Monday Melodies Link Up #5

Hey y'all! I'm enjoying Crater Lake in Oregon right now, but we couldn't leave you hanging with Monday Melodies! This week's playlist is really an amalgam of songs that have really caught my interest this week- songs I've been humming unconsciously, singing in the shower/car, and working out to. True story- my workout buddy Monica and I created a plank challenge to Something I Need, by One Republic, because we are so in love with the song. Completing the challenge is a work in progress! ;)

                                         

Any songs on here that we have in common? Any songs that should be on Monday Melodies next week? Let me know in the comments below :)


xo, Hima

P.S. I'm guest-posting at blog goddess Helene's place today about my most-hated first world problems! Go check it out!

Book Review: The Power of Habit

Remember way back when I used to do monthly book posts?  I liked that, but then finals and AP tests happened, so I literally did not read for a month and a half. I recently pulled out some books at home that I had never gotten around to reading. One of them was The Power of Habit, by Charles Duhigg.

I have to say, I’m not a big self-help book reader, but I’m a huge science nerd, especially when it comes to things I can apply in my daily life, like habits, so I was pretty excited to read this book and understand how habits are formed. Overall, I would say the book was written in a fun and easy to follow way, with periodical anecdotes. Something that was really helpful for me was having Duhigg explain how a habit loop works in the first chapter, and then go back to the familiar structure in every chapter thereafter. Personally, I do wish this book included a little more hard science, but I can understand how that would be a turnoff for people not so interested in the neuroscience aspect of it.

Part of what made this book so good was how applicable the things I learned were. Once I started identifying the cues that prompted certain habits for me, It was easier to change them. The general principle behind changing bad habits, like sitting down for an episode of Orange in the New Black (not a fan by the way, hate on me all you want), after work instead of going to the gym, is identifying the cue and reward, and keeping both of those the same, while changing the behavior. If you watch TV after work, you might feel relaxed and enjoy unwinding, and you do it because you’re stressed out. So the solution to getting to the gym is identifying the feeling of getting stressed out and lacing up your running shoes (or shoving your foot in and adjusting if you’re lazy like me). In terms of reward, your brain will produce endorphins that will both relax and energize you.

Another concept I found really interesting was the idea of willpower as a muscle. If  you overwork a muscle, it gets tired and torn up, and doesn’t work as well as it could. In the same way, if you stay away from junk food all day and plan to go to the gym at night, your willpowers muscle might be overused and you might bings watch TV with junk food instead of going to the gym. For me, I tend to put off going to the gym unless I do It first thing in the morning, so I’ve been waking up early with my friend Monica and going around 6 AM. Of course, this habit is still in the making since we’ve only done it for a week. Of course, like any muscle, willpower can get stronger, which is why with practice, weaning off of junk food or soda becomes easier.

Pretty cool stuff, huh? And super applicable. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone even slightly interested in the science of habit (so basically everyone because humans are creatures of habit), and rate a solid 4.5 stars

What’s on your reading list? I’m definitely looking for new books to read. Leave a comment below and friend me on Goodreads so we can check each others’ books out!

P.S. Please help me! Blogger is not letting me align the top photo + this text and I don't know why. It's really bothering me- what do I do?

xo, Hima

Currently

During the #100HappyDays challenge (okay, even I'm tired of talking about it. Last time, I promise), I always used the photo posts to write a little bit about what was going on in my life, but I haven't really done that in a while, so let's talk about what I'm currently doing. Oh yeah, and I'll just casually slip in some Instagram pictures from the last two weeks.

I'm currently...

Hello, Golden Gate Bridge. I love you too. 

L I S T E N I N G to Something I Need by OneRepublic! This song is on the playlist for BodyPump, which my workout buddy and I love, and we've fallen in love with this song. It's so cute and perfectly OneRepublic. It'll definitely show up on next week's Monday Melodies.

E A T I N G all the fruits! My favorite thing about summer is the abundance of fruits- peaches, nectarines, berries, and most recently,  gorgeously tart apples from our tree in the backyard. Also I tried sushi for the first time (see below!) and I really liked it!

D R I N K I N G water, as always. I'm just not a drinks person and I actually think water tastes really good.

I don't look like this on a daily basis. Or like ever. Senior portraits were a couple of weeks ago and I'm waiting for my prints!

W E A R I N G workout clothes. Pretty much all the time. I colored in the UnderArmour sign with black sharpie so now my black leggings look like fancy pants and I can wear them to work! #dontjudgeme. I'm actually the worst. My aspirations for the next year include developing the world's coolest workout clothes collection. 

F E E L I N G perfectly content. Nothing like summer for a recharge and reset between junior and senior year!

R E A D I N G Running the Books: The Adventures of an Accidental Prison Librarian, by Avi Steinberg. Okay, how cool does that sound! I'm almost done, and white it was difficult for me to read at first, I'm glad I continued, because I actually really love it!

W A N T I N G Cellucor protein powder, new workout clothes. Muscle milk is gross, you guys. Especially when you have 4 pounds your mom bought on sale at Costco a year ago. (almost done though!)

N E E D I N G a new phone because I randomly lose service about 13 times a day. I want an iPhone for sure- I'm so over 0 case options. (Oh god, I sound so horrible. I promise I'm not actually a brat)

L O V I N G my new shoes from the Nike Outlet. I've had my old ones for 2.5 years now and they were starting to break down. Obsessed with these babies!

That's all for me today! :) What are you currently doing/loving/obsessed with/drinking/eating/whatever you can think of?

xo, Hima