Contrary to the popular belief systems surrounding the topic of success, there is no ‘secret sauce’ ingredient in the recipe of success. As many successful people will tell you, their success in any area is directly attributed to the cultivation of success habits each day. Habits that are consistently practiced no matter how long the journey to a desired outcome takes.
The reason many onlookers believe success has a secret passageway is because very few people experience consistent success on a daily basis. In many instances, the success they do experience is haphazard and sporadic.
These glimmers of success lead most people to conclude that successful people are lucky and endowed with secret gifts only bestowed upon them. Here is the truth that most success booking marketing gurus do not want other people to know. Successful people develop successful habits that are the basis for what they go on to achieve.
While it is true that successful people are afforded more opportunities to participate in unique experiences, it has very little to do with happenstance or being born with unique qualities. In fact, many successful people worked diligently to develop positive habits in order to achieve their goals.
Successful people practice habits that prepare them for forthcoming opportunities. A commonly quoted saying is “when preparation meets opportunity success is inevitable”. No truer words have ever been uttered about success. The success you experience is in direct proportion to the habits you develop.
Habits
The daily habits of successful people are quite simply patterns of behaviour. Many people like to categorize habits as being good or bad. Instead of thinking of habits in this manner, it might be helpful to think of them in a more practical manner. Habits are building blocks for success. On the road to success, your daily habits either help you achieve your goals or prevent you from achieving your goals.
It often takes months or years to form any habit. When a habit is formed, it develops neurological pathways in the brain. These pathways cause habits to become so deeply embedded within the brain that they create automatic responses. This is the reason bad habits are hard to break and good habits are hard to develop.
Four Daily Habits of Successful People
The reality is successful people take the actions that their unsuccessful counterparts are unwilling to take. In addition, they practice daily disciplines or successful habits that set them apart from others. Here are four daily habits of successful people that serve as the building blocks of their success.
1. Successful people wake up early
They have an unshakeable belief that the early bird catches the worm. Although a getting a sufficient amount of rest is a healthy habit, staying in bed until the very last second is an unproductive habit. Successful people realize this so they often go to bed at a reasonable hour in order to get an early start to the next day.
Unless they are on a well-earned vacation, successful people do not habitually sleep late or have breakfast in bed. Benjamin Franklin once said, “Early to bed and early to rise makes a many healthy, wealthy and wise.” So, while other people are in bed dreaming, hoping and wishing for successful outcomes, successful people are achieving their goals and making things happen.
2. Successful people set daily goals
Accomplishing goals takes planning and preparation. Successful people do not just get up each day and wonder what they are going to do. They set daily goals and work on them until they are accomplished.
The power of goal setting has been well-documented by various coaches and thought leaders as one of the best successful habits to develop. When successful people set goals, they create an intention for their businesses or personal lives. This intention serves as a compass for actions to be taken in order to achieve the desired outcomes.
People do not stumble upon successful outcomes. Achievement of any goal is an intentional process that takes strategic planning. Setting goals helps successful people to identify their destination.
3. Successful people hold themselves accountable for their success
In the culture in which we live, making excuses for the lack of success has become an acceptable practice. Unsuccessful people allow limitations and excuses to stop them from achieving any form of success. They often make excuses to compensate for their lack of achievement. By holding on to excuses, unsuccessful people do not hold themselves accountable for their lack of success.
Although there are often valid reasons for not accomplishing goals, successful people do not allow excuses to rob them of achievement. Successful people take action in spite of the limitations and hold themselves accountable for their success. They know that the road to success is only paved with responsibility and positive action not well-meaning excuses.
4. Successful people focus on activities that will help them achieve
The primary difference between a successful person and an unsuccessful person is the actions that are taken. Successful people value their time by completing activities that are in alignment with their goals.
Successful people also develop success habits of planning, preparation and reading. Unsuccessful people often focus on actions that do not bring desired results such watching countless hours of television, surfing the internet and following the lives of famous people. Successful people know that it is actions, not intentions, that pave the way for successful outcomes.
There is enough room at the top for more successful people. Becoming successful requires discipline, a strong work ethic and the development of success habits. By applying these four daily habits of successful people, others can experience success beyond their wildest dreams.
