Success is a combination of a little bit of luck and a lot of habit change. In this day and age it’s easy to become a couch potato, but where does that get you? Most of the time nowhere, unless you’re one of the extreme few that becomes successful overnight without cause. Yes, it does happen, think about the guy who worked at Target and became famous because of his picture circulated the internet. For the rest of us, there’s great habits and successful people who have them, which allows us to model our success off of things that have already proven effectiveness. It’s going to take a bit of work, but with dedication and persistence, you can make habitual changes to improve your chances at success and feel better about yourself along the way. This article will focus on habits everyone should adopt to obtain success and some celebrities that showcase habits of success.
Habits Towards Success
Before you dive in and read the following, I suggest you sit down and think about why you want to change your habits for success? What is driving you and motivating you to read this article? Thinking about the answer to these questions prior to reading will help focus you on why it’s important to make habit changes.
1. Goal-Oriented
Why bother making habit changes without a goal? Changing is hard work, and if you’re just going in for no reason, you’re likely going to fall off the wagon. To be a goal-oriented individual, you must set goals for yourself on a daily basis. It would be helpful to obtain a planner and set daily, weekly, and monthly goals that you wish to achieve. Setting these goals, and planning the steps to achieve said goal, are great ways to climb the ladder towards success.
2. Take Action Now
“I’m going to start working out tomorrow, I’m going to get back into eating healthy on Monday, etc, etc.” Sound familiar? Maybe you’ve said one or two of those things to yourself in the past. There’s no time like the present to take action and achieve something. It could be as simple as making a list of goals for the week or the month and planning how you’re going to achieve them. Procrastination will get you nowhere fast, and time moves too quickly to waste it. You have a goal, you have aspirations, go out take action now so that you can get it done. There’s no time like the present to get going on your dreams.
3. Great with Relationships
You will get nowhere in life or in the business industry if you’re mean, it’s as simple as that. I get it, some people are introverts and going out to socialize literally pains them, but it’s necessary. In today’s industry, it’s all about whom you know not what you know. Use this skill to your advantage by networking and marketing yourself every chance that you get. Go out to conferences and social events to mingle with people who inspire you. This will not only get your name out there but show people that you aren’t just paper smart.
4. Self-Control
You’ve just run your two miles for the day; you come home and those chocolate fudge brownies are staring at you, what do you do? The answer is not to reward yourself, it’s practice self-control. Someone who is successful is not impulsive, they do not blow all of their money and assets on a whim. Rather, they have self-control and can wait patiently for the right moment to strike. This self-control can be practiced in other areas of life as well, such as showing self-control when out with friends, or showing self-control when choosing what foods to consume. All around this habit can benefit anyone in multiple facets.
5. Read a Lot
Ever hear the phrase knowledge is power? Well, it’s true! Don’t try to reinvent the wheel, just learn from those who have already succeeded such as Steve Jobs or Bill Gates. There are many biographies or memoirs of people who have made it, and they are just dying to share their secrets to success. Learn from the best, and adopt their habits. Plus, unwinding after a long day by reading a book is not only a stress reduction method, but also a skill builder.
6. Organization
You may find that your clutter-filled home had it’s own unique organizational system because you know where everything is, but it’s not. Research has demonstrated that clutter-free, organized homes promote efficiency and mental health wellness. Someone who is organized is going to be far more efficient with their time, as they’ll know where everything is and where to find it. Though it’s a tedious task, take on the habitual change of becoming an organized person both in your personal life and work life. Eventually, with enough time and patience, this habit will naturally bleed over into your job performance where you’ll be able to retain information more efficiently before spewing it back out in the next big meeting.
7. Rise and Shine
It’s Sunday morning and you’ve just spent a good night out with friends, but don’t get too comfortable. Ever hear the phrase,”the early bird gets the worm?” Again, this is another phrase that holds merit. Start your day off with a health-conscious choice of jogging or yoga to get the brain flowing. You will have been up for hours by the time work starts, meaning you’ll be refreshed and have more energy. More energy means it will be easier to process information and get tasks done.
8. Practice, Practice, Practice
Yoga practice and meditation may sound like something for hippies, but it’s a healthy habit that everyone should adopt. Mindfulness is a skill that trains your brain to remain in the present moment, which in turn can help you absorb important information that otherwise wouldn’t have been retained. Also, this may sound cliche, but life is short, so live each moment presently and enjoy it. Also, think about how much time you’d be saving if your mind stopped daydreaming about the beach?
People Who Carry These Traits
It’s easy to dictate what kind of habits one should adopt. To provide evidence of the above habitual change claims, let’s take a look at some successful people who have actually adopted them.
1. Benjamin Franklin
Yes, our dear old late president; Mr. Franklin was goal-oriented every day of the year, including weekends. He would set plans for himself on what he wanted to achieve each weekend as to stay in the habit of planning and goal-setting.
2. Sean Belnik
At just 16 years old, Sean began a company where he sold small things. Now his company has grown and he sells office furniture while continuing to gain success. It’s never too early in life to start chasing after success and desires.
3. Kylie Jenner
The name Sean Belnik may not ring a bell, but how about Kylie Jenner? Love her or hate her, she’s a successful person and has become one of the richest individuals in the country at a young age of 21. She has dedicated a ton of time and effort into marketing her makeup brand through social media, thus she’s connecting with people. Connect, connect, connect. Social media can be an important tool for marketing yourself when used wisely.
3. Robert Iger
Each and every morning this Disney CEO wakes up at 4:30 am, including Sundays. Why? Our brain performs at it’s best after we have been away for two to four hours, so waking up earlier allows for Mr. Iger to start his workday fresh and bright. Start your morning by looking out the window at the sun, or by drinking a glass of cold water. In no time your brain will get going.
4. Oprah Winfrey
Oprah is an advocate for mindfulness meditation, as well as other celebrities. Taking time to be still and focus on what’s going on at that moment can recharge and refocus your mind. Look into it! I can’t emphasize the importance of mindfulness meditation enough because it really is a powerful tool. I would actually recommend starting with this habit change; check out YouTube for some more information on it!
Is It Possible to Implement This in Your Life?
That’s a lot of changes you can make, but how does one go about changing? Simple, dedication. You don’t have to adopt all the habit changes listed in this article immediately, but rather go at your own pace. If you try too much at once, you’ll get burnt out and lose the motivation to make habit changes. Get some inspiration from your favorite successful person through memoirs and biographies to start your journey, or dive right in. You’ll be more successful with habit changes if you’re motivated, so do what works for you.