Year 2016 came by swiftly that we barely noticed it. While many of our friends and families have perhaps, gained a lot of success in the year 2016, a lot of us may still feel a bit left behind when we talk about life fulfillment and success. Fret not! everyone is unique and not all of us bloom at the same time and at the same place. Maybe it’s still not your time, but there are several steps you can take to improve your life this 2017 and the years to come.
Success: What You See is Only the Tip of the Iceberg
We usually see success in the spotlight with flashing lights and all its beauty. However, what we really don’t see is the “behind-the-scenes” before achieving success. It takes a lot of discipline and hard work. You will fail many times. There will be a mix of tears and sweat and it takes a couple of downfalls before you finally bounce back and reach the top. What makes successful people different from the others is that they have a great amount of determination and perseverance to achieve their goal. It doesn’t matter if they seem to be a failure at first. Hell, people may even laugh at them and think about their ideas as ridiculous. However, it would not be very long before they prove you wrong.
Why am I saying this? I say this as a reminder that you achieve success by changing your attitude and focusing on the little things in life. Little things like learning to wake-up early in the morning, spending more time with people that matter, and to banish some behaviors that can hinder self improvement.
Little Things You Can Do to Improve Yourself
1. Write Your Plan for the Day Early in the Morning – You may use apps in your phone if you prefer, but for me, nothing beats the power of notebook and a pen (literally). You may ask, “Why should I write it down?”. According to a study reported by Forbes from Harvard University, written goals have a much higher probability of being achieved than having your goal just written in your mind. Only 13% of the students have a written goal and guess what? Today, these students are earning about 10 times more than the 84% who did not write down their goals. Writing out your plan early in the morning won’t be very time consuming as you may think. You may even brush your teeth longer than writing your plans.
2. Each Week, Decide to Quit a bad Habit – First and foremost, you need to recognize and identify a bad habit that is clearly dragging you down and slowing your momentum towards improving yourself. You may need a help from a friend or a trusted person who will help you identify these bad habits and remind you in case the bad habit resurfaces after a couple of weeks or so. They say it takes 21 days to develop a new habit and in order to completely rid those bad habits, you replace it with good.
For example, it’s as simple as not touching or looking through your phone when having a meal with your family or friends, and instead start asking how their day was and what’s happening in their lives. Be present at the moment. You will observe that by doing this, you will have a better connection with your family and friends and conversations become as meaningful as it should be.
3. Spend at Least an Hour of Alone Time – Spending alone time doesn’t mean you stuck up your nose for that one long hour in front of a computer and spend time on the internet. You should disconnect for a while, and please, just stop looking at that phone in your pocket. Alone time gives you an opportunity to reflect on the things you have been doing lately. Sift through all your actions and conversations at work, at home or at school and think about what you can do to improve better. Are you taking steps towards your goal or away from it? Have you been productive? Questioning yourself is a great way to evaluate yourself.
Every year, more and more people become depressed instead of being grateful due to perceived failure. If we only count our blessings and learn to live in the moment, we will appreciate everything that we have. Being positive is never a bad thing. Whatever mistakes we did in the past, we should let it go. And remember, it’s not too late to improve yourself in 2017 and the years to come.