In today’s fast-paced, hyper-connected world, stress has become a silent epidemic. Over 60% of professionals feel overwhelmed, disconnected from their potential, and trapped in a cycle of non-stop doing. But the truth is — thriving in a demanding environment isn’t about doing more. It’s about doing it differently.
Whether you’re a corporate executive, a solopreneur, a caregiver, or someone simply trying to live a more meaningful life, one thing remains constant: the need for self-awareness, emotional clarity, and daily rituals that help you recharge, not burn out.
This is where the concept of Self-Renewal steps in.
Self-Renewal is the ongoing practice of refreshing your mind, body, and spirit — not just occasionally, but intentionally — so you can stay grounded, energised, and aligned with your deeper purpose. It’s about cultivating habits that restore you at the core, so you can show up for the world with joy, not just obligation.
Mindfulness plays a central role in this process. Research shows that 87% of leaders who regularly practice mindfulness experience reduced stress, improved clarity, and stronger relationships. No wonder leading organisations like Google, Goldman Sachs, and General Mills have integrated mindfulness into their cultures.
But you don’t need to work at a Fortune 500 company to experience these benefits. This article, part of our ongoing Personal Wellness Series, invites you to explore 10 powerful yet practical Self-Renewal habits that you can start integrating into your daily life — today.
These aren’t productivity hacks. They’re life-affirming choices — small, conscious acts that, over time, build a sustainable rhythm for a life well lived.
Self-RENEWAL Habits for Conscious Leadership
From the book, RENEWAL, here are the 10 habits that we can deploy to power-pack our regular work days without overwhelm.
- Smile Inside and Stretch While You Laze in Bed
Begin the day by cultivating a sense of inner peace and vitality. As you lie in bed, simply smile gently, looking within your body and saying hello (and thank you) to various organs. In your mind’s eye you are walking down the corridor of your ‘organ’isation and greeting colleagues, in a metaphorical sense. This simple yet powerful technique can help boost mood, and prepare you for a fitter day (and life). Additionally, stretch your feet and palms to activate the meridians, which wake up your organs and promote energy flow. This practice enhances physical health and mental clarity.
- Breathe Consciously for 30 Seconds Every Couple of Hours
Taking short breaks throughout the day to practice conscious breathing can have a profound impact on your stress levels and productivity. Every time you transition from one task to another, take a moment to focus on your breath. Inhale deeply for five seconds, and exhale for five seconds. Doing this thrice takes 30 seconds and serves as a pattern interrupt. It calms your overthinking mind, oxygenates your lungs consciously (thereby reducing anxiety), and improve your sense of peace and security.
- Stay in Harmony. Keep Invoking the Parrot
The “parrot” is a metaphorical device that reminds us to check if our words, actions, and feelings are aligned. Imagine you have a talking parrot on your shoulder that knows only one line: “Is that what you want?” If whatever you are about to say or do is NOT what you want, you can mindfully stop. This way we become more conscious of our intentions and ensure that our behavior is consistent with our values. This habit helps reduce stress, improve relationships, and allows us to live with authenticity and integrity.
- Get Efficient and Stress-Free with Qigong
Qigong is an ancient Chinese practice that combines gentle movements, conscious breathing, and energy visualisation. By cultivating a Qigong routine, we align the body with the mind and spirit by habit. This serves to make us more effective with everything else we do! It also directly enhances physical health, mental clarity, and emotional well-being, making us more productive and stress-resistant. Qigong is gaining popularity as a ‘meditation in movement’; making its application the most practical for business executives.
- Enhance Control with PACE Awareness
P.A.C.E. is a four-step process for managing emotions and preventing conflict. By Pausing, Accepting, Checking, and Exiting, you can become more aware of your triggers, regulate your emotions, and respond to challenging situations with greater composure. This technique is particularly useful for managers who find themselves dealing with difficult conversations or conflict. By pausing we come into awareness of our ego. Acceptance counters stress triggers. Checking gives us balance. And Exit tells the ego to revisit the issue when the time is right.
- Invoke Gratitude, Independent of Circumstances
Cultivating a gratitude habit can have a transformative effect on our mindset and overall well-being. By focusing on the hidden blessings in things that happen in your space, you can change perspective, turnaround relationships, and increase resilience. To make a habit of expressing gratitude each day we must take a moment to appreciate the smallest of things we can be even slightly thankful for. Doing so builds the gratitude muscle. The mantra is to understand that nothing ever happens TO you. It always happens FOR you. Gratitude helps us learn the lesson faster.
- Cut Object Dependency
Detachment and minimalism can help free us from the constraints of material possessions and cultivate a sense of equanimity that leads to inner peace. By decluttering your physical space, you reduce stressors, improve focus, and enhance overall well-being. Additionally, practicing detachment can help the mind become less attached to outcomes and more present in the moment. All this reduces our ego’s control over our actions and facilitates spirit to flow through us, resulting in contented achievement.
- Invest Your Energy in Someone Younger
Children have pure energy… there’s lot’s to learn from them. We must replace TV time with curiosity time and become the curious ones! Likewise interns and new recruits bring fresh perspectives and mentoring is truly useful for growth of the mentors themselves. Mentoring youngsters is not only fulfilling, it also gives us valuable insights and perspectives. Additionally, spending time with children or young adults can be a great way to reconnect with your inner child and maintain a sense of wonder and curiosity, which is essential for innovation and problem solving.
- Organise and Recount Your Day Vis-à-Vis Your Purpose
Taking time to organise your physical space (like where you keep the keys, and files for the next day, and breakfast ingredients etc.) is a veritable time and stress-saver. Organising the mind (by making todo lists, setting priorities etc.) reduces uncertainty, quickens decision making, and improves productivity. And by creating a sense of order we free up mental energy to focus on more important tasks. Additionally, reflecting on the day in relation to our overall purpose helps stay aligned with the goals that drive us and values that define us.
- Acknowledge Blessings and Visualize Your Future
Before turning in for the night, it’s a great habit to take a few moments to acknowledge our blessings and visualise the desired future. This cultivates a positive mindset, reduces anxiety, and inspires action on a daily basis. By focusing on what you want to achieve, you create a more fulfilling and meaningful life. You may also incorporate affirmations into this and/or make it a family activity to spiral the energy upwards.
Conclusion
Incorporating these Self-Renewal habits isn’t about adding more tasks to your day. It’s about creating intentional pauses — moments that allow you to recalibrate, refocus, and reconnect with what truly matters.
As leaders, professionals, and human beings, we are at our best when we operate from a place of clarity, not chaos. These simple yet powerful practices — from mindful breathing to gratitude, from stretching in bed to visualising your future — are gateways to a calmer mind, a stronger body, and a more conscious way of living and leading.
Remember: Wellness isn’t a destination. It’s a rhythm.
And Self-Renewal is how we stay in sync.
This article is part of the Personal Wellness Series — designed to offer you grounded, actionable insights to build a life of sustainable energy, emotional strength, and purposeful action.
If even one of these habits resonated with you, try practicing it for the next 7 days. Let the rhythm grow from there.
You deserve a future that feels whole — not just one that looks successful.
This is beautiful and practical Ajaii. Thank you for sharing.