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Steven Covey’s best-selling The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is a book based on the belief that our various situations are influenced by our perceptions and how we see the world.
He says that in order to change an undesirable situation we have to change our perceptions, but to achieve true change, we must alter more than attitude or behaviour – we must undergo paradigm shifts.
The 381-page book discusses concepts and offers long-term results for success in different areas of your life.
If you would rather not be overwhelmed by the history or technicalities, but want actionable steps you can take immediately towards building a more successful life and career, here are ten you can start practicing today:
1. Seize the morning
If your typical time to leave the house for work is 7:30am, this means getting out of bed at between 4:30 – 5:30am.
The idea is that you have the first hour or two dedicated to yourself before anyone else in the household gets up.
Within this time the three key activities you should do are: meditation, exercise, and read or write. Make this your morning routine.
2. Optimise sleep quality
Sleep quality changes as the night wears on.
The time you go to bed and fall asleep makes a difference to the structure of your sleep because it is composed of cycles during which your brain moves from non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) to rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.
While both are necessary, non-REM sleep is where the restorative benefits lie, leaving you well-rested and sharp for the day ahead.
3. Take cold showers
This is one way to hone willpower and self-discipline! But besides pushing you out of your comfort zone, regular cold showers offer a plethora of benefits.
Cold showers improves blood circulation, boosts the immune system, helps reduce stress, and many other health benefits.
The first one will be the hardest, but you’ll feel amazing afterwards and have learnt a lot about yourself! (Warning: If you have certain health conditions like high blood pressure or heart disease it’s best to consult your healthcare practitioner before proceeding.)
4. Admit your mistakes
In businesses and organisations where mistakes are considered absolutely unacceptable, employees are reluctant to admit to making errors.
Yet not admitting to mistakes can cost the company more – the mistake is allowed to carry on in the hope that it can be fixed before it becomes noticeable or that some miracle will somehow save the project.
It’s a misconception that mistakes are all bad, when actually we can learn so much from them.
In fact, a great example of how a mistake led to a breakthrough invention was the discovery of Penicillin by Alexander Fleming. So, celebrate the lesson.
5. Embrace failure
There’s a great quote that goes something like this: “If you’re never failing, you’re probably really never winning either.”
Many entrepreneurs will attest to the fact that some of their greatest failures have taught them the most valuable lessons and as a result brought them one of their biggest successes.
In business, you have to take risks in order to grow, and the higher the risk, the higher the potential for failure.
Playing it safe all the time may mean you’ll never fail, but it’s likely you’ll never win either.
6. Overcome perfectionism
We are human and we all have flaws. Yet, in this modern day society we are more often than not expected to be ‘perfect’ – which is a ridiculous notion since perfection is subjective.
The problem with perfectionism is that it limits possibilities. If you’re constantly striving for what is, in your own mind, perfect, you’ll fail to see the potentialities of what sits outside of that mould.
Gustavo Razetti, author of Stretch For Change writes that we embrace perfectionism in an attempt to hide our vulnerabilities and the fact that we are imperfect.
Read more: Be The Change – all the inspiration you need to start improving your life
7. Don’t overthink
Running the same thought over and over in your brain endlessly can have serious consequences to your mental health. How do you know if you’re an overthinker?
If you tend to dwell on the mistakes of the past and worry about what is to come in the future, then you’re probably forming connections in your brain that can lead to distress.
So when you catch yourself overthinking, divert your thoughts to something else like a hobby, read a book, or take your dog for a walk – anything you enjoy to help you find a way out of your own mind.
8. Be present
In the age of digital consumerism it has become more and more difficult and rare for humans to be present.
By simply focusing yourself completely on one person at the present moment, the anxieties of needing to pay attention to all the other people fade away and you appreciate the moment more.
When we’re faced with a mountain of tasks to perform it’s easy to become overwhelmed – but trying to multitask is counter-productive.
Focus your attention fully on one task at a time, and you’ll feel that the pressures and anxiety of the mountain diminish.
9. Consume less, create more
Most things are unnecessary if you really stop to think about it – and the stuff that is – some of us have way too much of, yet still go shopping for piles of shoes, pile on loads of accessories, and eventually the bills pile up all too soon.
Without suggesting that you should go minimalistic, we are saying that instead of spending money on accumulating lots of things that fill up your home, to save that money towards creating experiences to fill up your memories.
10. Find your authentic self, and own it
Get comfortable with who you really are, not the person you think you should be or the employee you think your boss wants you to be.
Your authenticity is the one thing that makes you unique. Once you start living authentically with a deep sense of self and value, you’ll start paving a path to becoming remarkable.
Stop conforming and find the confidence to be yourself. “We have to dare to be ourselves, however frightening or strange that self may prove to be.” ― May Sarton, American poet.
English (US)