7 Habits You Should Adopt Today To Cultivate Success And Happiness

You’d be shocked by how easy it is to work your ass off for much of your life and still end up with nothing to show for it. This only further proves the point that achieving success requires more than just hard work. Being successful is more than just a particular set of skills or talent in a field. Being successful is a lifestyle.

When I say success, I don’t mean through quantitative measures like money, but rather, being the best version of myself that I can possibly be. It means living the exact life I want to live every single day I wake up and get out of bed. My benchmark for accomplishment has always been a vivid, idyllic scene in which I have not only achieved everything I sought to do, but have done so while maintaining sanity and happiness.

As you trudge through the swamps and perilous terrain of your path to success, you need to ensure that you maintain habits that will keep you at your best for an indefinite amount of time. Check out the following seven habits you can adopt:

1. Live day-to-day and be present in the moment.

I never really got the point of New Year's resolutions; why wait for an arbitrary day to start living the life you want to live? What's wrong with starting today?

Thinking about the future too much can give us anxiety and dwelling on the past may throw some unneeded distress our way — the future is uncertain and the past cannot be changed. The only thing over which you really have control is this very moment. This is why it’s important to constantly stay present in the moment and live day-to-day.

You should wake up every day either carrying positive momentum from the day before or a clean slate ready to attract positivity toward yourself. There is no reason every day can’t be the best day of your life, and if you act accordingly, you’ll find that there really is no limit on how happy you can be.

2. Visualization.

I once heard a great saying that went, “If you can see it in your head, you can hold it in your hand.” When you visualize the life you want to live and emulate the feelings you want to have, you’ll find that your life will slowly move toward the direction you want it to go.

Visualization will keep you motivated, allow you to better recognize beneficial opportunities, and will make you more attuned to your surroundings so that you can satisfy your goals. All it takes is 10 minutes a day, which isn’t such a bad deal, if you ask me.

3. Maintain a consistent sleep schedule.

Waking up at the same time every day can be extremely helpful for several reasons. When your body gets used to waking up at the same time, your sleep cycles change accordingly. After about a week, you won’t even need an alarm to wake up, you’ll just do it automatically. This will help you get a better start to your days because you’ll wake up without feeling groggy. Imagine starting every day fired up and ready for action and think about how much more you could get from your days.

4. Treat yourself to something nice at least once a week.

At the end of the day, you are all you have, so treat yourself well. Strive to be happy with your own company, especially if you are trudging down the path toward achievement. This is why it’s important to do something nice for yourself, at least once a week. Whether it’s a juicy steak or a fine whiskey, it’s important to create times of blissful peace for yourself, even if only for just a little while.

5. Stop and smell the roses.

As Ferris Bueller once said, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” Just as easy it is to get extremely invested in your work life, it is equally easy to lose sight of the little things that make you happy. Don’t let any hurdle throw you off balance to the point that you become jaded and apathetic. Stay focused on what’s really important, but also take some time to be grateful for what you already have and how far you’ve come.

6. Remember your victories and remember your struggles.

Within every difficulty lies an opportunity to learn something new and become better. Within every victory lies a lesson in how to succeed and how to move forward. Each memory you have can shape who you are and is important in some way. Don’t allow the value in these memories to escape you. History often repeats itself and if you’ve had a problem once, you will likely face something similar again. Remember what worked, remember what didn’t and believe that you can come out on top.

7. Don’t be “The Dude.” Be the man.

I once spent an entire week lazing around my house in a robe and slippers. I did absolutely nothing productive with myself and wasted a lot of valuable time. My roommate saw my lethargic antics and said to me “If you want to get anywhere in life, you need to stop being the dude and start being the man.” These were some of the truest words I had heard in a while.

When faced with the decision of lounging in the proverbial robe and drinking white Russians all day or going out and turning dreams into reality, strive to be the best you to make your life the most rewarding.

Photo via Blue Devil Tumblr