Why Your Habits Control Your Success

You become your habits. As an adult there is no one else to blame for my choices or where I am in my life. Creating a positive mindset will get you a lot further than aimless scrolling on social media or wallowing in self pity, both of which I spent countless hours doing! If you have experienced the same it’s time to focus on YOU and the path you want to follow.

My habits were haphazard to put it bluntly. Overall I have lived large and enjoyed my life, I have an amazing supportive partner and family, and I have had some epic failures and did things I am not proud of. I’ve battled with overindulging in alcohol and food. I’ve had depression and anxiety and I also have Attention Deficit which has taken me a long time to accept and live with. I’ve never really fit in with groups of women, I’ve experienced being shunned and ignored and to top all that off menopause came along and I had no other choice but to face all of this at the same time. There was no joy left in me. I was lost in my own brain, like I was listening to the same song playing on repeat. I had to help myself, but really didn’t know how. Here is my story on how I have turned my life around by building new habits I practice daily. The most important advice I can give you is to respect yourself. You are the most important person in your life.

How did I change my life for the better?

I took the time to slow down and take stock of all aspects of my life. I faced my fears, shortcomings, strengths, took a deep dive inward and started looking for help online. I slowly changed my habits over the past 3 years beginning with reading self help books, listening to podcasts and Audible. As I made my products in my homebased lab I listened to as many books and podcasts as I could on improving my life. Some of my favourites were: Rachel Rogers’ book: We should All Be Millionaires and Atomic Habits by James Clear. If you need a kickstart these two books not only do that, but they give you a roadmap to follow. After a lot of reflection and time alone I needed valuable information that help to keep learning and growing to get back to myself.

It took some time, but I finally had the hard conversations with myself, my partner and my family. (It is important to note that I have been self employed since 2009 full time and that alone caused more stress in my life than anything else, both my siblings are self employed as well.) They were all supportive, did not judge my shortcomings and gave meangingful advice and mostly they listened. I can thankfully say I have successfully changed my life for the better and it is the implementation of little daily habits that have led to the biggest lifestyle changes that keep me happy and on track. If you are anywhere within the journey I have described above I hope I can help you find joy again with my lessons learned.

I Started doing things I enjoyed and Made Sunday Sacred

I enjoyed reading, painting, nature walks so I picked these hobbies up again. I started a little herb garden, started cooking more plant based meals, decorating my home with all kinds of DIY projects. It is the simplest things that bring me the most joy. I started with a paint by numbers I found on Amazon I really enjoyed finishing this botanical painting. I wasn’t joyful but there was a glimmer of my former self I could feel again. The solitude of painting allows your brain to rest. To move forward you need to reflect and relax enough to think clearly. Slowing down was the key to my recovery. Sundays off was non-negotiable I spent Sunday enjoying family get togethers or just doing whatever I wanted that was not work related. Sunday evenings I always take a long leisurely bath I love the aroma of rose and pink grapefruit or peppermint and orange. These bath salts are so gorgeous, it took me a long time to perfect the formula but it was worth the journey.

I Took Online Self Development Courses

I love learning something new everyday, it took awhile to get back into this beautiful habit but once I did I was totally hooked. I taught myself the art of perfumery, Reading Mandy Aftel, Jean Claude Elena, Chanel, an online course with Karen Gilbert and delving into my own beauty and fashion library I had collected over the years was enjoyable. This was more hobby than work for over two years then I created two perfumes for my brand ISC Beauty, Aurora Magical and Avalonia Mystical, both were formulated from memories of my youth.

I Changed My Sleeping and Working Habits

I won’t sugar coat it … this was the most difficult. When you experience depression and anxiety your sleeping habits are not good. You either sleep too much or not at all, then you, your family and your work suffer. Your energy levels are so low it is hard to motivate yourself. Everything I read online said to journal, I could not get into journalling easily, it took practice and time so I did other things, I made simple and small To Do lists, I got up early so I could enjoy the sunrise with a cup of tea or coffee, I read every morning now. Lately I love lighting candles before dawn and sitting quietly preparing mentally for my day. Who knew a little tealight could shed so much light on things? I normally rise between 5 and 7am, I make my beverage, read and plan my day. I start work at 10:00am daily. Having quiet time in the morning is a necessity for me. This morning I managed to get in a nice walk in Bowring Park. You cannot advance yourself or a business without having the habit of time to yourself daily, it is crucial to your wellbing. Where my financial health is 100% linked to my businesses it is so important to have habits that sustain me to thrive not just survive.

I Practised Gratitude For All My Accomplishments

Positive self talk is essential to your well being. The way to feeling fulfilled, happy and joyful is to recognize all the good in your life not focus on what is not there yet. I realized I talked badly to myself. I would never talk so negatively to another human. Why was I so hard on myself?

Thoughts like…”I am too fat, my face looks terrible, my house is a mess,, I am not successful enough” and on and on it went… the relentless chatter in my head keeping me down and depressed. Once I recognized just how hard I was on myself I made a promise to talk better to myself in a positive loving way everyday. When I caught myself thinking negative thoughts of myself I quickly counteracted with good, positive and meaningful thoughts. You can control the narrative you keep telling yourself and it is that narrative that will make you feel like a success or a failure as a human, sibling, partner, friend or business woman. You are what you think.

I Changed My Businesses

I knew I was not happy in my current business situation and that was validated when my brothers and partner all responded to me saying they recognized that as well. Things needed to change. At 58 years old I pivoted and created www.lisawalsh.ca I wanted to help other women live their best lives, surpass roadblocks in their heads. I wanted an online business that I could reach more women like me. I did this when I was not working on and in Island Skincare, early rises were essential to getting my website completed. Covid really changed how I felt about my homebased business. It was not good for my mental health to be stuck at home all the time and to my customers I was invisible. This was the most stressful for me, I wanted to take my business to a new level but I also wanted to return to the business of the beauty salon somehow. I knew if I could make other people feel good I would heal myself. It was baby steps everyday, I started meditating with guided meditations. I kept an eye out for a new home for my Lab and production for Island Skincare. I wanted a place where I could also offer selfcare services I loved doing with space for a cute retail boutique. It was all started to take shape in my mind. Time to think is crucial when you are planning big moves. Take the time, write down your thoughts, revisit them, think about what what you enjoyed in your teens, 20’s, 30’s and 40’s. You can do whatever you want in life but getting there takes commitment and building good habits to support your journey. Acknowledging that you are not practicing habits that will get you there is the first step to real change. If this resonated with you you can take the next step by joining me in my online Lifestyle Reset Course. This 30 day lifestyle course has everything you need plan your meaningful changes for a better life and business,