Episode 265: Creating Healthy Habits

Habits are powerful things, able to affect our lives every single day. But they're not always the easiest things to create. So, today we'll offer a few tips on how you can make great habits for you and your family.

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Check out the link in the episode description or visit doterra.com/podcastoffer to learn more. Open to US orders only. Today, we're excited to talk to Alisse Coil about creating healthy habits.

doTERRA: Alisse, thank you so much for being here today.

Alisse Coil: You're welcome. I'm excited to join you.

doTERRA: Well, we are excited to have you. And I just want to dive right in with my first question, which is, why is creating healthy habits important? Why is it something that I should care about?

Alisse: Well, I always love to use quotes in my life to kind of stay on track. And I love the saying that says, "If nothing changes, nothing changes." So, if we want to make changing in our life--which I think most people want to feel even a little bit better than they feel today--have a little bit more energy or a little less brain fog or maybe sleep a little bit better. And the key to that is to making a change.

And in my mind, the simplest way for that change to happen is to create a simple habit. And so that is why those habits can be so important, because they will become a real habit. A true habit is something that is going to become automatic that we do, just like brushing our teeth or washing our hands or getting a drink of water.

doTERRA: Yes, I love that. And I love that quote because I think it's so right. "If nothing changes, nothing changes." But I think we've all experienced the disappointment when we try to create a new habit and then two weeks later, it's completely out of our mind. So, what are some of your tips for creating habits that actually last?

Alisse: So, that can be such a tricky thing, right? I think every human on the planet has tried to make a change, set a goal and just haven't quite gotten there.

So, one thing that I have found to be super effective is to look at the goal, look at what we want to attain and break it down into small and simple steps. Tiny little changes that can be made and added on to. The most effective way to take those small little steps and to integrate them into our life is to make them a habit. And the way we can help them to become a habit is by attaching them to a habit that we already have.

So, let's say we want to read more--we want to feed our knowledge. Well, choose something that we already do automatically throughout the day and attach that 10 minute reading goal to that. So maybe it's: I'm going to wake up in the morning. I normally write in my journal and after I write in my journal, I'm going to read for ten minutes. So, you've already created a pattern that's going to guide you towards making that task part of a habit because it's going to work right into your routine.

And then the other thing that I think is so important is to give ourselves some grace. We are going to have an off day. We're going to forget, we're going to just have a crazy schedule and that's okay.

And so maybe initially it's to add that habit to our daily routine for two days out of the week, or five days out of the week, and then gradually move towards that success, I guess whatever you feel that is. If it's walking five days a week, eating a vegetable seven days a week, whatever it is, give yourself some grace as you move that habit into your life.

doTERRA: Absolutely. I think that's a beautiful sentiment. Now, Elise, what are a couple of your favorite healthy habits that you like to build into your routine that use essential oils?

Alisse: Oh, I love this question. So, two things that I have done to make sure I'm incorporating essential oils into my daily life. And the first one is to have my essential oils out where I'm going to use them. So, one example would be having the Lavender oil by the bathroom sink, so, I would automatically think to use it. So, the oils that you like to have in your water for flavor and other health benefits are right there by the fridge or by the kitchen sink where you're filling up your water bottle.

The other thing that I love to do, this is something that I continue to incorporate—I've used doTERRA essential oils for over 14 years and this was how I started and I've just continued to add on to this—and that is starting and ending my day with an essential oil or oils depending on how my day is. I fully believe that if we're going to have a great day, we want to start it right and we want to end it right because the way we end our day is going to help dictate how our day starts. So, having essential oils there on my nightstand are essential.

Specifically, I love to start my day grounded. So, the doTERRA Balance^® essential oil blend is on my nightstand and it goes on my feet. As soon as I pull the covers off and sit on the edge of my bed, that is literally the first thing that I do. And I attached it to that routine, right? We all have to get out of the covers every morning. So, I rub that oil on my feet and then any time I apply an oil anywhere, I always take the extra 30 seconds to take a nice deep breath with what's left on my hands and start my day.

Then I look at what my day is going to look like. Is it going to be extra chaotic? I'm going to grab some citrus oils, a little extra Peppermint, something like that to really get my mind going. I love to take Melissa and put it on the roof of my mouth to really kind of clear the cobwebs. And then I start my day.

