“Depending on what they are, our habits will either make us or break us. We become what we repeatedly do.” – Sean Covey
Human beings are creatures of habits, and habits are nothing more than the repetition of ideas/beliefs that we continuously keep feeding our subconscious minds.
Our subconscious mind does not know if the idea we are presenting is beneficial or harmful to us.
If the latter statement is true, it becomes crucial that we understand what we are feeding our subconscious mind.
So here are the 10 habits you can adopt to set yourself apart from the rest and be the top 1% of the population.
Habit #1. Become Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired
– Awareness is the key. You have to be aware that you are not happy where you are currently in your life for the change to happen.
If you get that “sick feeling’ in your gut when you think of your present, then it is time for you to ditch your old self and go after a new one.
If you are not tired enough of your present circumstances, the initial motivation will be short-lived.
To put it in the simplest term, your current “pain” should be far more than the pain you will face along the way to achieving your goal.
Habit #2. Stop Living in the Past. Let Go of Your Old Stories
– You have already paid the price once for past mistakes. You do not have to keep paying the price.
You have a choice to either keep reliving the past mistakes or let go of your old stories.
Neither one of them requires more effort than the other. When you keep living in the past, then that becomes your reality, your identity.
Plus, when you keep living in the past, you remain stuck. Whereas when you embrace your past mistakes, not only it makes you wiser, but it also allows you to grow.
Look at your past mistakes optimistically. Look at it as a cameo in your life’s story. Your past mistakes probably taught you a lesson that you probably will avoid in the future.
Habit #3. Decide What You Want
– Decide what you want to achieve and be specific about your goal. Do not just say I want “more money.”
If you walk down the street and find a dollar bill, you have a dollar more than before. Is that your definition of “more money”?
Do not say I want to “lose weight!”
If you lose a pound in a whole year, then you have lost weight compared to before. Is that your definition of “lose weight”?
Being specific is very important because it gives you the “known target.”
Just like when you are travel from point A to point B, you plan out your route, your pit stops, and your accommodation, plan your steps to reach your “definite aim in life.”
Habit #4. Make a Decision Quickly but Change it Slowly
– Napoleon Hill said, “Successful people of the past and the present make a decision quickly but rarely change it if any.”
We, humans, are always looking for instant gratification, especially nowadays with social media.
If we decide to lose weight, we follow a diet and exercise plan for few weeks. If the result does not show in few weeks, then we move on to the next goal.
So instead of jumping from one goal to another, do yourself a favor; once you decide to change one of your habits, stick to that decision for long enough.
Habit #5. Stop Defining Yourself by Other People’s Standards
– Other people have not experienced what you have. They have not lived your life, and neither do they own your life. Other people do not know your potential. So, stop letting other people define your standards.
Sometimes when we feel like stretching and getting out of our comfort zone, our loved ones will quickly warn us of our potential failure.
The concern may be coming from a good heart, but that concern hurts your personal growth.
If you feel like your friends and loved ones will criticize your dream, let your result speak your potential. Do not share your dreams and goals with your close friends and loved ones if you think they may not understand you.
Habit #6. Stop Looking for Other People’s Validation
– Something that is right for you may not be right for someone else. Your success does not require other people’s validation. If you have a purpose in your life and know your calling, then go for it.
For example, I always desired to write a blog and help others, but I always looked for validation from my loved ones. I was afraid to be ridiculed and perhaps made fun of if I failed in getting this message to others.
Once I made up my mind and stopped looking for validation, I went for my calling. It does not matter if anyone will read these messages. This message will eventually reach out to the people who need to follow their life purpose.
Habit #7. Become Comfortable Being Uncomfortable
– Most of us do not like to get out of our comfort zone because there is always this fear of the unknown and fear of failure. But this same comfort level is stunting your growth in every area of your life.
People are not afraid of the darkness; instead, they are afraid of the light. If people knew their potential, then they would stop being comfortable in their current state.
If you have read about me, you will notice how much I have achieved in my life, and it was not because I am any more intelligent than anybody else. I have an attitude of “I want to see what my potential is.”
Once you start hitting the majority of your goals, the process becomes addictive. Almost as if you want to see what is your “ceiling.”
You may meet with temporary defeat along the way, but that does not mean you are a failure. Just thank the Universe for the experience, learn from your mistakes, modify your plan, and keep moving on.
You have already spent time and energy; you might as well keep on moving and avoid slipping back into your comfort zone. Earl Nightingale told us the secret of success in life, and he defined that success in just one word –attitude! What is your attitude towards life? Is it that of pessimist or optimist?
Habit #8. Take the First Step, Follow, and Trust the Unknown
– Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase. Just take the first step.”
There will never be a “perfect time” to start taking action. To put things in momentum, you have to take the first step and keep on moving.
Like when we drive at night, we cannot see our destination, but we see few miles ahead of us. We follow the path knowing that the way will eventually lead us to our set destination.
If you have a set goal in your mind, then go ahead and take the first step. When you meet with a temporary resistance because of a lack of knowledge or resources, then resolve that along the way
You cannot be sitting there and think to yourself, “I need to know everything before I venture out to achieve my goal.” In reality, you will never know everything about a particular subject.
For instance, when I started this blog, I learned a lot along the way (building a website, hosting a website, writing blog posts,…). I had zero knowledge about this subject before this.
Habit #9. Hang Around with Like-Minded People
– If you want to know what your future will look like, then take the inventory of people around you. The people around you are pretty much the reflection of your own belief.
If you want to be successful in business, you need to find someone who has already done what you want and follow the footprints.
Hanging around with like-minded people not only makes you succeed but also keeps you focused and motivated because you all share a similar goal.
If you are a health-conscious person, you would not be hanging around those who do not believe in being health conscious. It just does not make any sense. Now, does it?
Habit #10. Persevere Until You Reach Goal
– It would be much easier to achieve every goal you set if you quit the habit of changing the goal. Make it a habit to follow through until you reach success.
It is easy to give up at the first sign of failure. However, if you persist long enough, then you will eventually achieve your goal.
Perseverance means continuing to take a small step towards your goal after the initial rush of adrenaline wears off.
The fine example we see people not persevering long enough is at the beginning of the New Year. Supposedly we need a reset point in our life to either start anew or become better than last year.
Most of us will start taking actions towards our “new year resolution,” but the minute the adrenaline wears off and life starts getting in the way, we slack off and go back to our old habits!
Yes, there will be days when you do not feel like working towards your set goals, but this is where you set yourself apart from the rest.
Even though it is a minor action, just make sure you take that small step towards your goal because it will keep the momentum going.
On the contrary, if you quit halfway, then not only do you risk setting yourself for old habits, but it also affects your self-esteem to a certain extent.
You start defining yourself as a failure, inconsistent, or just not good enough (which is not true).
Conclusion
Life is full of surprises! When we came into this world, we did not come with an operating manual. We are who we are because of the things we experienced in our life.
We are the product of our environment. Along the way, we accepted other people’s opinions about us and made it our identity.
However, we are unaware that we don’t have to keep living the life we do not want. We have the power to change our old set beliefs and habits.
