I read this article online about habit forming and I thought we can all learn from this:
Deep inside your heart there lives the person you really are. Beneath the chosen habits, established patterns, developed attitudes, and environmental influences lives your true self. You may or may not be aware of it, but it is there. Your true self represents your core values, deep beliefs, and natural attitudes about things. This is your true identity.
Many have mistakenly come to believe that their habits are actually who they are. And, because of this, they frequently believe that they just need to accept who they are, or that they cannot really change things very much. In truth, our habits are simply the result of our choices, repeated across time, and can be removed and replaced with other habits if we develop enough awareness to recognize them, make different choices, and develop new habits through the repetition of these choices.
Some such bad habits could include anger, hatred, judgementalism, criticism, pessimism, procrastination, gossipping, spreading rumors, and lying. Other bad habits might include dressing seductively to get sexual attention, disrespecting the rights of others, being unfaithful in relationships, interfering in the private matters of others, and over-indulgence. Still others could include drinking too much alcohol, becoming dependent on drugs, eating too much, gambling excessively, or spending money you do not have and many more.
But the good news is that all such habits can be broken, and replaced with healthy, positive ones, if we choose to do so. Habits are not who we are. They are merely a product of our choices. – P. D. Kai Swigart, Ph.D
Let’s develop new and positive habits, shall we?
10 Powerful Habits of Ultra Successful People
1. They Speed Learn
Being able to boost your own learning curve to a point where you feel comfortable with learning about new topics is a sign of successful people. Just fifteen minutes a day of non-fiction is all that you need to make a genuine difference to your own development.
Simply start by reading up on books that make sense to you and can be the ideal solution to helping you see through problems that you are facing at the current time.
Speed reading is very popular across the globe, and has been used by plenty of highly successful people to improve their chances of success in the long-term. For example, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt and George Washington are all famous speed-learners.
2. They Know How to Identify Their Problems
Being able to actually see your problem in front of you is a great thing. If you are able to get to a stage where your problems are more than just a confused equation in your mind, you can make a genuine success of yourself in the long-term. The hardest part is going to be making sure that your problems are something you can relate with visually, though.
For anyone struggling with this we recommend checking out the books recommended in the infographic. Being able to see the problem in front of you rather than just having a big, scary image in your head is much easier – plenty of big names across the world are known for using visualization, such as Oprah Winfrey.
3. They Set Priorities
Having a list of different priorities throughout the day can stop you either from getting bogged down in meaningless tasks or simply from dealing with the easy ones and then not having enough time to deal with the “real” tasks. Limitations start to create an urgency, as the infographic states, and this can be the kick-on that you need to start being more successful.
This isn’t some weird, new-age idea that does nothing for you by the way – it’s been used by many people throughout history. For example, this article shows you how Eisenhower created a model which is known as the Eisenhower Matrix.
4. They Manage Their Money
Start off by reading the books suggested above, as financial management is going to be so important to your long-term success as an individual. It can take a bit of time and getting used to but once you start seeing the fruits of your labor it becomes much easier to deal with.
Of course, it takes a lot of time and planning but is well worth looking into further as it can help you totally transform your fiscal management and make your life much more comfortable than it has been in the past.
Fiscal management isn’t just for “normal” people, either. Plenty of celebrities throughout the world – and big name entrepreneurs – got there by being smart with their money. Will Smith is well known for being smart with his money, as shown here.
5. They Rise And Shine
An easy way to make the most of every day is to attack it – get up early, get into this difficult tasks, and see the rest of the day through. Successful people don’t start at 1PM – they start at 8AM! Be sure that you get the most out of each and every day. Long lies and sleeping in can be done when you have fought towards achieving your life goals rather than when you are nearly there!
Former England and Manchester United footballer Gary Neville is well-known for his old philosophy of “attack the day”. He’s mentioned it a lot in the past, and you can really see the benefits being an early riser has for him!
6. They Set Clear Goals
Everyone needs to have clear life goals and ambitions to strive for – because without them, what is the point? So as long as you have something to aim for then there’s something to keep you motivated and successful. It’s when you start running out of things to see as progress or an achievement that it can become quite tough to manage.
However, with the help of some expert thinking and by having written down goals on something you see every day, you can make sure that you never lose track of where you are going and what the endgame is going to be.
Setting goals is vital for everyone – whether you are on the conveyer belt or you are running a multi-billion dollar business.
7. They Have a Healthy Diet
Nothing is worse than having an imbalanced and poor diet – when this happens, you need to eat healthier. A body with the right nutritional intake is far more useful to you than one that is flagging and needs help getting through those hard days. Make sure that you eat well and regularly so that your body is well topped and able to cope with the rigors of the day.
Additionally, exercising on a daily basis is vital to be successful. People who are unfit physically can find it constraining their minds, as well.
How you eat will reflect how your look – this is no more apparent than in the most “elite” of society (although we hate that term). When you eat right, it shows in how you look.
8. They Know Their Strengths
Take the personality test listed at 16Personalities.com and you can really notice a big increase in your life goals and aims. When your own strengths – and weaknesses – are so apparent to you, it becomes much easier to start correcting and improving upon them. Rather than letting your strengths hold you back in the future, make them a focal point of how you will kick on and start to improve yourself moving forward.
This is an example of one of the personality styles that tend to come out from this test – you can see how it relates these personality styles to some specific people that you may have heard of. This can help you get a bit of perspective about what is being said, and who you’re like!
9. They Network
Having friends in high places and close associates that you can rely upon to help keep you busy and in work is never a bad thing. Are you a confident and frank talker? If so, you should really consider getting involved in using those powers to network and build your list.
Pick up the book recommended in the infographic for even more information on how networking can properly help you make friends for the long-term.
This form of networking – via social media – is so important today, and can give you a chance to network from afar. Celebrities see a massive amount of attention from social media, and you can see how they deal with it in a professional manner to enhance their own career prospects.
10. They Build Character
Nobody likes to fold easily, and it becomes so much easier to do when you have a list of moral rules that you will follow at all times. When you live by a set code that ensures you never break ranks, and that you are always able to look in the mirror and stay true to yourself, it’s much easier to be successful.
Have these principles in place and never deviate from them.
Inspirational people are easy to find, and they are more memorable than your usual person because they actively force positive thinking and change – what more can you ask for from an individual, really?