Over the years of my career, I have had the opportunity to meet and get to know many people who are very successful in many aspects of life.
If we don’t intentionally select our habits, our destiny will be determined by habits that we develop accidentally.
Ready to think big? Really big? Think you can be a better you than anyone ever dreamed? Here are three habits that can help you do just that.
Whether it is a paper planner, smart phone or other device, I have noticed that most people who maintain a highly productive life use some sort of planner, even if it is the kitchen calendar.
Getting the most out of your planner involves much more than simply making lists and recording appointments. The more faithfully one uses a planner, the simpler life becomes. That’s true even if your life is crowded with multiple obligations, tasks, appointments and reminders.
The new year is a great time to start using a planner.
Habit 2: Stop to think
Have you ever heard the expression, “Work smarter, not harder?”
That’s part of the value of pausing to think things through. We all have so much going on that it is easy to rush from one task or appointment to another, with little time given to prioritizing our activities. (You might even discover that you are doing some things because of old, no longer appropriate habits.)
Habit 3: Celebrate each day
No matter how the events turn out each day, there is always something to celebrate. Some people actually make a list of things to be thankful for.
These three habits will help you find your version of success in life.
You have to decide for yourself what is meant by success. I can tell you what I think of as success, and maybe that will help you think about what success means to you.
I think of success in terms of enjoying a full, well-rounded, diverse existence. I want to accomplish things. I enjoy learning new things and developing new skills. I want to earn a good living, provide for my family, stay out of debt and have spending money.
Spending fun time with my family is important to me. I enjoy doing simple routine things with my wife, even running errands or shopping.
I want to do everything I can to help my daughter grow into a well-adjusted, happy, successful, contributing adult.
I hope to be remembered by many as someone who helped them in some small way. I really enjoy the clinical and business side of my private practice and constantly work to improve it. I look forward to getting to work every day.
I love to laugh and find humor in every day. I enjoy being creative and regularly do some type of creating activity.
I enjoy doing a little bit of nothing every once in a while.
Your view of being successful in life may look quite different from mine.
You may have different views about what is important.
At some time for all of us, our time on earth will be through. We will no longer be able to make significant contributions to our family or our community of the world at large. Our legacy will be made.
For many people, the idea of leaving a legacy is a foreign concept. They may think of other people such as elected world leaders, scientific inventors, writers, musicians or others as leaving a legacy, but not an ordinary person. Certainly not themselves.
However, we all will leave a legacy, be it great or small, positive or negative. The world is changed in some way as a result of our life.
Our habits from this day forward will determine not only how the details of our tomorrows are created but also what our eternal legacy will be.
