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What if the secret to changing your life comes down to one, simple success habit?
Creating the life and the success you want might be simpler than you think.
As much as we like to believe success is made up of a couple of big wins, the reality is that success is the result of thousands of small decisions
Whether it is tracking your net worth, or giving up that glass of wine, these daily practices don’t always come with the serotonin hit of instant praise and glory.
But the good news is, starting with just ONE success habit a day will cause other disciplines to pile on.
Allow me to explain…
Let’s say, you enjoy a little extra cream in your coffee. Who doesn’t? A splash of cream is only 50 extra calories a day.
That adds up to 18250 calories a year. That is 5 pounds a year, and pounds over the course of ten years. Conversely, if you subtract 50 calories a day, you would be 50 pounds lighter in a decade.
No judgment if you love creamy coffee, but you get the point.
Let’s try another success habit scenario:
You decide to practice daily gratitude for your spouse. Every day, you tell them you love them, give them an extra squeeze, or bring them coffee in the morning.
Your spouse feels loved, and they begin to exhibit the same gestures. A life long loving relationship of respect and admiration ensues.
In contrast, you do nothing. Your spouse feels subtle neglect and questions their own desirability. Because they don’t feel desired, they stop putting in the extra effort to look attractive.
They don’t think you would notice anyway. They would never cheat on you, but when they receive attention from others it lights them up. The unsaid doubts start to fester, and a chasm between you grows.
The slow creep of habits is scary, but also empowering. Maybe it really is the little things in life.
As magical as a compounding success habit is, it can also go in reverse.
Conversely, let’s say you opt to watch TV on the couch instead of exercise. It seems innocuous. It’s not like you are smoking a pack of cigarettes in one sitting, right?
You stay up late because you are so into the show, you can’t turn it off. You have trouble getting to sleep because your body is restless from lack of physical activity. You wake up disheveled and cranky and snap at your spouse. You reach for carby junk food for energy. Fast forward five years of this habit and it’s not such a pretty picture.
7 Simple Success Habits That Will Completely Transform Your Life
Success Habit #1
Exercise
Let’s say you exercise for just 20 minutes each morning. This forces you to cut back on things like drinking to avoid feeling groggy before your workout.
The exercise gives you more energy, and you start getting more done. It boosts your mood and your happiness becomes infectious to those around you.
Practicing willpower to exercise daily causes you to be more disciplined in all parts of your life, whether keeping your house clean or being more patient with your family. People start flocking to you because you are vivacious and setting an example they aspire to. Not to mention, you feel and look better.
Success Habit #2
Intermittent Fasting
I began the practice of Intermittent Fasting to lose weight. I noticed if I drank wine, I would continue to eat after my feeding window. Cutting alcohol was the only way to adhere to my fast. When I dropped wine, I began to wake up more clear-headed in the morning and became more alert, happy, and productive.
Without being focused on the hassle of making breakfast and cleaning up afterward, I found myself with more time in the morning to write and exercise.
Instead of spending money on breakfast food, I started allocating it to savings and investments and became wealthier. True story.
Success Habit #3
Writing
A daily writing practice can sharpened your ability to self reflect and express yourself, indirectly improving your relationships and decision making.
Writing daily can also help you start the day feeling unburdened and clear-headed, resulting in higher productivity.
A writing practice has even given me the confidence and material to create blogs and write books. Putting myself out there in this way caused people to reach out to me with new opportunities.
Here are my favorite resources that helped me achieve a daily writing practice:
- A Very Important Meeting – Virtual Meditation and Writing Group (free to join!)
- The Artist’s Way Book and Journal
Success Habit #4
The Daily Clean 15
Cleaning for fifteen minutes twice a day (typically once in the morning and one the evening) might seem small at first. But a clean house is proven to increase productivity, focus, and mood.
Instead of spending your Saturday on a deep dive cleaning expedition, a daily cleaning practice will give you the time to relax with family or friends or go adventure.
Then you can start your week feeling more rested and refreshed, which in turn give you more energy to clean daily. See how that works?
Success Habit #5
Cooking at Home
As great as cooking at home is, isn’t it such a slog? We all know that cooking at home will help you eat healthier and spend less eating out.
But the time it takes to meal plan, shop, prep, cook, and clean up can really add up. I tried meal delivery kits, but it barely saved time or money, and created a ton of plastic pollution in the process.
As a total take out junkie, I’m still looking for ways to make this more seamless daily habit in my life. If you have any suggestions, please comment below!
Recently I have found one healthy, tasty, green and clean solution that has saved me a TON of time:
Daily Harvest.
This is the ONLY meal delivery plan I’ve found that is actually convenient, healthy, and zero waste. The meals arrive frozen in fully biodegradable packaging that you can eat straight out of, to save you the dish clean up. No cooking or clean up required!
Not only that, but it’s all based on a plant based, whole food diet. I swear I thought I had died and gone to heaven when I received my first delivery, and I am totally hooked.
*By the way, I am NOT paying me to say this. I’m just a total convert preaching on my own free will.
Want to try it for yourself? Get $25 of your first order with this link. Not all of their meals are home runs but flat breads, ice cream scoops, and cheesy broccoli are swoon-worthy.
Success Habit #6
Meditation
Meditation is the practice of focus, and the benefits are a total game changer. In the age of distraction, the ability to focus most powerful muscle you can build. A daily meditation habit will help you become more calm, peaceful, and aware of your thoughts, reactions, and behavior.
If you want to cultivate a meditation practice but are struggling to start, here are a few resources that finally helped me get the hang of it:
Success Habit #7
Affirmations and Visualization
I know, I know. It’s sounds so woo woo and hippy dippy. As someone who likes practical, science based research, my Western mind struggled to embrace this habit for years.
I promise if you just suspend your cynicism for a minute and give it a try, the results will be transformative.
And there is science to back it up. Click here to read up on it.
Affirmations prime your mind to seek out what you want. Of all the habits I’ve formed in my life, my affirmations practice has led to the most success for me.
What small success habits have you seen snowball in your own life? Comment below and let me know.
If you want to implement any of these cornerstone habits into your life, check out this nightly routine that was our secret to becoming a morning person.
In includes a free downloadable PDF poster you can hang on your wall as a visual reminder to keep on track.
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