Your level of success is rarely exceeded by your level of personal development, because success is something you attract by the person you become. If you want success, you need to develop good personal habits. In this article, you’ll learn 8 easy habits to do for success and personal development.
Have you asked yourself why there are some people who seem to have better lucky, or have certain characteristics that attract success when you struggle to see the same results?
Sometimes, we think that we can never become like those successful people, or know the secret to their success.
But, the true secret, which is 100% attainable for everyone, starts with realizing that success comes from simple daily habits.
The truth is that there is nothing that can stop us from becoming what we want to be – rich, successful, happy, etc. The difference between those who achieve their dreams and those who don’t is in their habits.
This is the grand secret of success – finding success come down to who is able to change their existing habits and re-align their actions to continue on the path to achieving their goals.
Deciding today is the day to dedicate time and effort to yourself and your dreams is a start, and then each day, doing a little will help you on your way to the ultimate goal of success and happy.
In this article, I’m going to share with you 8 simple daily habits for success and how you can start living an intentional life geared towards achieving your dreams.
Successful people are simply people with habits geared towards success.
8 Easy Daily Habits for Personal Success in Life
There are 8 daily habits that I try and do each day to move a little bit closer to my goals. Below, I’ve listed those 8 and in the rest of the article, I’ll describe how you can do each of these habits on a daily basis.
- Read More
- Wake Up Early
- Be Active and Exercise
- Eat a Healthy Meal in the Morning
- Activate Your Mind with Games and Learning
- Establish Goals and Plan For Success
- Practice Gratitude
- Give Yourself Space with Silence
Let’s dive deeper now into each of these habits for success.
1. Read More to Find Success in Life
According to Forbes, 88% of millionaires read at least 30 minutes a day.
Reading is a form of mental exercise, and reading activates parts of your brain that you also use when you speak or learn. Reading can help us connect the dots between different subjects and thoughts.
Also, reading can help you keep your mind fresh, as studies have shown that adults that spend their time doing creative and intellectual activities (like reading) do not experience a substantial decline in cognitive ability as they age.
For you, you don’t need to read a book a week, or try and read 100s of pages each day.
Instead, you can start with 10-15 minutes a day of reading in whatever subject or genre you want, and after you have done this for a few days, you can see how you feel with your progress and see what makes sense for you going forward.
Also, if you are trying to learn something, reading can help with that as well! 15-30 minutes a day of a new subject will add up fast – you’ll be proficient soon!
For example, if you want to make more money at your day job, you can read about the skills necessary for increasing your value.
For me, I try and read at least 30 minutes a day. Usually, I will read blogs from my favorite writers, but also, I will read some pages from some books I have to continue to practice this skill.
2. Wake Up Early
You might roll your eyes at this recommendation, but I’m not going to say “Wake up at 5 AM” like so many other “personal development” bloggers would tell you.
Instead, what I mean when I say “wake up early” here is that going to bed and getting up at a reasonable hour will help you establish a routine for success.
For me, I try to go to bed around 10:30, and get up around 7. There are days that I wake up a little earlier, and there are days that I sleep in past 8.
The point is that if you wake up earlier, you can get more done in the day because in the early morning, there usually isn’t much to distract you.
If you want to achieve success, you need to set aside time to work on yourself and your goals.
By waking up earlier, you can spend an hour or two on your goals, and then after, you can spend quality time with your family, friends, or doing other hobbies.
For example, I used to live with some people who would wake up at 11 AM on the weekends. By the time 1 PM rolled around, they had just finished up eating and getting ready for the day – and the day was more than half over!
Usually, they would go out with friends during the afternoon and the night, and after getting home, would crash on the couch for an episode or two of Netflix before going to bed.
While this life might sound great to you, for someone who wants to achieve success in their life, there is a lot of wasted time in that schedule and many areas to improve.
So while you don’t need to get up at 5 AM every day (I never do), getting up at a reasonable hour can add many hours to your week.
3. Get Up and Be Active With Exercise
As humans, we each have a body which allows us to do amazing things.
We can walk, run, bike, swim, jump, play sports, climb, do yoga – the list is endless!
However, there are other benefits to exercising and being fit that do not stop with actually activity.
If we want to be successful, doing a little bit of exercise each day is essential.
Getting blood to your brain and different body parts will help you think more clearly, feel more energetic, and bring you a sense of accomplishment.
