Top Ten Things Successful People Do Differently
Top Ten Things Successful People Do Differently
- Be specific! Knowing exactly what you want to achieve gives you a better idea of what success looks like. For instance, “lose weight” or “sleep more” are vague. What specifically do you want?
- Seize the moment to act on your goals! We’re busy folks and it’s easy to not find the time to act on goals. Decide when and where you will take action you want to take, specifically. For instance, work out Monday, Wednesday and Friday before work for 30 minutes. Studies show this helps your brain to detect and seize the opportunity when it arises, increasing your chances of success by about 300%!
- Monitor your progress. Know exactly how far you have to go and adjust accordingly. Check your progress honestly and frequently–weekly, or even daily, depending on the specific goal.
- Be a realistic optimist. Engage in lots of positive thinking regarding how likely you are to achieve a specific goal. Believe in your ability to achieve! Don’t underestimate how difficult it will be though. Any worthwhile goal requires effort.
- Focus on getting better, rather than being good. Most of us believe we are what we are and can’t change that so we focus on goals that prove that. Our belief in fixed ability is just wrong. You can change and reach your full potential! Enjoy the ride in developing and acquiring new skills.
- Have grit. Grit makes all the difference in any challenging situation. Effort, planning, persistence, and good strategies are what it really takes to succeed. Embracing this knowledge will not only help you see yourself and your goals more accurately, but also do wonders for your grit.
- Build your willpower muscle. Build up your self-control muscle by exercising it regularly. Start with one activity you’d rather not do and plan how you will deal with roadblocks. For instance, when you get a sugar craving, eat a piece of fruit. Over time, your muscle will grow and it will get easier.
- Don’t tempt fate! Don’t overtax your willpower muscle. For instance, by dieting and quitting smoking at once. Don’t make reaching a goal harder than it is by being overly confident in your ability to resist temptation. Pace yourself! Be kind.
- Focus on what you will do, not what you won’t do. If you’re planning to stop a bad habit, focus on what you will do instead of the bad habit. For instance, if you’re working to control your temper, you might make a plan like “If I am starting to feel angry, then I will take three deep breaths to calm down.” Plan your replacements in advance.
- Review and celebrate successes, even small ones. Often highly successful people focus on what’s not done, nothing is ever good enough. List all your positive steps to get a sense of progress. It will help keep you from getting discouraged.