Forming Habits Increases Your Success

Have you noticed that some people just seem to be more successful than others? Why is this? Well it is not because they were born with a streak of luck, it is because they know how to form good habits.

Use the following tips to help you create that successful life you are dreaming of.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. ~Will Durant

According to studies as much as 45% of our daily actions flows out of habit. We perform these same actions time and again almost without thinking, usually because of subtle cues. Habits are not really good or bad; they are simply shortcuts that drop our repeated behaviors down to our subconscious minds in order to free up the processing capacity of our conscious minds.

In fact, creating good habits is essential to success. You will not succeed without healthy, productive habits. Adopting good habits in areas of self care, boundaries, healthy eating, exercise and meditation can be transformational.

Whenever you make something a habit, there are several general benefits. For one, it’s a lot less energy consuming if you are doing something automatically, than if you are actively trying to remember to do it, motivate yourself to do it and then actually do it. Making it a habit simply frees up mind space. Also, it’s a way of ensuring that the good things that you want to do for yourself, get done consistently with very little effort.

Below are some areas where creating the right habits can change your life:

Your Diet.

What you feed your body eventually shows up on the outside. Your diet can reflect not just on your skin and by adding pounds, it can also make you feel good or bad about yourself. By just eating healthier and drinking more water you will notice a difference in a very short time.

Exercise.

This goes hand in hand with your diet. If you don’t stay active your joints begin to stiffen up. You will find that you don’t sleep well and you just feel miserable and much older than you really are. Exercising regularly will give you a huge energy boost and increase your productivity levels.

Mind Set.

Do you always feel down and out? Then it is time to change your mindset. You need to start thinking in a more positive way, learn to look on the bright side and stop being so negative. Find some good motivational quotes and start repeating them on a daily basis.

Set & Keep Your Boundaries.

Do you say yes to often to others, and too little to yourself? Do your goals get sidelined and put on the back burner because someone else needed your time? Setting healthy, respectful boundaries is a linchpin habit. Linchpin habits are those habits that make other things possible. Without linchpin habits in place you’ll only spin your wheels on your goals. As you can easily see, without healthy boundaries you’ll never have the time and energy to create success.  You won’t be able to make progress on your own goals if you’re constantly being derailed helping others achieve theirs, or putting out fires, or whatever.

Help Others.

Stop thinking about yourself each day and try and perform some act of kindness at least once a week. This could be offering to pay for a coffee for the person next in line. It might be visiting an elderly neighbour. Or it could be sending an email or thank you note to someone you haven’t talked to in a while. Performing a kind act, can fill you with happiness and it could bring you all kinds of rewards in return.

Stop Procrastinating.

Do you find that you are always putting things off? Then you wonder why things don’t get accomplished. Make the effort to do something. Tidy up your office or clean out your basement. Once you start actively doing something you will feel better about yourself and have a sense of accomplishment.

No More Complaining.

Do people view you as a complainer? That is not a nice trait to have at all. Instead of complaining start taking action. If you are having trouble learning a new software program at work. Stop blaming the company for it, instead ask for help and tackle it as a challenge.

Get Your Sleep.

Another linchpin habit is establishing good sleep habits. According the the University of Michigan, quality sleep is one of the major factors in whether or not commitments are achieved.  Start fixing your sleep hygiene and take steps to go to bed at a time that enables you to get at least seven hours of quality sleep.

All of the above points are ones that you can change into positive habits. By doing so you will become more successful in your daily life. You will benefit from an increased sense of accomplishment and your self-confidence will rise.

If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little matters. Excellence is not an exception, it is a prevailing attitude. ~ Colin Powell

Habits and Goal Achievement Go Together Like PB&J

You will achieve your goals when you establish the habits that lead to achievement. In an earlier article I mentioned that I have achieved my goals for the last 10 years.  I didn’t do that by just setting those goals and dreaming about them.  Achieving those goals required establishing the habits that led to focused accomplishment.  I journal every morning.  I write an article or work on a product or script every morning.  I always return client calls.  I work out every day. I measure my website traffic and other key performance indicators for my business on a set schedule.

Setting habits is a skill.  And like any other skill, you can master it.  Mastering the skill of establishing powerful habits is probably the single best thing you can do for yourself, to have a successful (in whatever way you define that) life. You need strong habits at every phase of life, after all.

More about habits in a future post!