It’s time for week 7 of the Simple Steps program. Each week the program introduces 4 new habits, one each for nutrition, fitness, home and self. The trick is that they accumulate, so obviously, you have to keep doing the ones from the previous weeks. This week’s habits are:

1. Eat less by slowing down and savoring every bite.

• Eating small bites and chewing thoroughly helps the digestive process.
• Eat mindfully. When you are satisfied, stop eating.
• Making meal time a family occasion encourages communication. Having a conversation at the dinner table makes the experience pleasurable, not rushed.

2. Greet every day with a morning stretch.

• Stretching increases mobility and flexibility.
• Morning stretching gets the blood pumping and helps us wake up.
• Since I practice yoga daily first thing in the morning, which also incorporates breathing, I am counting my yoga practice as my morning stretch.

3. Organize your photographs.

• Organized photos are like artwork that gives us joy.
• Organized photos keep us connected to our loved ones.
• Start by collecting all loose photos into one area or large box.
• Sort starting from the most recent, and going back. Having labeled photo boxes is a good idea. Then you can divide each box into seasons or occasions.
• Only keep the photos worth keeping. Once you’re organized, immediately sort and put away each new batch of photos you bring home.

4. Keep a daily gratitude journal.

• Writing in a gratitude journal gives us a happy, grateful spirit. A grateful spirit brightens our mood, boosts our energy and infuses our daily living with a sense of joyful abundance.
• Training ourselves to think positively is one of the best ways to improve our emotional health.
• Find a journal that you love, or use your personal planner, blackberry or computer.
• Each day write 3 things you are grateful for. Be creative and try not to write the same thing every day. Besides the obvious big gifts, look for the smaller, subtle gifts. After a few weeks, increase your daily entries to 5.
• Express gratitude to people in your life throughout the day; a stranger for holding the door, a child’s teacher, a co-worker.
• Share verbal gratitude entries with your children before bed.
• Doing volunteer work can help us find things to be grateful for.

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