One Habit A Day Simplifies Easy Exercises To Develop Positive Outlook

Based on his popular podcast, The Habit Coach, Ashdin Doctor’s One Habit a Day is replete with easy-to-apply advice and fun exercises. With his simple yet assured approach and his easy-breezy style, Ashdin not only picks the best habits for a positive outlook but also tells you how to go about making them a part of your life

Here's an excerpt from Ashdin Doctor’s One Habit a Day

Let me tell you about flying rats. Did you know that pigeons never nest in trees? I realised this when I was at my farm during the lockdown. I stayed there for eight months and not once did I see a pigeon.

We are so used to seeing pigeons in the city that we take it for granted that they are everywhere. They are normally called rats with wings or flying rats just because they are so plentiful in cities. And the reason they are so plentiful in cities is that they are rock nesters. This means that in the wild they would normally nest in cliffs or mountain ledges. Pigeons will look for little holes high up in cliffs and build a nest.

The male will find a good spot for a nest and start cooing. Once he finds a mate, he will build a nest in the cliffs. In the cities, our buildings act like cliff spaces. They offer the birds lots of little nooks and crannies to nest in. Our cities are paradise for pigeons to thrive in.

In the same way, we humans too are creatures of habit. Some like spending time in libraries, some at work, others like shopping in the malls, while some like getting drunk in a bar.

But unlike pigeons that will never nest in trees, we have the ability to make a conscious decision. We are able to choose what we want to do, where we want to be, how we want to show up in the world.

Every now and then, we feel stuck. Where we are now in life is not where we want to be. However, all our old habits are keeping us trapped in this same space. But more importantly, all the people in our lives are also keeping us in the same place. You see, all the pigeons nest together. All the eagles nest in the trees.

When you want to change your life, your habits, your environment, the people you spend time with will have to change.

I remember when I wanted to stop being overweight and unhealthy. I had to stop meeting friends who would eat dinners at eleven in the night and then drink and party till 4 a.m. I had to change that environment to ensure I could change my habits.

Soon I started to spend more time in different kinds of gyms in the city. I signed up for yoga classes and spent time at yoga studios. I met yoga teachers who would eat at 6 p.m. and be asleep by 10 p.m. Pizza restaurants got replaced by salad bars. Long Island iced teas got replaced by Kombucha.

The gist of all this is that it is important where we spend our time. Our environment decides who we will become. 

Many of us are stuck in toxic environments at home. We spend as much time as possible outside, in a new environment. Many of us want to be rich and wealthy but are stuck in an environment where we are not allowed to feel rich and wealthy.

I remember Aristotle Onassis, once the richest man in the world, saying that he would advise people to spend time in the fanciest hotel in the city. Just sit in the lobby. Or in the coffee shop and order the cheapest thing on the menu. But spend time in that location. You will start to pick up things from observing the people around you. You will begin to form the mindset.

You might make friends sitting in that lobby. Those friends might make you meet other people. And soon you will have a different social group. The places where we choose to spend our time play a big role in the kind of life we want to create for ourselves.
So, your super simple habit starts by figuring out what kind of life you want to live. Then figure out where other people, whose life you find attractive, spend their time.

Go and change your location. Like I said earlier, you are not a pigeon, you have the ability to move and change where you nest!

Extracted with permission from One Habit a Day by Ashdin Doctor, published by Westland Books

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