Having strong habits are important to building your foundation for success. When you have success-building habits, failure doesn’t scare you and setbacks won’t stop you.
Do your habits encourage your growth or hold you back? How can you develop the type of habits that will promote your positive intentions?
Habits That Destroy You
You may have a string of habits that you perform daily, but do they help you move forward?
When most people think of habits, they think of the good habits. On the other hand, there are habits that destroy your progress.
Eating unhealthy food or frivolously spending your money are examples of bad habits. These habits will lead you down a destructive path that will be difficult to recover from. Once you’re in an environment that favors a bad routine, it becomes comfortable to be there.
If you want to be lazy, broke and unintelligent, you’re on the right path. Otherwise, bad habits will stunt your potential. You’ll end up in a negative setting that discourages positive thinking. It’s best to turn those bad habits around, before they become too hard to break.
Constructive Habits
Constructive habits are the good habits – they reward you with success. You take actions that force you towards your intended outcome.
Exercising regularly, saving your money and studying your craft are examples of constructive habits. These habits offer you a chance at achieving your goals.
Instant gratification is not a result of performing constructive habits. If you save money today, you won’t be rich tomorrow. It’s a process that requires patience and dedication.
Most people give up because they don’t see results right away. It’s the same with bad habits – you don’t eat junk food one time and the next day, you’re overweight. It takes time to build a foundation, whether good or bad.
Success-Building Habits
Habits contribute heavily to the outcome of you goals. If you want to be successful at anything, you must perform success-building habits.
Your thinking is the foundation for supporting successful habits. It’s impossible to have negative thoughts and expect a positive outcome. Your mindset is where it all begins, so you must think in a productive manner. If you want to achieve your goal, your thoughts have to support it.
Building success habits also requires repetition. As mentioned before, doing a habit once will not create an automatic result. Repetition is key. Eat healthy for 30 days and you will see improvements with your body. Save money for 30 days and you will see an increase in your bank account.
Create Your Desired Results
By creating your success-building habits now, you will gain more control over your life.
Be responsible and be the example. Instead of waiting for things to happen, be proactive and make it happen. Take ownership of your circumstances and guide your plan to accomplishing your goals.
Having success-building habits can only make things better for you. It promotes action, it helps with overcoming procrastination and it gives you confidence to destroy your self-doubt.
You have a choice: you can be stuck for the rest of your life and live as a victim, or, you can pull yourself up and become what you envision. Choose dedication and begin creating your success-building habits today!
Discipline is a word that successful people are comfortable with, but for others, it’s a Debbie Downer. Having self-discipline allows you to stay ten steps ahead of those future obstacles and challenges.
It takes discipline to achieve any goal, whether you’re a toddler learning to walk, or an adult getting in shape. It may sound repetitive and boring, but that’s where your achievement lives and if you want it bad enough, you’ll use discipline to get you there.
Instant Gratification
The opposite of being disciplined is indulging in instant gratification. Instant gratification is nothing more than doing what feels good in the moment.
Eating cake feels good in the moment, but if you have too many of those moments, you’ll gain weight, among other things. Once you start noticing the outcome, it’s not so gratifying anymore.
We all want to feel good in every moment, but a lot of times, it doesn’t turn out good in the end. Too much of anything isn’t good for you, so you have to be mindful and consider what’s more beneficial in the long run – eating cake all day and feeling crummy, or replacing it with an apple and feeling vibrant?
Yes, it sounds like a buzz kill, but when you experience the results that you thought were impossible, it feels awesome! Discipline turns some people off because they can’t see an immediate change, but all you need is a strong focus and determination to reach your desired outcome.
The person who decides to save a dollar a day, will benefit more financially down the road, than the one who decides to spend a dollar day. Not only will they be in a better financial position in the future, they will also have developed a mindset of discipline.
Discipline Is A Major Advantage
When your friends want to go out and have a good time every Friday and Saturday night, that’s instant gratification. When you make the choice to stay home and work on your side business, that’s discipline.
Who doesn’t want to have a good time on the weekends? You deserve it, right? Who wants to stay in the house, working on their future all the time?
Spending most of your paycheck as soon as you get it is not the move. It feels good over the weekend, but when Monday comes, you’re back to where you started. Having discipline will take care of that ‘back to rock bottom’ feeling.
