Everyone chases success. We all dream of great achievements and accomplishments. Unfortunately, reaching those dreams is easier said than done, and many people struggle with overcoming hurdles, staying motivated, and getting through failure or rough times. Being successful is hard work!
But this doesn’t mean you can’t have a successful life if you’re willing to work for it. As long as you know the right ways to go about reaching your goals, you’re capable of doing just about anything you set your mind to. Still, there are tips that can help you out.
Here Are 5 Ways To Be More Successful In Life
1. Don’t Get Distracted
Distractions are always going to affect your life, and they can cause you to lose sight of what is really important. Here are some tips for avoiding distractions and removing them from your life:
· Turn Off Notifications
The constant chiming, vibration, or illumination of a phone screen informing you of new notifications can quickly sidetrack you when you pick up your phone to check them. Turn off notifications for non-important applications, like non-work social media, games, and casual group chats – or turn them all off whenever you need to focus.
· Take Breaks
Instead of spending time every five minutes distracted by other things, push aside all non-work activities for a set amount of time, they give yourself 5-15 minutes to do what you wanted to do. This will actually have positive effects on your productivity. And, of course, don’t work 24/7 – get enough sleep and have days off.
· Cut Out Negativity
Negative people can cloud up your headspace and occupy your thoughts. Cut off toxic individuals and pay them no more mind.
· Write A List
Take note of the distractions that most commonly get to you and win you over. List them down and stick the list somewhere you can see it, pledging to avoid them.
· Do The Worst Things First
Have a big task that you’re really dreading, or that you know will be difficult? Get it done first thing in the morning when you’re freshest and have the most energy.
· Stay Healthy
If your body isn’t healthy, you’re not going to be able to devote everything to your work. Eat well, exercise regularly, and take care of yourself.
2. Manage Your Resources
If you don’t know how to keep your resources in check, then all the talent, skill, and business acumen in the world won’t help you!
The first and possibly most crucial resource you should manage is money. You can manage your financial resources by utilizing these tips:
· Understand How Income Works
Figure out taxes, insurance payments, loan and debt repayments, and bond payments. Don’t assume you have all of your income to spend.
· Keeping A Handle On Your Expenses
Calculate your monthly disposable income, create a savings account, and review bank statements to see where you overspend.
· Save
Make a savings account and put aside at least 10% of your income monthly. If your employer will allow it, you can ask that a portion of your monthly income is deposited directly into a savings account.
· Invest Carefully
A retirement savings plan is really your best investment. For every other kind of investment, be smart about it!
· Reduce
If at any point you find yourself overspending, cut back. Take a look at your statements and expenses to see what is unnecessary.
· Manage Time
Time is another resource that is often overlooked. You must manage time for positive results, and do so in the right way for success. You can manage it by utilizing these tips:
· Set Reminders
If you always have your phone with you, a smartphone calendar and schedule will keep you on task with reminders.
· Use A Planner
For a more old-fashioned approach, purchase a planner and use it to maintain your organization.
· Schedule Tasks
Important tasks should be scheduled first so you don’t wind up procrastinating. Big tasks that take up large chunks of time should be added to a schedule first, then pepper in smaller ones around them.
· Make Daily To-Do Lists
Stay motivated and organized with daily checklists that you can tick or cross off as you go.
3. Successful People Seek To Learn, Not Win
A lot of people make the mistake of only aiming for accomplishments. This means that no matter how much they learn or progress, as long as they don’t get a big, gold star-worthy success, in the end, they feel demotivated.
Some people don’t consider the process of learning to be part of success, but this isn’t logical. No one is going to succeed the moment they begin something (aside from those rare bursts of beginner’s luck). You have to learn, fail, and learn from failure in order to succeed. That’s just how life works.
