10 (New) Good Habits To Start In 2024 For Living a Happy Life

What are the best habits to start in 2024?

With the new year knocking on the door (and we can’t wait to open it), more of us wonder, “What are the best habits to start in 2024?”

I also kept thinking about it, so I spent the last hour searching on the web for the answer.

I saw gorgeous lists with good daily habits that you and I could start at any point (surprise, you don’t need a new year to start a new habit). And while they truly were self-developing and life-changing, none of them matched the tremendous shift I need in my life (and probably you do too).

So, I hit the close button on all the windows I had open on my computer and focused on the top 10 habits to create a positive change next year.

And here they are – 10 habits to start in 2024 that will shift your mindset to a better place, change your thinking, and improve your overall life. ‘Cause who doesn’t want all that and more?

Let’s dive in!

10 Habits to Start in 2024 That Will Actually Make You Happy

Okay, let me clarify that I firmly stand behind the idea that nothing can “make” us happy. Happiness is not only a state of mind but also recognizing the moments of pure joy and fulfillment we often stumble upon.

Realistically, we all have those little sparkles and happy moments of laughter and joy every day. Hence, happiness is achievable but also present every day. Your task (and mine) is to learn to recognize these moments and have the happy bulb turned on in your head most of the time.

Now, onto the habits.

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1. Finishing What You’ve Started

In my country, we say “New year – new luck!”, which means that every new year comes with the possibility of starting fresh, starting all over again, and… well, basically starting! However…

What about all of your projects that you “started” in 2023 and didn’t finish yet?

It’s so easy to get tempted by the idea of leaving it all behind and focusing on the fresh new opportunities that come with the beginning of 2024.

Don’t rush, though!

Finishing what you’ve started is one of the best habits you could develop in your life.

Obviously, I’m not talking about the projects that don’t have any positive impact on your life, the ones that were just ideas with a few action steps that lead you to nowhere…

I’m talking about the projects that will bring a positive change into your life and will get you closer to your career or family goals.

Finish those. Don’t just leave them on the “something I tried last year” list.

2. Reflecting

Reflecting on your days, weeks, and months isn’t your thing?

You might want to reconsider that.

Reflection is the step back you do when decorating your Christmas tree, and you want to see if there is more free space for another glitter ball.

Reflection is going back to the recipe book to check if you’ve followed all of the steps for the pie before you put it in the oven.

Reflection is when you walk around the house and check if you’ve missed a spot somewhere just minutes before your guests knock on the door.

Reflection is the only justified action of looking back that will improve the view ahead.

Learn how to reflect on your days. Evaluate your actions. See the opportunities you took and those you missed.

The habit of reflection will actually make a huge difference in your life once you stick to it. And that’s a life-changing habit to have in 2024.

3. Having Clarity in Life

I’m currently reading through Getting Things Done by David Allen (I highly recommend it). He talks about the 5-step system of actually getting ahead with everything you think is left behind.

One of the many valuable notes I took while reading was regarding clarity. Having clarity on your outcome is the one stimulus that will improve your working process (now) and keep you focused in the long run (future).

And then I thought of how the same concept could be (and should be) transferred onto everything else in life.

The clarity of the outcome helps you see the reason behind your action. The clearer the outcome is, the better your organization and the action-taking process will be.

Moreover, knowing what you get will also keep you motivated to keep pushing yourself until you get where you’re heading.

4. Loving Yourself More

Do you have the feeling that the more we talk about self-care and self-love, the less we practice it?

Why should you always feel guilty when you have those precious 5 minutes for yourself? Why are you secretly planning what to do next while you’re reading your latest favorite book?

Why are self-care and self-love something selfish in your mind, even though you know they are not?

In the new 2024, practice the habit of self-nourishing and self-love even more.

In addition, practice releasing the guilt that you love yourself. In fact, can you practice self-love and feel guilty at the same time?

I’ve got a huge library of self-care ideas, posts, and challenges.

You could choose between my 42 tips to love yourself on my main blog, jumping over to the 30-Day self-care challenge I recently released, or setting a reminder to look after yourself better by getting any of these 10 self-care subscription boxes (all of them are huge right now).

5. Ignore Toxic… Everything

When we talk of toxicity, we always think of toxic relationships, partners, parents, and so on.

