It’s hard not to slip back into old habits when you get back home. I’ve been back home in LA for about a week, and everything is just… different. Eating out is expensive, I’m driving everywhere instead of walking, and there just seems to be much less stimulus to keep my attention and keep me excited. It all seems to familiar, too much of the same.
Last night as I was catching up on all of my old TV shows, I realized that I was slipping into a hypnotic state of boredom. Where was all the excitement?? Where was all the adventure?? I switched my TV off and immediately took in my surroundings. What could I DO that would bring more of that wonderment and joy into my current LA life?
I loved my life on the road, so I decided I wanted to keep as much of that as possible. Here are a few habits I am bringing back into my LA life:
1. Live a lot more on a whole lot less. Less is more, right? I only had 1 suitcase and 1 backpack full of clothes and personal items the entire month. And I got along just fine. It actually made my life simpler because I had less clothes to choose from. Picking my outfit out for the day was so much easier when I only had 3 shirts to choose from! In order to implement this in my LA life, I went to my closet and CLEANED IT OUT. YES TO THE YING TIP: When cleaning out your closet/apartment, ask yourself this simple question: if I saw this in the store today, would I buy it? If the answer is no, chuck it. You’ll easily get rid of at least 25% of your stuff. I parted with 2 trash bags full of clothes!
2. Simplify your morning routine. On the road, I was so tired from the previous night’s extravaganzas that I ended up waking up in the morning, throwing on clothes, and running out the door. Okay, maybe it was a little more than that (I did wash my face and brush my teeth), but my normal routine in LA took me almost 2 hours to get ready for the day (I was SO that girl lol). What a waste!! So now I wake up, write in my gratitude journal for 5 minutes, brush my teeth, wash my face, put on some makeup (10 min tops– watch my video on how to put on a natural face in 5 minutes), throw on some clothes, and I am out the door! All in 30 minutes or less. YES TO THE YING TIP: Take a shower and wash your hair at night. It’s a great way to save time in the morning and it also feels great to wash off the grime of the day.
3. Listen to your body. I’m super body-conscious (I live in LA, le duh!), but I love to eat. On this trip to Thailand, I decided to f*ck it and eat whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. The only rule I gave myself was to listen to what my body wanted. If it wanted chicken, I ate chicken. If it was tired of eggs, I ate muesli instead. If I felt dehydrated, I drank water (or coconut water– mmm!). If I needed to sleep, I SLEPT. Sleep is so important. I get the whole “You can sleep when you’re dead” motto, but I can’t enjoy my beautiful surroundings if I can’t see straight. Just sayin’. YES TO THE YING TIP: A great tip from my dad– Stop eating when you are full. I have this thing about being wasteful, so I usually clean my plate regardless of whether I want the food or not. My dad made a good point though: if your goal is to be skinnier or in better shape, then eating less is more of a priority. Don’t worry about being wasteful. Eat enough. Then stop. Confession: I applied that principle while I was traveling, and surprise surprise, even though I ate carbs at every meal, I totally lost weight!! Comparing the pictures from the beginning of my trip to at the end, the difference is apparent and undeniable. Dad was right. I’m definitely continuing this practice in LA!
I’m sure there are more ways of living that I adopted along the way. I’ll write another post with more! Please leave comments below and let me know if these work for you or if you have other habits that have helped you!
xoxo
Alicia