The habits that will help you transition to your next level of success
I’ve read a lot about habits and morning routines. Many successful entrepreneurs on YouTube talk about their habits and routines from the perspective of someone who started their journey 5 or 10 years ago, who is killing it on social media, and doesn’t need to work anymore.
That’s all good and inspiring but not practical advice for someone who is in a 9 to 5 and just getting started in their entrepreneurial path, or just trying to find ways to get ahead in life, have more time to spend with their loved ones and looking for ways to earn more while working less. One of the gurus that I listen to, talks about a 4 hour workday. Well, that’s still the dream, at the moment I still do twice as much. But it won’t be for long.
If you are feeling like you had enough of not having enough and not doing what you want to do, whether that is traveling more or having more time to do whatever you fancy, and have decided that this year some things need to change, then keep reading.
Don’t worry, I am not going to tell you the typical advice:
- You just need to work harder
- Find your passion
- Focus on your strengths
- Keep practicing
- Don’t give up
- Be grateful
Don’t get me wrong, I’m hoping that you already are following all of the above because those are the fundamental bases to stop living an average life. You can’t go wrong with that philosophy.
BUT that is only the beginning. I know many hardworking people who are broke and some who have plenty of money but are unfulfilled.
Tony Robbins says: Progress = Happiness
I say: When we stop making progress we start to die inside.
Why do we need habits for success and routines? Can we not just experience life as it comes? Sure we can, but that’s like gambling with our future. We hope to get lucky and get happy. Unfortunately, the chances are so small that I’m not prepared to take the risk.
When you build habits for success, you achieve your goals, you build systems and structure. You can see what works and can change what doesn’t. You feel organised and on purpose. You make progress and grow.
On the other hand, if you experience a lack of purpose and have no clear goals, you may feel constantly bored, demotivated, or empty. This will affect all of your relationships, on a personal and a professional level, and you will start to wonder what the point of life is. You will struggle to find enjoyment and could end up feeling depressed.
I’ve always been very much afraid of falling into a depression crisis. It happened to me once when I was younger: I got depressed. Spent days in pyjamas, not wanting to leave the room and not interested in anything, not even in food. I lost a lot of weight and had suicidal thoughts. The doctor gave me tablets that kept me in a daze. When I told him that I was feeling sleepy and lethargic all day long, he said: take only a quarter of a tablet. I thought to myself: What am I doing? What will happen if I continue taking a medication that creates addiction and does not cure my depression? That day I stopped taking those tablets and never again I have allowed myself to do the things that depressed people do.
This is also the reason why I don’t like to use any negative labels for me or for the people I love because the minute you label yourself as having some special condition, you will start acting like the people who have that condition, even if they then discover that it was a wrong diagnosis!
Back to the habits that will get you to your next level of success, Jim Rohn said:
Motivation is what gets you started, habit is what keeps you going.
To have motivation and establish the right habits, you need clarity. So here you have the strategies that I have tested:
- Decide what you want to achieve and why you want it. This will involve creating a vision of the future you desire, in detail. Define what’s meaningful to you and spend time mentally rehearsing that vision.
- Generate energy. It takes a lot of energy to succeed over the long haul. When your energy is low so it is your overall happiness and enthusiasm for taking on new challenges. Low energy also lowers your confidence in the face of adversity, you feel less successful than your peers and less able to influence others, you are more likely to get ill, eat poorly and not exercise or care for your appearance. Here you have 20 strategies to generate energy.
- Set an intention for every conversation. This is about deciding in advance how you want to be perceived by others in every interaction and how you want to feel about yourself when the event is over.
- Identify the skills gap between what you need to know and where you are. Here you have to find ways to develop those skills and practice them at the same time. You will have to learn new things but be aware: reading is not learning. Watching videos or listening to podcasts is not learning. You only learn when you can apply the knowledge gained.
- Set clear milestones for measuring your progress. In 5 or 10 years, in one year, one month, one week from now.
Go!
Finally, remember, it’s not just about the destination; it’s about the journey and the habits that shape it. Stay committed, stay focused, and watch how these habits propel you to your next level of success. The power lies within you, fueled by motivation, sustained by habit, and guided by the clarity you’ve cultivated. Now, go out there and make your success story a reality!
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