Hábitos saludables, vida feliz [esp/eng]

Greetings, my dear friends. I am happy to be here again, this time to talk about habits in human beings that I personally feel are essential for better behavior, as they allow us to have better overall well-being and thus function better in society.

I confess that I have always been a young woman with good habits. From a young age, I was taught to practice good personal hygiene to avoid illness, to make my bed when I got up, to wash the plate I ate from, or, for example, if I was at someone else's house and they invited me to eat, to wash the dishes. I was also taught to sleep the hours necessary to get a good night's rest and thus perform better in the activities I had to do. I was also taught to eat well. Thank God I was never a child who had trouble eating vegetables, for example, because I was aware that they were good for my health, and besides, my grandmother didn't give us a choice; we ate what was on the table. I think that having strict parents and grandparents helped us grow up with better habits and values.

Now that I am a mother, I try my best to instill habits in my children's lives because I believe that whatever activity a person undertakes, they need to have them, and well, at home we have them. there is a time for everything, and the first habit is to manage time wisely. Their only responsibility is to study, so I like them to do their activities after school, after lunch and a shower, even if they are not for the next day, because I don't like to let homework pile up so that they don't get overwhelmed.

In my house, as in everything, there are rules that go along with these habits that I want to instill in them. It doesn't matter if they are boys, because I have also seen that there are people with sexist ideas who think that, for example, a man should not wash dishes or sweep the floor. In my case, my children have the responsibility and obligation to keep their space, which is their room, clean, make their beds, and fold the clothes that I wash for them. I do this so that they have order and feel the need to want to be in a clean place, and that way I always avoid seeing messes. I established this rule because they used to leave everything scattered around the room, shoes, clothes on the beds, etc., so I decided to give them that obligation, and since then they always keep their space organized.

Just like hygiene, they bathe several times a day and before going to bed so that when they wake up they feel clean to go to school. They brush their teeth after every meal to avoid cavities, since none of them likes going to the dentist, and by taking care of themselves in this way, they prevent their teeth from being damaged, although it is important to go to the dentist every so often. All three are very active children who like to play sports and participate in activities that involve running, walking, and staying active.

Having habits allows us to have mental health because we have order in our lives and we include activities that are necessary for distraction and that make us happy. I confess that there was a time when I lost some of the habits I had had since childhood. That was during my teenage years. There came a time when I slept late, ate at odd hours, and was tired all the time. I felt like I wasn't accomplishing anything, and that affected me to the point of anxiety. Well, I had to bring order back into my life, and I think it was the best decision because adopting habits is something that helped me feel better about myself and project that to the world.

Some of the habits I recommend to everyone are exercising, eating well, drinking plenty of water, doing recreational activities that bring you peace and happiness, reading, getting enough sleep, keeping your space tidy and clean—in this case, it's something that brings me peace—cultivating good relationships with others, always treating them with respect, not spending too much time on the phone, remembering that there are many wonderful things around you, go to the doctor for checkups from time to time, and don't have vices like alcohol and cigarettes, as they add nothing to your life. Most importantly, enjoy every day, as life is a wonderful gift from God.