Discipline is not sexy. It’s not the fun or hip thing to do. As boring as it seems, it’s the best tool you can use to prepare for the best results of any goal in mind.
Drinking water everyday, or putting money aside for unexpected emergencies can be hard at first, but the more you do it, the easier it becomes. Drinking water for two weeks will show the glow in your skin and the energy in your step. Having money saved for those little emergencies won’t blow your bank account back to zero. Being disciplined is a major advantage.
Discipline Gives The Best Rewards
If you’re not used to making small sacrifices in order to meet your achievements, take it one step at a time. The most important thing to do is start.
You don’t have to save $500 every week – start with $10. You don’t have to start doing cardio an hour a day – start with 10 minutes and build. That’s how you develop discipline and eventually, dominate life.
Discipline gives you the best rewards. No one can be their best without practicing some form of self-control. We all want to live our lives on a beach, not worrying about money or going to a job we hate every morning. In order to do what you want to do, you must do what you have to do. It’s going to take time and a strong, consistent effort, but that’s discipline.
When you master self-discipline, you grant yourself more options and opportunities. Take hold of your future by building your discipline, today.
Going through different situations can be hard when you’re not responsible. Being proactive with your life should be a priority. When you have your ducks in a row, it makes life a little bit easier to deal with.
Life can throw a curve ball at any moment and you want to be ready when it does. We can’t anticipate everything that will go wrong, but we can do enough to keep it from working against us.
Being Responsible Is Not That Difficult
Everyone isn’t raised to be responsible. Some of us were raised (into adulthood) to be dependent upon others for whatever we need. Buying the latest tech gadgets and clothes with your money, but asking other people to ‘help’ pay your living expenses, is as irresponsible as you can get.
Look around you – you can see the effects of being irresponsible. Not paying your parking tickets? Your car will be towed. Haven’t payed your rent in 3 months? You will be evicted. Didn’t pay your phone bill? It will get cut off.
It’s not a surprise – you know what will happen when you don’t follow through with certain things. These are consequences that you are fully aware of.
If you take care of your business and pay these (and other things) on time, you won’t have to deal with the drama of late fees, other bad outcomes and harsh results.
Money Has A Lot To Do With It
If you noticed, the scenarios I just mentioned all have to do with money. Not all, but most circumstances have to do with money and can be proactively avoided.
Yes, situations happen out of no where. Your water heater stops working or you have a flat tire. It’s a pain, but these things can be efficiently handled if you have your ducks in a row.
Everyone can spend their money the way they want to, but when you have to constantly borrow ‘a little something’ until you get paid, there’s an issue that needs to be addressed.
What does a financially responsible individual look like? At the very least, have a checking and a savings account. Your checking account is for everyday expenses and bills. Your savings account is for saving your money for when that water heater stops working or you have that flat tire.
Depend On Yourself
We were put on this Earth to help each other, but not to be taken advantage of. Being independent says a lot about your integrity and who you are as a person.
Depending on other people only invites more drama into your life (and theirs). You have to ask them for something, then you have to see if they’ll help you. If they do, then you have to wait for them to help because they don’t get paid until Friday…it can be a mess and a huge hassle to go through. It’s uncomfortable for everybody.
That’s why it’s good to be independent. When you have your ducks in a row, you can do things on your terms and when you feel like it. You never have to wait on anyone for help – you can do things at your own convenience. Being independent works to your advantage.
The World Keeps Turning
When unfortunate things happen in our lives, the world keeps turning. Nothing and no one stops for you, just because you’re in a bind, whether you created it, or not.
Most of the things that happen, we can prevent. Pay your bills on time. Maintain a good credit score to avoid high interest rates. Exercise and eat healthy. Stop being surprised when something bad happens, due to your lack of attention and effort.
Get your ducks in a row, no matter how young or old you are. Your life is your responsibility, no matter what circumstances you were born into. You have the ability to become anything you want to be – it’s in your control. You can simply start by being responsible and independent.
Being successful doesn’t happen all at once – you have to practice getting better. Accomplishing your goal takes time and energy. The process seems long, but if you do a little bit everyday, you’ll gain more ground and improve more than you originally thought.
Be careful about what you put into your mind and body and know how to handle your money. “What do you mean Goalden Lady?” Let’s break it down below:
Be Better, Mentally
Your mind is constantly at work . It’s always busy thinking, putting sentences together, recalling memories, following directions – it’s a nonstop, active roller coaster.