And then as far as ending my day, I like to do that with some good calming oils--Vetiver, Cedarwood, Patchouli, Lavender, any of those. And again, just right on the bottom of my feet.

My husband loves ending his day with doTERRA Deep Blue^®. And we all know that doTERRA Deep Blue is great to ease muscle tension and he does use it that way. He likes to keep doTERRA Deep Blue on his ankle. But the other thing he does is put it on the back of his neck to keep those airways open while he's sleeping. And again, it's just become a habit by attaching it to what we do regularly. Sit down on the side of the bed, the oils are right there on the nightstand, put them on, climb in bed.

doTERRA: Those are some incredible habits. And so, I want to dive a little bit deeper and ask: what are some of your top daily habits with doTERRA supplements?

Alisse: Good question. So again, attaching--taking the supplements of my choice to a routine, right? I get up and while my husband is in the shower, I make him breakfast and while I'm making him breakfast, I have attached taking my MetaPWR^® Advantage. I drink that while I'm scrambling his eggs and making his toast.

So, I start with that, wait a little while and then make my smoothie. And while I'm while my smoothie's blending, I grab my supplements--my doTERRA Lifelong Vitality Pack^®, doTERRA Adaptiv^® Phytoestrogen Essential Complex, doTERRA TerraZyme^™ and a Copaiba Softgel. And then they're right there to take.

So, the other thing that I love to do is I like to use the MetaPWR Metabolic Assist and the doTERRA TerraZyme with our meals. And so, I actually have those sitting on our table just right alongside the salt and pepper shaker, because that's a great reminder to take those supplements with our meals.

Now, MetaPWR Assist, we like to take that 15 to 20 minutes before our largest meal, but sometimes we forget, right? Or our schedule is a little bit off. So having that sitting out is a great way for me to make sure it gets taken as well as a doTERRA TerraZyme after a heavy meal. I just love to have them sitting out so that they're there.

As far as supplements, if I had to choose one--and I never would want to have to choose one--if I had to choose one, it would be the doTERRA Adaptiv capsules. The grounding--the loss of overwhelmed feelings that I have in taking that every morning and then looking at my day, and seeing if I possibly am going to need an extra boost is probably the one that I just wouldn't want to do my day without.

I'll share one other thing. I actually have set an alarm in my phone, so every morning at 9:00 a reminder comes up on my phone that says, "Do you have oils in your water?" And that's my reminder to make sure my water bottle is filled back up after exercising, and I've got oils in there, And that I have gotten oils in the water, in the diffusers in my home. Because I fully believe in creating a nourishing and grounding environment as much as we can. And I feel like diffusing essential oils is super important and effective that way.

So, also putting those little reminders on your phone to just bring you back to the routine when you might get off a little bit is something that I found super effective.

doTERRA: I absolutely love that. I think that's incredible. And Alisse, I have to ask you a hard question before we end, and that's: if you had to pick, what is your number one top healthy habit with doTERRA products that you recommend to everyone?

Alisse: Hmm. I have thought and thought and thought about this question. It's so hard.

I would have to say my top healthy habit would be starting and ending your day with an essential oil. I know I already talked about that, but it just sets the groundwork for productivity, for happiness, for good rest. I would have to probably go with doTERRA Balance in the morning. That was the first essential oil that I ever smelled of doTERRA's. That was my gateway oil, if it’s okay to say it that way.

And just making sure you set your body and your heart and your mind up for success as you start your day is so important. We would never want our kids to walk out the door with school starting or to a ballgame or to go to the spelling bee—we would never want to set them up to not be successful--without the tools that they need. And so, to me, starting your day with an essential oil is telling yourself, "I want you to succeed today, and I'm going to give you the tools that you need to help you do that." That's the best I can do if I have to pick a favorite.

doTERRA: I think that is pretty good. I think it's wonderful.

Alisse, thank you so much for sitting down with us today, for teaching us more about how to implement these healthy habits into our life. We really appreciate you being here.

Alisse: Thank you so much.

Thanks for joining us and congratulations on living a healthier lifestyle with essential oils. If you want to try any of the products you learned about, click on the link in the episode description or find a Wellness Advocate near you to place an order today.

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These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.