10 Habits Of Success To Adopt Into Your Daily Routine

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10 Habits Of Success To Adopt Into Your Daily Routine

Habits are self-defining behaviors that indicate personal values and interests. I say “self-defining” because we choose what our habits are and are not. This mental flexibility that allows us to adapt from bad to good, good to great, is also a characteristic of success.

To get a better glimpse of what effectiveness looks like, here are ten habits of success to adopt into your daily routine:

1. Show up every day. How a leader shows up is everything because attitude is contagious. Choose your presence; choose your mindset. The message you instill in others is based on how you choose to express yourself—the words you use or don’t use, your body language, your dress and appearance.

2. Unlearn fear. If I were to place a ladder against a wall and ask you to climb, chances are you’d reach the bottom rung without hesitation, then the second rung and then the third. After the fourth rung, however, your perspective changes as it begins to assess risk. The higher you climb the more you learn to be fearful of the consequences, whereas at the bottom, no such fears existed.

The next time you’re on your “ladder” and that little voice in your head asks, “what the hell are you doing?” listen to what it’s saying, but don’t acknowledge it. In order to beat the enemy you must first know how he operates, and in this case, the enemy is self-talk.

3. Exercise. At the very least, do something active every day. On the days where you just need a rest (and we all need them) just stretch. No, stretching isn’t sexy but it’s one of those things that we’re all thankful for after the fact.

4. Suspend judgment. A major—MAJOR—pet peeve of mine is looking people in the eye when I speak to them only to see their mental gears turning while they think of the next thing they want to say. It’s selfish because he or she isn’t giving the speaker undivided attention. Instead, absorb everything the other person has to say without thinking of a rebuttal. Trust yourself that something will come to mind at the end of that person’s rant.

5. Write every day. Writing is leadership at scale for the mere fact that you can reach thousands and thousands of people. I never thought I’d take up writing as a former Navy SEAL, but for me, writing is a means of problem solving, a way to navigate and mentally organize new ideas and connections of value and deliver a positive message to people for them to apply for themselves. Of course there are more benefits of writing, too, such as reduced stress, better cognitive, keener observation (from self-reflection), and better memory recall.

6. Eat well every day. You’ve heard this before (hopefully) but I’ll reiterate it: you only have one body. The harsher you treat your “temple” the sooner it will bite back at you and say, “Hey, enough with the saturated fats!” Ditch the sodas, forget the bacon, and don’t even think about dessert. If reaching for that afternoon donut is part of your daily routine, ask yourself if it’s the essential nutrients that cookie offers that you crave or if it’s really just a break you’re your desk and a cookie is the excuse. Otherwise, your next step: heart disease.

7. Hold yourself accountable every day. We keep promises with others but fail to keep them to ourselves. Keep a personal accountability journal of the promises or goals you made to yourself and track how many you followed through with.

8. Be on time. Time is a precious resource, and nobody has the time to wait for someone else. It’s rude, inconsiderate and destroys trust. Of course emergencies happen, but they don’t arise every day—at the same time and just before work begins.

9. Strive to become better, not the best. While being the “best” at anything connotes a high status of achievement, it also signifies something else: that you’re maxed out; that you have nowhere else to go and therefore nothing else to improve upon. Instead, try viewing competition as a means to challenge and improve yourself rather than as a standard of judgment for self-worth.

10. Check yourself every day. Humility is empowering. No matter how important you were—or think you were—yesterday, nobody cares besides you. Strive every day to prove your worth; to improve just one percent from the day prior. Don’t rest upon your laurels. Nobody else does.

Habits are comprised of choices that must be made every day. If you don’t like your habits or know they can be improved, choose the ones that will make you better.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffboss/2015/06/12/10-habits-of-success-to-adopt-into-your-daily-routine/