It’s easy to let garbage enter your mind. Once it’s there, it takes over your thought patterns and logical reasoning. Things like gossip websites and TV shows – you want to be aware of the type of content you process, especially when going out into the world.
Some things you encounter when you’re out and about, is (a lot of times) negative. If you think you can’t do anything about it, think again.
Read motivational and inspirational blogs and articles. Listen to podcasts that force you to think constructively. Network with people who share the same productive interests as you.
When you grow your mind, you grow your life.
Be Better, With Your Health
Being healthy is important, but we treat it like we can order a new body on Amazon if we damage the one we have. At the moment, it’s impossible, so let’s be good to the one you have, now.
Eat a healthy diet. It’s the same concept with your mind – if you put garbage into your body, you will get garbage out through low energy levels, stress and disease.
When you eat better, you’ll feel better. Who wouldn’t want that? We base our diets on what tastes good, as opposed to what is good for our bodies. Some diseases can be prevented, just by adjusting what you eat.
The point of food is to give you energy, not to taste good. Consult a nutritionist to see what diet works best for you. You’re worth the investment.
Be Better, With Your Wealth
People say money is not important, but in some cases, it is. The world operates on money – if you don’t use it wisely, you’ll always be a step (or five) behind.
No matter how much you make, always save something. It doesn’t have to be $500 – it could be anything. We tend to think that we need to have a huge amount all at once, before we save it and that’s not the case.
You can save $1 a day and you would still have more in 30 days than you had before. Start somewhere, but more importantly, be consistent with it. When life’s emergencies happen (and they will), you’ll be prepared to handle them better, than if you had nothing.
How To Be Better, Everyday
Understand that no one falls on top of the mountain. Some people are born with a greater advantage than others, but that doesn’t matter. You can still make the choice to do better.
Start and do a little everyday. Watch a documentary about your hobby, drink a glass of water, save $5 whenever you can – just start and remain persistent.
When you do a little each day, you create a valuable habit that will help you in the future. After 6 months, you’ll be smarter, healthier and wealthier than you were before!
This is how you become better – brick by brick. A house won’t appear out of thin air, you must build it daily and every brick counts.
When you look back on it, you’ll be glad you started when you did. Create your own path, be resourceful and follow through. Be confident and know that you will make it happen.
There are little hints that occur in life when you’re headed towards positive growth. It’s important to recognize, because you are becoming a more responsible and courageous person.
It takes guts to come into these positive changes – everyone doesn’t experience this ‘change’ at the same time. For some, they never experience it at all.
Here are 5 signs that shows you are headed towards that change in your life.
Positive Growth Happens When…
You’re money conscious. Most of the time, this happens after you become independent and start to take care of yourself without anyone’s help. Five dollars isn’t the same when you have to earn it for yourself. Also, you begin looking into different ways to make more money, or passive income. Should you rent or buy? Invest in stocks or real estate? 401(k) or Roth IRA? These options become more meaningful as you start to think long term and consider your financial future.
Your social circle has expanded. You have outgrown some of your old friends. The things you used to do are no longer captivating. You start to explore on another level, as you are motivated and inspired. Seminars and conferences are on your schedule and you actually enjoy attending them. Your old set of friends will say you’ve changed or you think you’re better than them, but that’s their insecurities talking. You’re not only growing, you’re challenging yourself and you like it.
Excuses bother you tremendously. When you hear someone give a lame excuse at work, or in general, it irks you. When you’re growing, you see excuses as distractions. Making up excuses for everything is childish and lazy. At a certain point in life, you just want to focus on getting things done and making progress. Making and correcting mistakes along the way is what leads to results, not excuses.
You make time for your goals and hobbies. All of a sudden, you begin to acknowledge the things you want to do, as if they were brand new ideas. A plan is put in place to accommodate your goals and hobbies. It’s no longer just a dream or something they do on TV, it’s something you want to work on and achieve. Even if others don’t agree with it or like it, it doesn’t matter – this is something you want to do and you’re going to find a way to do it.
Your perspective has shifted.Mindset is everything. How you think about various situations has changed. Personal development has become a priority in your life, because you have recognized your potential. This leads to adjusting the way you think and how you see things. You’re aware that everything doesn’t deserve your energy, so you’re careful with how you respond.
