Successful people make specific choices that enhance their day, making them more capable and productive. `Many successful people`s habits can be appropriated by others and, given the right range of additional factors, can improve your own day and personal capabilities. Here are 11 daily habits of successful people:
- Have a Spontaneous Moment
Our days often feel monotonous, bunched together, robotic; there is a sense of sameness to repeat activities that most of us perform as part of our daily jobs and lives. One way to break through this and to introduce critical freshness is to seek out a spontaneous moment by doing something consciously out of your norm.
- Do a Short Meditation
Many successful people meditate at least once during the day. This takes many different forms`the traditional Buddhist pose is not a fit for everyone`and personally I do it by simply closing my eyes for three full minutes and not thinking at least once every day. It is an act of mental cleansing.
- Make Sure to Exercise
Even if you are incredibly busy, many of the most successful people I know never fail to fit in daily exercise. Exercising daily releases endorphins, which make you happier, and also raises your heart rate and metabolism, which speeds up digestion and makes you more comfortable during the day. Perhaps most importantly, it gives you a period where you can achieve a `state of mindlessness` and deeply relax, which can help cleanse the mind and help you feel better throughout the day.
Exercise is the single best thing you can do for growing your brain, elevating mood, and continuing to learn. Plan your day with a workout in mind and keep the routine. Before work is always a great time to kick start your neurons.
- Call a Friend
Many successful people struggle with constant `role slotting` where, gradually, everyone in their busy lives has to serve a specific purpose: family, employee, or networking contact. Calling a friend`someone who is there for you in a more intrinsic way`can help stave this off, and channel time investment in your relationships.
- Think About What Makes You Lucky
Work, particularly for successful people, is usually immensely stressful. When facing challenges, it becomes very easy to slip into a negative state and focus on what is going wrong. However, this has a negative psychological and physiological impact`and you actually feel worse as a result of it. Thinking positively during parts of each day mitigates this and helps many successful people achieve balance.
- Read
Reading something that interests you helps to keep your brain active without having everything you think about be work-related.` Spend 30 minutes at the beginning of your day reading`whether it`s directly related to work or not.
- Focus on the Family
Successful people can easily become consumed by their work. But the most successful people I know nearly all remain cognizant that work should be a secondary priority to those who provide the most meaning in their lives.
- Listen to Music Upon Waking Up and Before Bedtime
Music is one of the most effective calming agents. Listening to one short song in the morning helps create a sense of serenity to start the day, which trickles throughout, and listening to one at night helps you sleep better.
- Have Time Without Technology
Constantly being hitched to the digital world can be as limiting as it is expansive; it often prevents you from thinking more creatively and seeing the big picture. Spending at least some time every day without any technological devices can help open the mind.
Every day` give yourself 30 minutes of completely uninterrupted time`no email, no mobile, no Apple watch, no meetings, no surprise visitors`so that you can concentrate on a problem, ideate, or riff on an inspiration.
- Keep a gratitude diary.
`Take a minute every day to write down what you're thankful for -- big or small. It's easy to vent about weather, traffic, or job woes, but complaining brings negative energy along with it. Being thankful for what you have can make you appreciate all the positives in your life.
- Be interested instead of interesting.
At the start of a conversation or to break the ice, spend two minutes on asking one or a couple of questions about someone you are talking to and his or her life. Pay attention and don`t just wait for your turn to talk again. The interest you give will most likely be returned and you can start to build not only a good conversation but also a giving and fulfilling relationship for the two of you no matter what kind of relationship it may be.
Source: Paul Grossinger of Inc.