Habits of Successful People You Can Adopt

The definition of success is a subjective thing. For one person, it may be financial independence; for another it may be an ideal career; for another, it may be living a great life with a spouse and family; and still, for another it may be starting a business.

Whatever your definition is, you have to figure out exactly what your success will look like and how you will get there.

Are there any roadmaps? Yes, actually, there are. You can take advantage of the habits of successful people who have gone before you, learn what they have in common, and develop and practice those same habits.

Let’s have a look at these common habits.

Organization

Successful people know where they are going to go and how to get there. They set goals and then develop action plans to get there.

Successful people write down their goals, and they list their action plans with timelines (and sometimes deadlines). The action plans include specific steps in the order in which they will be accomplished.

Part of an action plan is making sure that you have the resources and tools in place for each step. These may include some software, like time management or scheduling, or just simply cleaning up your workspace so you can focus.

Taking Action

You’re now ready to engage in your action plan. Now, this will probably involve taking some risks, meeting with some bumps in the road, working through setbacks that may occur, and some outright failure and starting all over on a step.

Successful people work through these and then keep moving forward. 

You’ll have to get out of your comfort zone, but force yourself to do it.

Prioritize

Successful people develop an order of importance of the tasks they must complete to reach their goals. Many prioritize their tasks for the next day before they go to bed at night.

Once those tasks are prioritized, they focus on task #1 and do not go to #2 until #1 is completed. 

Self-Care – It’s Critical

Arianna Huffington, owner of Huffington Post, journalist, author, and international speaker worked hard to achieve her goals. One day, she fell down her stairs and injured herself. What she came to realize was that she had been operating on about 4-5 hours of sleep a night and was simply exhausted. From that point on, she made it a priority to get 7-8 hours of sleep each night. Her life changed dramatically. She was more focused and actually accomplished more than she had before. Ultimately, she wrote a book on the importance of sleep in anyone’s quest for success.

Not self-care includes more than sleep. It includes proper diet and exercise, time for outside interests and pleasures, and simply taking time off to relax and “re-group.” If you fail to do this, you will lose energy, motivation, and focus.

Remaining Curious

This is one thing that all successful people do. They know they do not have all of the answers, and so they remain open-minded, taking in the ideas and advice of others, as they relate to their own goals.

Remaining curious means a commitment to self-learning. Read books, check out resources, perhaps take a class – all of these things open your mind to the experiences of others that may have an impact on your journey to success.

Keep a Daily Routine

Successful author, Stephen King, has a daily routine that he will not veer from. He gets up very early and writes at least 2000 words before doing anything else with his day. Now, he is a morning person and you may not be, but sticking to a routine that works for you is the way you stay focused and organized.

Tha routine, by the way, must include self-care time as well.

Watch Your Expenditures

Expenditures don’t simply mean money. You have expenditures of time, effort, and energy every day. Spend all of this wisely.

If, for example, you are on a task that is simply taking up too much of your time and effort, so that you are neglecting other important things, then it is best to set it aside or divide it up into smaller chunks.

If expenditures are in the form of money, nothing is worse than running out of money as you are pursuing your goals. Then, you have to set them aside and probably do something you don’t want to do in order to build up your reserves. Plan ahead with a reserve that will take you a few months if cash flow becomes a problem.

Place Value on Community

Who is in your community? If you have studied Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, you know that once a person’s physical needs are met, there is the social need for love and acceptance by others – relationships that give people a sense of belonging.

Some people have difficulty finding their “community” because they are of a minority that may be shunned by much of society. Such is the case with the LGBTQ population. There is a supportive community out there, though. A transgender person, for example, can join a transgender dating app and find a social community that is supportive and encouraging.

Wherever and whatever it may be, embrace your community – you’ll find comfort and support, especially when things get a bit bumpy.

Accept Help When Offered

“No man is an island” is a line from a famous poem. And this is a universal truth. There will be people you run across who genuinely want to see you succeed and will offer their advice, expertise, and their own learning experiences. Embrace their gestures and accept their help, whether it is helping you write a business plan or something as simple as a letter of introduction.

Be Grateful

In this world, there are optimists and pessimists. Be the optimist. You get there by practicing gratitude for even the small things you have. And even the larger things. Someone once said, “Be grateful for the difficult people in your life, for they are your greatest teachers.” Successful people are grateful for all that they have at any given time in their lives.

These Habits…

There is nothing on this list that you cannot embrace today as you begin your journey to success. Adopt these habits – all of them – right now. You’ll be on your way to your best life.

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