BONUS: Your life isn’t guided by fear. Fear is a very powerful thing. Sometimes, we allow fear to direct the way we live our lives. As you grow, fear takes a backseat. There’s no time to be fearful – you have obstacles to overcome and goals to accomplish. Courage has replaced fear and you have become full of confidence.
Productivity Encourages A Better You
It’s an exciting time when entering a new phase of your life, especially when it promotes personal growth. Friends and family can make you feel bad about it, because you’re changing and they want you to stay the same, but there’s nothing to feel bad about – growth is happening and you’re becoming more productive!
Always bet on yourself. No one else can live your life for you. Instead of believing what someone else says is impossible for you, go out of your way to make it possible. Make those dreams come true and those ideas stick.
This is your life and you have the power to create it. Don’t let anyone discourage you from being the success that you want to be.
After all of the holiday feasts and family get-togethers, what’s next?
Usually, this is the time where people start to get into their New Year’s plans and resolutions. Year after year, it’s the same pattern.
There’s nothing wrong with a little tradition, but how about making a new personal development tradition?
No one has to know, but you. There are some people who get a little weird when you mention self-help or personal development, but if you have a supportive circle of friends, you can all do it together.
Here’s the big question you want to answer: “Where do I see myself, this time, next year?”
It may sound like another way to create a resolution, but this is for life, not just a few months. This involves your mindset, health, and wealth.
We are capable of working on more than one thing at a time. There’s a time to focus on all three at different times throughout the day.
In the morning and at night, focus on your mindset. When you wake up in the morning, guide your mind into positive thoughts. Think about what you want to accomplish that day and how it will successfully unfold. In the evening, think about how your day went and how you can improve or make it better. Read something that inspires you to be your best. This will set into your subconscious before you fall asleep and gear your thoughts towards positive action.
Before you have a meal, focus on your health. Don’t overthink your eating habits. Plain and simple, eat food that will give you energy and avoid food that makes you feel tired. We all know what’s not good for us, so to start, make a change with every meal. Switch out a slice of cake for an orange, or potato chips for celery. It may be a far stretch from what you’re used to, but start small to work your way towards better eating habits. It’s hard to do because some food tastes really good, but think about your future. You have nothing without good health.
Mind your money and watch your wealth. It seems like every wealthy person always had money, but some of them had to start from the bottom. Pay yourself first, with every paycheck. This doesn’t mean buy things and have a great time, it means put money aside for emergencies. Living paycheck to paycheck is stressful and painful. Help yourself by setting aside a set amount every time you get paid. Make it a habit. It may seem small at first, but over time, it builds up into a good amount. Now, when you have an emergency, you don’t have to wait for the next paycheck and put off other bills to accommodate it – you’ll already have it to fix the problem.
This is just a start to many things you can do towards your personal development. The biggest challenge is to actually start.
Everyone always starts on a Monday or on New Year’s Day, but you can start in the middle of the week if you want to. The “I’ll start on Monday” excuses will trickle down to the end of the year if you let it.
The only way you will achieve any goal, is to start. It doesn’t have to be a parade before you start, just do it! The next meal you have, pick a healthy substitution for one thing on your plate. The next time you’re in the car, listen to a podcast involving your goal. The next time you get your change back from a purchase, collect the change in a jar (if you’re using a debit card, have your bank put the extra change into a savings account for you).
It doesn’t matter, just start! Excuses will only keep you in the same place, this time next year.
Make a commitment to yourself. The best investment you can make is in your self improvement. Once that becomes a daily habit, everything else will fall into place. You’ll be a better version of yourself, this time, next year and for years to come.
As a senior in college, I had three jobs. Two jobs were paid and one was an internship. As a full-time college student, there was a lot on my plate.
I went to school Monday through Friday. I worked during the week and on the weekends, as well. It was a nonstop schedule, but I liked the challenge of making it work.
Back then, my energy wasn’t a problem. You wouldn’t hear the words, “I’m tired,” come from my mouth. We were college students, who had time to be tired?
When I went out with friends, I always had money – my money. I never had to wait on my parents to send me money or bug them about it. With two paying jobs, I was financially set (at least as a college student).
I had to plan my time carefully. There wasn’t any room for forgetful mistakes. Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I went to class from 8am to 2pm. Afterwards, I would do homework and catch the bus by 4pm to go to work.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I had classes from 8am to 11am. I would go to my internship from noon to 4pm.
