As the saying goes, the only constant in life in change. The seasons change, our jobs change, our families change. So in that sense, change is the only thing we can truly rely on to stay the same.
Having a strong inner foundation is key not just for surviving, but thriving, in an atmosphere of change. A strong inner foundation helps us make the most of our daily lives. When we're strong in our habits and who we are, we're better able to handle the often challenging moments that come our way, and better embrace the easier and better ones. Here's a six-step guide to building a strong inner foundation.
How to Build a Strong Inner Foundation
1. Understand your core values
Core values are incredibly important to us here at Silk + Sonder, and for good reason: Knowing and understanding your core values is one of the most important aspects to building a strong inner foundation. Core values can be related to family, career, learning, and how you live in general.
If you want to learn more about how to identify your core values, you can read our blog post on it here. And if you want to go more in-depth, you can take a core values workshop led by Silk + Sonder Founder Meha Agrawal.
2. Adjust your mindset
As you work to build a strong inner foundation, mindset will be key. Try journaling on what makes you happy and what doesn't, and when you feel the most present. Ask yourself how you can be more mindful of your own thoughts and feelings, when you feel the most stable, and when you feel the most present. Committing to living in a mindset and environment where you'll thrive—while also understanding that there will be times when you falter a bit—is important when you're working to build a rock-solid inner structure.
3. Examine your relationships
We're in a loneliness epidemic, and our relationships with other people have never been more important. So as you work to build a strong inner foundation, ask yourself: How could your relationships be improved? Are there people you could benefit from seeing more of? And, maybe most important, do you have any toxic relationships in your life that you could stand to eliminate? Getting the relationships in your life in the best possible shape will go a long way as you work on your inner foundation.
Relationships are key to a strong inner foundation.
4. Examine your career or job
Whether you work outside the home or not, taking a step back to examine your career or job is important to building a strong foundation. If you're miserable in your job, it's going to be really hard to feel like you have a strong foundation—because the truth is, work takes up a lot of our time. Sometimes we don't even realize how unhappy we are until we truly step back to pay attention to it, so if you've been thinking you need a job or career change for a while, there's no time like when you're working to build a strong foundation to get started on this journey.
5. Understand your strengths and weaknesses
We're all going to be better at some things than others, and truly taking the time to understand your strengths and weaknesses will help you get to know yourself better. Once you've really identified your strengths, you can play to them—and this can apply to your relationships, your job or career, and your habits.
6. Make a plan around your habits
Speaking of habits, this is the last and arguably most important step of building a strong inner foundation: Making a plan around your habits. It's hard to have a strong inner foundation when your habits aren't strong, so once you've gone through and identified any changes you need to make around your relationships and career or job and identified your strengths and weaknesses, make a list of habits you want to cultivate and break and get to work on them, using a habit tracker if that helps you.
Here are some examples of habits you might want to track that will help you build a strong inner foundation:
- Meditation
- Regular journaling
- Spending more times with friends and family
- Staying off of social media or away from technology
- Getting more sleep
- Exercising more often
- Eating more nutritious food
- Regularly taking the time to learn something new
You'll never regret spending your time and energy working toward building a strong inner foundation—trust us on this one. Good luck!
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