Success Habits

Do you realize how powerful the habits in your life are?

The habits in our lives are incredibly powerful.  We tend to ignore them because they form automatically and then they continue unless they build up enough momentum to cause a problem.  

For example, we go away to college and start eating unhealthy food which continues well past our college years.  We spend money on things we want but not things that will build wealth.  We even deliberately distract ourselves while on the road with radio, cell phones, and food.  

What most of us fail to grasp is the incredible power the habits in our lives have over us.  If you want to know what someone will be like in 10 years, just look at their current habits.  Todays habits determine tomorrow’s version of us.

I read a statistic that said it is estimated that up to 90% of our daily lives are controlled by our habits.  That means that most of the things that we do are actually habitual behaviors that formed automatically.  We made a one-time decision and then made it again and again until we suddenly have a habit that we don’t even think about.  This could be as simple as getting dressed or as complex as the way we communicate with family during a crisis.  

The good news is that we can create new habits or change our current habits using the same process that forms all habits.  We can make a better choice today and then make it again tomorrow and do it until it becomes automatic.  

To do this means following the principles of habits and starting with easy, simple steps.  Don’t spend too much time trying to create complex actions.  Instead focus on simple things that you can do.  Once you master the simple habit, then add to it systematically until you find yourself in control of your life.

Robert Ringer, author of Million Dollar Habits said, “Success is a matter of understanding and religiously  practicing specific, simple habits that always lead to success.”  Start to look at those around you that are successful.  Most likely you will see a highly leveraged skill, talent, characteristic, or competitive advantage combined with the habits to maximize their impact.  

What most people don’t realize is that our simple decisions form our habits.  Then our habits determine our outcomes.  Finally the outcomes determine who we are.  

If you want different outcomes you have to first focus on the simple decisions and the habit.  Don’t waste time fantasizing about the preferred outcome or trying to force yourself to simply believe it to be true.  Instead focus on the actions and behaviors and break them down into simple steps.  Then continue to do the simple steps until they become habit.  

Once they become habit you will start to see results.  The outcomes will be much more powerful for changing your mindset than simply trying to convince yourself that you are worthy or understand the mysterious law of attraction.  Witnessing the change is the most powerful way for you to believe that it can be done.

I don’t think our thoughts determine who we are as much as our actions and behaviors determine who we are.  We can think we are a nice person but it is more powerful to constantly do the right things and help others around us.  The action is more powerful and without it, it simply isn’t true.

Jack Canfield, author of The Success Principles, says “Your habits determine your outcomes.  Successful people don’t just drift to the top.  Getting there requires focused action, personal discipline, and lots of energy every day to make things happen.  The habits you develop from this day forward will ultimately determine how your future unfolds.”

This is a very powerful message and very empowering.  You can become exactly who you want to become.  Start small and focus on building a few simple, positive habits. Once it is a habit in your life it won’t take much focus so you can then move on to build better and better habits.  It is very powerful and will start to drive you towards success!