After work during the week, I would go to the library and study from 9pm until it closed at midnight.
On Saturday and Sunday, I worked from noon to 6pm. This was my schedule for an entire year.
Fast Forward To Now
When I think back on how I managed it all, it amazes me. If you asked me to do that same schedule today, it would surely be a challenge.
Things have changed over the years. Since technology has made most things easier, it seems as though life should become easier.
Instead of physically going to three jobs, seven days a week, I probably could’ve worked from my dorm on a computer. Maybe, instead of waiting for the bus, I could’ve called Uber. Going to the bank to deposit my check could have been replaced with direct deposit.
All of these things could have saved me energy, money and time. It sounds easy in theory, but we still have a tough time with these things today.
Making the Most Out of Your Energy, Money and Time
Your energy, money and time are the most important habits to develop in life. Not only can distractions take up your time and drain your energy, if you’re not careful, it can cost you money, too.
Being responsible with your energy, time and money can be beneficial. Everything you do in life, at some point, will intersect with at least one of these qualities. Having low energy, no money and no sense of time, will stall any progress you intend to make.
Also, it sets a solid foundation for your work ethic. It allows you to be dependable, trustworthy and responsible. You’ll have the ability to take on any situation, in a professional manner.
All of these qualities don’t happen on their own. Like anything else, it will take discipline and focus to reach your desired results. As you practice these skills, it will give you the confidence towards building a better you.
3 Things You Never Want To Waste
As you get older, you’ll learn there are 3 things that will slip away from you, if you aren’t careful.
Energy
Having the ability to do something for a period of time, without easily being worn down, is energy. There is physical energy and mental energy.
The good thing about both types of energy, is that it can be replenished. If you become tired, all you need to do is rest or get some sleep. Like a cell phone, you’ll charge back up and be ready to go!
You’ll want to direct your energy towards the most important things throughout the day. We experience peak energy times at various points and should take advantage of them.
Eating healthy and exercise contributes to our energy levels. Food is fuel for the body. Sometimes, we can get sidetracked by how good something tastes and indulge a little too much. This is what slows us down in our day-to-day actions.
Food is meant to give us energy. It helps to carry us through the day, even when stress is present.
Mental energy can be regulated, as well. When it comes to making decisions, our mental energy can easily become depleted. Routines and rituals can help preserve your mental energy for more difficult decisions.
Protecting your mind from negative energy is a habit that demands constant practice. It gives you a chance to improve and to become the ultimate thought leader.
Money
Being attentive to your finances will serve you well in life. The earlier you learn to control your money, the better off you’ll be.
People have different opinions about money. Some view it in a negative way, while others see the opportunity it can provide.
Money is versatile. It has the ability to support your lifestyle and to help you achieve goals. No matter how you see it, money is a resource that could help or harm any situation. In this book, we will learn how to manage it for our benefit.
The good thing about money is, if you lose it, you can always make more. As long as you apply the knowledge that guided you in the first place, you should never be broke.
Time
Time is the only resource that cannot be replaced. You can rest to restore your energy and you can replace money by working. No matter what you do, time cannot be captured, nor recovered.
The only way you can rewind or fast forward time is on a recording. It is a measurement that keeps going at a steady pace everyday, yet, it never stops.
We all depend on time. From the moment we wake up, to the moment we fall asleep, there are countless responsibilities that need to be handled. Without it, we wouldn’t be nearly as productive.
People always tend to put things off until tomorrow. Think of how much time has been wasted, every time we say that. Time doesn’t consist of ‘rollover minutes.’ Once it’s over, there’s no way to get it back. Therefore, we should learn how to use it wisely.
These are the 3 things that will carry you through all aspects of life, from beginning to end. Depending on how you respond, these habits will determine how easy or hard your journey will be.
We’ve all heard people say:
“I wish I had more energy.”
“I wish I had more money.”
“I wish I had more time.”
This doesn’t have to be you. Learn how to maximize your energy, money and time. The earlier you learn this, the better off you’ll be. Even if you’re older, you can still learn how to save it all.
Once you get these 3 habits down to a science, your quality of life will improve. The foundation you are building will make you mentally and physically stronger, financially capable and mindfully conscious. You will become the person you’ve always wanted to be.
Let’s start your journey.
Excerpt from the personal development series, “Help! I’m Stuck: How To Increase Your Energy, Master Your Money and Control Your Time.”
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