that participating in a candlelit evening routine really helps me fall asleep faster. As someone who works on her computer for work (and this blog) – I struggle with feeling wired in the evenings, making me stay up way too late, and I struggle to get adequate sleep. So, any limitation in screen time or bright lights helps my body produce enough melatonin to stick to a good sleep schedule. Bonus: I try to watch any evening shows, or movies on my projector!
06. Daily Stretching
To be completely honest here, I actually hate stretching. It’s something I’ve always put off after my workouts, but as I’m getting older (yeah, I’m crying inside while typing that), I’m noticing the negative effects of skipping stretching. One of them is injury. Among the benefits of stretching, it allows your joints to move through their full range of motion. This ability enables your muscles to work most efficiently without pulling something while working out. Even five minutes in the morning is a great start for incorporating this habit into your life. I usually stretch right after waking up to get it out of the way for my day.
07. Low Impact Workouts
Since I was a child, high-impact workouts and cardio have always been my go-to. I love weight training, and summer runs do a great job of releasing any excess energy. The thing is, high-intensity training also puts stress on the body – which spikes your cortisol levels (aka the adrenaline rush that kicks in halfway through the workout session). As a woman, I’ve been trying to find more ways of supporting my menstrual cycle and hormones and discovered the idea of cycle syncing. Rather than doing the same HIIT workouts as I usually did during my luteal phase and menstrual phase, I now focus on low-impact workouts such as Pilates and yoga to give myself adequate movement without expelling too much energy. Aside from cycle syncing, low-impact workouts have really helped me strengthen my stabilizing muscles, which also prevent injuries for my personal best days!
08. Morning Wellness Shot
Image and recipe I will be following is from the Minimalist Baker
Although I talk a lot about mental detox, I’m thinking of incorporating more physical detoxes as well. If you follow me on my socials, I think it’s no surprise to you that I’m a big wellness enthusiast as well. Paleo desserts, herbal teas, seed cycling, lemon water – you name it, it’s in my routine. Something I’ve really wanted to incorporate into my morning routine is taking a wellness shot before anything else goes into my system. The shot would include turmeric, black pepper, and olive oil (for turmeric absorption), ginger, and lemon. And maybe a little cayenne pepper if I’m feeling brave. The benefits are to support my immune system and reduce inflammation, which will be very important in the winter months.
09. More Mocktails
I’m not a huge drinker, but when I do, these hangovers are getting out of hand. In university, I would only be hungover until 12 pm the next day. Now? A few weeks ago, I couldn’t even function until 4 pm! The sun went down before I felt alive. It got me thinking – why is drinking something that depresses your nervous system and energy so normalized? I mean, if it were invented today, I’m sure we would be afraid to try it! But I’m not going to say I'm cutting out alcohol completely (although, maybe I’ll try Dry January); I just want to incorporate more mocktails into my life. It’s fun to have a cute drink after a long day at work; I just don’t need it to give me a buzz!
10. Movement Before Meditation
I meditated every day for one year. The one thing I learned? It can feel different every time. There are some days when my energy is balanced enough to get into a nice flow without falling asleep (yes, that’s happened to me before) or feeling restless. What has helped me find this energy balance is movement. Whether you’re tired or wired, a quick walk or yoga flow can help you drop into your body much easier.
11. Nature Walks
Nothing makes me feel more connected than being out in nature. When I say connected, I mean to myself, my purpose, my partner, my friends, and life itself. It’s easy to get wrapped up in our day-to-day issues, but nature has a way of making you feel small, in a good way. Many of the trees you come across are older than you, and even in the harshest of winters and driest of summers, they still bloom every spring. I like to envision the trees, soil, and nearby plants or fungi absorbing all the bad energy I have within me from the past week and transforming it into something better. Lighter. In 2024, I hope to get out in nature at least once a week for 1-2 hours.
12. Embracing Detachment
Near the end of 2023, I was struggling with more anxiety than normal. I kept up with my meditations and journaling, but nothing seemed to shake the anxiety I’d get every day. My stress levels increased; I started breaking out more, and I became really irritable. After talking through a lot of it with my therapist, she told me, “Bianca, you’re just getting too attached to things you have no control over.” And she was right. I was worried about many things, and basically all of them, I didn’t have control over. That’s when I made a pact with myself that if I ever find myself getting too involved with other people’s issues, I needed to step away. I tend to default as a micromanager toward my boyfriend, and I’m starting to finally let it go. Embracing detachment means surrendering to the fact that we literally have no control over anything other than one person. And that’s ourselves. Our decisions. How we perceive things. But anything else is outside of our control. So the question is – are you going to resist time, or go with it?
13. Face Ice Dunks for Anxiety
I know polar plunges are really trendy right now, but for most of us, we just can’t commit to that at the moment. Maybe it’s because you can’t afford it, or your climate doesn’t make it available to you, but don’t feel like you can’t participate in other things! In fact, one of the most important areas to expose to cold for experiencing the benefits of cortisol suppression is your vagus nerve – which is the main nerve of the parasympathetic system. That’s where the beauty of face dunks comes in. After putting ice in a bowl, fill it up with cold water. I usually do 3-4 sessions of holding my face in there for 10 seconds at a time (making sure to get the jaw close to my ear covered). When activated through cold temperature in the morning, you’re able to turn off the sympathetic nervous system and lower cortisol levels that spike right after waking. Totally important for anyone who struggles with anxiety! Bonus, if you make sure to eat before your coffee in the morning.
Want more ?
Every week, I have a newsletter that includes exclusive content relating to each blog post about actionable tips you can make toward a better future.
Sometimes they are activities for the week, other times they are related journal prompts (not generic I promise), and links to other sources for more help. This week, I would have guided readers on how to build a custom habit list just like I did for myself in this blog post.
Sign up at the bottom of this page to join the community, and let’s elevate this decade together!