And that’s okay. You don’t want to stay around people who don’t support you or do their best to discourage you from living your dreams.

However…

There’s one person you truly should be aware of that probably has a toxic influence over you. And that’s You.

In 2024, develop the habit of ignoring and releasing the toxic thoughts, emotions, feelings, and everything you do to yourself that doesn’t make you feel loved. Does that make any sense?

This year, your task is to trust the process and not let yourself down with negativity. You will get enough judgment from everyone else around you. Why join them?

6. Expressing Daily Gratitude

I don’t know if you’re new to my blog or you’ve been around for a while, but here’s something I can’t stop underlining every time I get the opportunity to do so: Gratitude!

Daily gratitude will give you so much more than you can imagine. It will soothe your pain. It will open your eyes to everything you do have instead of everything you “wish you had.”

Gratitude might take just a few moments out of your day but will positively impact your whole week.

Turning towards yourself and listing all the things you have, everything you’ve done, the lessons you’ve learned, the ideas that lead you to success, and those that made you think twice…

Doing all that and following your heart through the Gratitude journey will be the single most important habit of the new year. It will teach you to cherish who you are.

Are you willing to dive into it? If you’re new to gratitude journaling, start with any of these 10 journals, they will guide you better.

7. Prioritizing Your Well-being

Talking of the best habits to start in 2024, I cannot stop thinking of how people actually don’t work on their well-being.

Of course, we all know the drill with exercising a few times a week, drinking plenty of water, managing negative emotions, and so on.

But, honestly… How many of the habits for a good daily routine do you follow?

Call it as you wish, but there’s always room for improvement. Get that notebook out, open the notes on your phone, or grab the first post-it note around you, and jot down all of the good habits you know you should develop, but somehow, you always skip on.

After that, write on top of the list your overall priority, which is Your Wellbeing.

You see, your habits shouldn’t be your goals. But your well-being should. And the habits you choose to accompany you are just the tools to help you maintain it.

It’s like owning a car. The best part of it is getting from point A to point B without chasing buses or walking in the cold. However, you still need to fuel your car, change tires, and follow through with proper maintenance. These are the tools. Keeping your feet warm and singing loud on every song you like are the results.

8. Waking Up Early

Did you really believe you will read a post on habits that says nothing about waking up early?

Waking up early is the best painful habit that you can develop in the new year. Plus, it hurts only the first six months (just joking; years later, I still want to sleep in).

I know you might feel tired and exhausted every day, and maybe waking up earlier than you do is something you consider “crazy.” But setting up a clear schedule of going to sleep and waking up at the same hours every day will soon help you get your body in rhythm. It would be best if you simply stuck to it until you see that the benefits of getting up early are more than the downsides (strong coffee helps, too!).

Try creating your own morning routine before work. You could also use the mornings to do something creative that inspires you for the rest of the day.

Play with your options to spend your precious extra half an hour (or a full hour?) at the beginning of every day. You will grow to love it very soon.

9. Getting Smart With Your Money

Money is still a thing in 2024, so being smart about it is kind of a trend.

If you struggle with keeping your finances under control, this year is the year to finally end the chaotic overspending and look for the best ways to save some cash.

If you’d prefer to go down the rabbit hole, I have a very detailed (and awesome) post on the top 20 money habits you want to adopt ASAP (like, in 2023, if possible).

10. Improve Your Reaction To Changes

You see, I left that one to be the last suggestion on purpose.

I already listed 9 very good habits to start in 2024, and I didn’t want to get overly philosophic early on and chase you away.

But here’s the thing.

Changes happen.

Jeffrey Gitomer says, “Change isn’t a four-letter word… but often your reaction to it is.”

It doesn’t matter which four-letter word came into your mind (the one we both thought of or… fear?). Fact is, change is rarely welcome.

But what if you developed the habit of observing the change and acting according to it instead of reacting to it?

What if you had the habit of accepting changes you cannot control and working on your goals and dreams, keeping those changes in mind but not allowing them to leave a dirty spot on the result?

Yes! Change can push you away from your path, but that doesn’t mean the destination has changed!

You are the master of your life; You set up the direction. If one route closes, you can always take the highway or choose the backroads.

No more metaphors, I promise.