By Polly O'Neal

I am a person of habits.

Always have been, always will be. I thrive off of structure and consistency, and when I find myself in a situation where stability is lacking, my anxiety heightens. Therefore, I gravitate towards the predictability of routine. As I have gotten older and paid more attention to the eb and flow of my mindset, I have found this phenomenon present in pretty much every part of my life. Even the most mundane ritual brings me peace.These habits include what one might expect: brushing my teeth, washing my face, taking vitamins. However, I have found that wearing my favorite jewelry has become just as crucial to my day-to-day mindset as any of my other health and wellness tasks. If I forget to wear my three favorite rings, I almost feel like there’s a part of me missing. I feel the same about my earrings. Even though I can’t see them, the awareness that I am not wearing earrings ends up throwing me off.

For the longest time I shrugged this off as a “me” thing, attributing it to my habitual personality and placing it in the same category as my unparalleled passion for a good night's sleep. Nevertheless, I brought up this strange connection to jewelry with a couple of my friends and did a little research, and low and behold… it’s not just me! The practice of wearing jewelry everyday is truly a form of self care–a term that is often misunderstood. Jewelry provides a sense of comfort and security in our appearance. It allows for an outlet of creativity that requires minimal effort. If you buy one necklace that just screams your personal style and wear it everyday, your individual taste will always be represented. There is power in that. It is a choice of self expression that ties the bow around steps that make you feel most like yourself. Of course when I forget my beloved rings, I feel “off”. My mind knows that when I place those rings on my fingers in the morning, I am my complete and confident self. I am ready to take on the day's challenges. Now, I am not saying that to reach your goals you need to make sure you put those mini gold hoops in before going out, but I encourage you to consider what small or overlooked habits make you feel most complete. You may be surprised at what a difference prioritizing those habits will have on your mind.

After all, isn’t it always the smallest choices that make the biggest impact?