Being successful and being a well-rounded person involves exercising both your brain and your body.
While you don’t need to be some ultra-marathoner or body builder, exercise is important.
Even 15 minutes of walking a day is beneficial!
For you, if you haven’t been prioritizing exercise, start small – walking a mile, biking for 20 minutes, doing some weights, all of this will get you on the right track.
If you want to get more fit, I have done a few challenges over the years which may inspire you to get more in shape:
4. Eat a Healthy Meal in the Morning
You have probably heard the marketing phrase “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day!”
While this phrase was created to sell sugary cereals (which probably aren’t the best for you), there is still some truth to this statement.
Getting a meal in the morning which is high in protein and contains fruits and vegetables will help you obtain the energy necessary to crush your responsibilities for that day.
I don’t usually eat traditional breakfast (since I intermittent fast), I do look at have a healthy meal in the later part of the morning to give myself the energy I need for the rest of my day.
I love eating bananas, yogurt, granola, and eggs as a way to give myself the vitamins and nutrients I need to be successful.
5. Activate Your Mind with Games and Learning
Turn off social media for a little bit and activate your mind for a little while. As we age, it’s important to keep our minds fresh and active.
Having a powerful brain is something we all have, but our brain is also a muscle which needs stimulation and exercise.
Activating and exercising our mind is important to do on a daily basis (just like exercising our bodies), and by doing so, over time, you will keep your brain sharp and able to problem solve in difficult situations.
Things you could do are do crossword puzzles, do a sudoku, read a book, learn a second language, do a puzzle, bake, play board games with family, do crafts (sewing, painting, writing, etc.) – there’s really so much you could do to activate your mind.
For me, I’m looking to become fluent in Spanish, and so each day, I look to spend at least 30 minutes doing flash cards, reading articles, or watching videos in Spanish.
Other things I do are play strategy games on my phone (yes, that’s not the best use of my time, but it’s still fun and takes some thinking), and listen to self improvement podcasts.
6. Establish Goals and a Plan for Your Life
Setting goals and having a game plan for your life is essential if you want to be successful. If you don’t know where your destination is, how will you reach it?
Establishing goals is very important in both the long-term, but also the short-term. This article is about daily habits, and one of the best daily habits to have is having a daily list of things to get done.
You can make this list in the morning, or the night before, and this list should be a reflection of what you want to accomplish during the day.
With your daily to-do list, with each item that you check off, you get the satisfaction of completing something and can then feel good about moving on to the next task.
This list should also be aligned with your medium and longer term goals. Living an intentional life geared towards success is all about doing little things every day which add up to achieving your ultimate dream.
7. Practice Gratitude
Living in the present and being aware of where we are in life are two pillars of working towards and living a life of success.
Practicing gratitude can bring you back to the present and help you center yourself on what you have in life.
I find that when I’m struggling with not reaching my goals, I try to look at the positives and look at what I have achieved in my life.
For example, if I’m not happy with how my body looks, I’ll instead say, I’m thankful for the fact that I’m not sick, and I’m thankful for the fact that I can do exercise.
Likewise, being thankful for family, friends, your job, and other things is also very important to recognize. Not everyone might be in the same situation as you, so it’s important to recognize this.
By practicing gratitude, you will spend more time in a state of happiness since you are thinking of the positives in your life.
8. Have Moments of Peace and Calmness in Silence
Giving yourself space and time to think and heal is a great habit to practice each day. While you don’t need to become a master yogi or master mediation, giving yourself 5 minutes of peace and silence during your day can be very helpful.
When I drive, sometimes I don’t turn on the radio. I like to just let my mind wander and think about what’s going on in my life.
It’s calming to be able to relax and think just for those minutes on the highway, instead of blasting some music or listening to a podcast.
Occasionally, I do listen to podcasts when I drive, but there are times when silence is good.
By practicing giving yourself time and space for a few minutes a day, you also practice mindfulness and living in the present.
Living in the present is so key for success, and by increasing your ability to live in the present, you will see increased focus when you do other tasks requiring your full effort and attention.
Which of These Daily Habits Will You Start Today?
I hope that you’ve enjoyed this article and it has given you food for thought on how you can start to plan your days to get on the path to success.
While you don’t need to do all of these starting today, which one of these daily habits will you look to start soon? Are there are I’ve missed?