So don’t focus so much on winning. Focus on the journey – the process of discovery, understanding, experimenting, and getting better and better. There is so much joy to be found in the improvement and exploration process. Here are some ways to become an active, relentless learner:
- Mentor and be mentored by others
- Don’t pretend to know when you don’t, and don’t stay silent when you have a risky question
- Make new friends and learn from them
- Keep yourself up-to-date on news and current events
- Involve yourself in a hobby or class
- Read new books, takes notes while reading, and keep building your reading list
- List failures and lessons, and be grateful for each
- Share your knowledge with others
- Listen to differing points of view
- Ask for help when you need it
4. Be Committed
Many people focus too much on motivation instead of commitment. Motivation is not everlasting – it will dip and fold after a while. Commitment is what prevents the pile of unfinished projects from growing, and it is what you need to stick to your plans and goals.
Here are some tips to improve your commitment levels:
· Be Realistic
If you set unrealistic goals or make lofty promises you can’t keep, it’s going to become apparent as you go along that you’ve dug yourself into a difficult situation. This will likely cause you to abandon the entire project.
· Devote Time To Change
Whatever it is you’re working on improving in your life, devote time to it every day. If you’re trying to be more active, spend 15 minutes walking around the neighborhood. If you want to sharpen your chess skills, solve chess puzzles for half an hour daily and devote a couple of hours to practical practice on the weekends. It’s easy to forget smaller goals. Don’t let that happen.
· Replace Instead Of Eliminating
If there’s a behavior or habit you’re trying to cut out of your life, you must find something to replace it with. Without a replacement, you’re likely to fall to temptation and slip back into old habits.
· Don’t Cancel On Plans If You Can Help It
Try not to cancel plans unless an absolutely unavoidable emergency, and especially not twice in a row with the same person. If you keep making plans that need to be canceled, take a step back and figure out why your commitments are too much for you.
· Ask For Support
Have someone in your life keep you on task. If they notice you slipping up, they can tell you that you’re becoming complacent, and they won’t accept your excuses the way you may!
· Never Stagnate
If your progress towards your goals has not moved in a while, something is wrong, and you may wind up forgetting about them or becoming too disinterested in continuing.
5. Stay Positive
Positive thinking is often overlooked when it comes to becoming successful. It’s more important than many people may believe. If you don’t believe in yourself, no one else will, and good things won’t come to you.
You have to be able to envision your success in order to achieve it. While this is easier said than done, it is definitely possible to work on your positive thinking to the point that you 100% believe in yourself and know that, with the right methods, you can succeed at anything you set your mind to.
This will be especially important when you wind up facing setbacks – which everyone will face in life. Positivity will allow you to keep moving forward, even when it’s difficult. Here are some tips to help cultivate positive thinking:
· Enjoy The Present
While it’s important to learn from the past and prepare for the future, the present moment is crucial too. Love the present and keep yourself grounded. Focus on the now instead of what may happen tomorrow, and pay attention to the little details in the world that make it better.
· Try Positive Affirmations
Repeat phrases that are specific and motivational to yourself every day in the mirror. It’s a “fake it till you make it” process, but it can work if you set your mind to it. Eventually, the repeated positive affirmations will be internalized, and you will believe them with all your heart.
· Be Grateful
When you’re on the grind, it’s very easy to forget about all the good things in your life that you can be thankful for. Keep a journal or diary where you can list down a few things you’re grateful for every day – at least three of them. On bad days, you can list simple things: your basic needs being met, the people in your life, your favorite movies or shows, and more.
· Don’t Compare Yourself To Others
Everyone has their own journey, with a unique set of difficulties and privileges. Comparing yourself to those around you is unfair to both yourself and them. Of course, your progress isn’t the same – you’re different people! Besides, these kinds of comparisons can harm your thinking and make it difficult to stay motivated.
Final Thoughts on Leading a Successful Life
Success is elusive, but not as much as you may think. By putting positive habits into practice and working smarter, not harder, you’ll be able to achieve more success in your everyday life. These tips will be able to help you as you navigate the difficult waters of the world.
Don’t forget to be grateful for all the successes, even the small ones. You’re going to have your fair share of big and small accomplishments, and each one is just as valuable. Be kind to yourself, but be strict with yourself too, and you can do anything!
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