7 tiny habits that will keep you moving in the right direction

7 tiny habits that will keep you moving in the right direction7 tiny habits that will keep you moving in the right directionPeople tend to forget the small stuff.They notice when big things happen - big life changes, big events, big promotions, big strides forward.And then completely miss the value all the tiny, positive habits provide on a day-to-day basis.Your life is not built out of homeruns.Your life is built on smallsteps.Here are 7 tiny things I do every day that are absolutely crucial to my development as a person.And I can tell you from experience that when I dont do them, things start to fall apart.1. Morning meditationI cannot stress this enough. (Get it stress.)Some people say I dont like to meditate or I just cant get into it.Look. There is extreme value in learning how to sit in silence for a few moments.Call it whatever you want.Personally I like to meditate after my morning shower so Im a bit more awake.You can sit for 510 minutes in silence and just listen - listen to the sounds around you, the heater, the whir of the fan, the traffic outside your window - and in this process, you will learn how to hear your true self.You will learn the difference between inward and outward seeking, between always reaching for more and realizing that everything you need is right where you already are.This shift in being is monumental.Do it every day, and youll fundamentally change the way you operate in the real world.and then, if you stop doing it, watch how quickly that foundation starts to crumble.2. Eat a healthy breakfastIt doesnt matter if I have to wake up at 3 am for a 5 am flight, or if I have a 6 am meeting, or if Im camping in the woods and I have to wake up with the sunset to go hike for 15 miles, I always, every day, without fail, make time for a healthy breakfast.This meal is the foundation of your day.This is what sets the right things in motion.This is also another opportunity to get your head straight and in the zone for all that you have to set out to do today.Eat breakfast.(And if you dont have the time, then you have a much larger issue you need to address.)3. Make time to breatheI own my own company. Its called Digital Press.It doesnt take a brain surgeon to recognize the speed at which this industry operates. Im literally glued to my phone and/or laptop from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to sleep.Which means, in order for me to maintain a sense of clarity, I have to force myself to step away.Once every 90 minutes or so, I get up and walk outside.I look up at the clouds.I take a few deep breaths.I do a check in to see where Im at (am I frustrated with a project? Am I thinking about something else? Am I feeling excited about something?) and then I decide where I should move to next.By the time I walk back inside, I know exactly what Im going to work on for the next 90 minutes. Lather, rinse, repeat.Some days, I only get to do this once.Some days, not at all.But setting it as a habit has helped me see tasks differently, time differently, and to remember to stay aware while I work to maintain a sense of innerhalb calm.Trust me, the people that do this well are the ones who do so much, you wonder how they ever sleep.Ill let you in on a little secret. They do sleep. They also rest a lot.And thats why theyre so successful.4. Get back into your bodyEntrepreneur or Corporate Cubicle Worker, we all sit and stare at screens all day, every day.And trust me, Im a huge supporter of technology.If you want to maintain balance and flow in your life, you HAVE to find a way to get back into your body. Youre in your head all day. Numbers. Excel sheets. Proposals. Emails. Social media - DING DING DING DING DING - going off non stop.At some point you need to step away and bring things back to a place of feeling.Go to the gym.Do some yoga.Go for a run.Bike around the city.Whatever.But make time to get back into your body.5. Have a hobbyHobbies are something I couldnt imagine living without.It could be anything from drawing little stick figures in a notebook, to making music, or painting, or writing poems, or building rocking chairs, or knitting sweaters, or whatever.There is so much value in having something that you make for yourself.Theres also something to be said for your hobbies to encourage you to take chances, explore, play, and be creative.I think collecting baseball cards or something can work too (after all, I was an avid Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh card player back in my day), as long as its something where you can remember, no matter how old you get, that you still have an imagination.Hobbies should help you reconnect with your inner child.6. Keep a journal of ideasIm stealing this from James Altucher.I think everyone should have a notebook, where they write down thoughts during the day, ideas that come to mind, lists of things they want to do, etc.It will inspire you - or make you realize how much you say you want to do and never actually do - which hopefully pisses you o ff enough to take action.Buy a journal and put it in your bag or backpack.Write down interesting things.Dont just ignore your ideas.Make them tangible and youll see what happens.7. ReadOne of the best things you can do for yourself is read.Not that garbage on Buzzfeed.Buy books. Read books.Read during your morning commute (unless youre driving, then audio books).Read at night before you go to bed instead of lounging in front of another Netflix show (I know theyre addicting but are they really helping you grow?).Read, read, read.Read about things you want to know more about.Read good fiction.Read good nonfiction.Read about things you dont know about.Read about things you dont agree with so you can be more educated.Read what other people recommend (books come into your life for a reason).Read and you will see good things come.Youll find your conversations carry more depth. Youll find you can add more value to situations. Youll find yourself hungry to learn more, faster, all the time.I f its any motivation, I hated reading growing up. Hated it. I maybe read 5 books in total before I graduated high school.But as soon as I got into the writing department in college and I realized how well-read my peers were, I felt like an idiot and did a 180. I read everything I could get my hands on - and still do.Read.This article was originally published on Medium.com.