As many of you know by now – I am a great fan of Jack Canfield. Last week’s blog post was based on a principle that he was discussing at a recent seminar I attended. That principle being that high achievers have a number of characteristics that make them more successful than most. Jack identified those characteristics as being :
- Unusual clarity ( which I discussed last week )
- Powerful habits of success ( this week’s topic )
- 100% responsibility for themselves ( yup, you’ve got it – next week’s blogpost )
Success is earned.
Success really only presents itself after a huge amount of hard work and effort. It does not just happen over night. Success is earned. It requires commitment, self discipline and focus. Successful people possess all these attributes, helping them to thrive. Here are some pointers in how we can achieve the same levels of success.
1. Be Goals and Results Oriented :
What we focus upon – we achieve.
Successful people identify their goals and focus on how to achieve them. They create daily routines that help them to reach their targets.
Unsuccessful people tend to stop doing something when they encounter resistance or a bump in the road. They tend to give up. Successful people don’t. They persevere. The unsuccessful person’s mindset is hampered by their limiting beliefs :
- “I am not like those really successful people.”
- “I don’t know how to do that.”
- “I don’t have the qualities that I need to succeed.”
Those with big dreams, however, tend to ignore the negative mind chatter that attacks their dreams and questions their abilities. Instead, they set an agenda for themselves, breaking through these limiting beliefs. How do they do this? They develop a mindset of self-belief, by creating behaviours that are geared for success.
Studies show that successful people have created a routine and structure that helps them create the life that they are looking for.
They set up regular strategies – otherwise known as habits, which maintain their motivation and the enthusiasm.
2. Be People Oriented :
Those people who have the strong desire to do well, surround themselves with other people of influence. They learn about these people and model their behaviour. They read autobiographies and listen to podcasts given by the exact people they want to emulate. They put themselves in a position to help people who, in turn, can help them; teaching themselves how to adopt the qualities that other high achievers exhibit.
3. Be Health Oriented :
As discussed in last week’s post – the mind needs clarity in order to succeed. The people who aim to be productive understand that there is a correlation between a healthy mind and a healthy body. As a result, they ensure they have built in healthy habits into their success regime. Healthy eating, exercise and meditation are all practices that these successful people adopt allowing them to accomplish the results that they desire.
4. Be Self-disciplined :
The challenges we face are in maintaining these habits. This is where the self discipline is invaluable. Self discipline ensures that you achieve all the tasks that you need to do, in order to achieve your goals – whether you want to do that task or not.
By creating habits – we can ensure that we reach our goals – avoiding our limiting beliefs and the everyday distractions that crop up.
High achievers build habits; productive ones.
By setting successful habits, we become calmer and more productive. Our creativity improves as does our tenacity and resilience.
So how do we so the same? All habits are learned; be they good habits or bad ones. Surveys say that it takes 40 days to install a new habit; they are built through repetition.
5. Build a Morning Routine :
The first hour of our day is often referred to as “The Golden Hour.” Utilising this hour more effectively can set us up for the day. It sets the tone and prepares our minds for success and productivity. It is at this time that we can introduce effective and worthwhile strategies.
a ) Appraise our goals for the day ahead – then identify the tasks needed to achieve these goals.
b ) Prioritise those tasks – understand which tasks are important and those that are urgent, there is a world of difference.
c ) Read / listen to motivational material – exposing ourselves to positive and inspiring information really sets us up for the day and creates the right mindset – surely putting us at an advantage.
d ) Exercise – gets the blood pumping and raises the energy levels.
e ) Start the day with a wholesome breakfast – by setting yourself up with a healthy breakfast – you will be able to avoid the energy slump in the mid morning.
6. Build an Evening Routine :
Actually many say that the perfect time to set your intentions for the day, is the night before.
a ) Appraise our goals for tomorrow – identify the tasks needed to achieve the goals. This grants your unconscious mind the freedom to start working whilst you are sleeping, uninterrupted.
b ) Appraise your wins and your challenges from today – very often when we do this, we are able to learn how we might have done things a little differently. Having created distance from the day’s events we are able to look at our challenges a little more objectively.
c ) Practice Gratitude – This serves as a reminder to our busy minds that we have so much to be thankful for. Just a couple of minutes each evening, taking stock, gives us the positive frame of mind we need for a more restful night’s sleep. It slows the mind and allows us the space our mind needs.
What habits should we introduce ?
Well, understandably, that depends on what our goals are :
Perhaps you want to lose weight? I suggest that you build in a regular exercise regime and eat healthily plan. Also one simple, yet powerful habit is to start drinking 2 litres of water a day.
Do you want a calmer mind? It is hugely advantageous to practice meditation and gratitude on a daily basis. Don’t forget the healthy body and healthy mind link, a regular exercise regime would also help here. Perhaps you can go for a walk after you have dropped the kids off at school or during your lunch break. Fresh air works wonders for a busy or troubled mind.
As we know – all habits are built from repetition – and in the early days this might be a challenge, it’s easy to forget. So why not set alarms on your phone to remind yourself to do what needs to be done? Use these auditory triggers to remind you, and very soon you will realise that you have built up another productive habit and that you are beginning to create your very own framework for success.
So if you are feeling stuck or need help in identifying how you can move forward – give me a call – I can help.
Much Love 💕
