You’d have to be living under a rock not to be aware that mental health is one of the most discussed topics right now.

My social media feeds are full of people supporting or encouraging others to look after their mental wellbeing.

Diet, hydration, sleep, meditation, journaling, getting in nature, and exercise are all great tools for managing your mental health.

But I believe there are deeper, invisible mental habits that we can adopt before we start to go into these daily habits and routines.

I believe these questions are crucial to creating more motivation to make your daily habits come to life.

The problem is that most people go to build a habit in the hope that it will transform them into this new person. However, they rarely consider the person they are or want to become first, and then lets the tools support them in that direction.

Let’s say you want to start a workout routine because you want to become fitter, stronger, etc.

What is that habit going to give you?

What is this new lifestyle going to unlock in your character?

I believe these six habits help form a much deeper, stronger foundation in the human being first, then in the human doing the habits.

These invisible habits will allow you to:

• More confident in who you are
• Bring value to your daily routines
• Resilient in the face of challenges
• Motivated through tough moments
• Strong, meaningful and supportive relationships

1. Self- Awareness

Self-awareness underpins all change. All habits require you to be aware of when you’re on or off track.

There are many ways you can practice self-awareness. The best way to do this is to ask questions.

You can THEN use tools such as writing or journaling, meditation, and personality testing to practice or experience it.

All change starts with self awareness.

2. Live Authentically

One of the toughest questions you can ask yourself is: Am I being myself?

Right now, we’ve never been a society so badly distracted from who we really are. The expectations of others get in the way and tell us to do or be something that isn’t what we really want.

To truly feel at your best, we must look at who we really are.

Being yourself, and not what others want you to be is one way to feel great about yourself.

3. Embrace Imperfections

Our insecurities, worries, or doubts can be one of the biggest threats to our mental health.

Because I’m interested in and have studied perfectionism, I’ve learned that accepting our flaws is one of the most important (and hard) parts of it.

No one is perfect, and once we accept that, we move past the negative stories we tell ourselves and focus on making the most of each moment.

4. Reframing negative experiences

How you view a situation matters.

If you see problems, you’ll have problems. If you see opportunities, you’ll have opportunities.

Learn to look for the optimistic view. You’ll feel lighter and better about life.

5. Organise Yourself

You’re not overwhelmed, you’re disorganised.

Your routines, your goals, your priorities.

Create a system, and you’ll have the roadmap to execute on your dreams.

6. Find your tribe

Who you surround yourself with matters. You are the sum of the people you spend time with.

Are the people you’re spending time with, energy creators or drainers? Do they challenge you? Ask questions that make you think deeper.

These six habits aren’t the usual tools or hacks that circulate (even though some include them), but I believe they underpin the meaning behind those tools.

They aren’t necessarily easy, no habit is, but you’ll build one of the most important foundations of your mental health through them. The person that you are.

I’m excited to know what you find. Let me know!