Everyone is hell-bent on becoming successful. While most people get successful easily either by luck or privileges, others have to work for it and certainly develop a lifestyle that attracts success. Understanding certain habits of successful people will help you understand those habits you, in turn, should adopt or change.
Learning and developing the habits that are common to successful people could help you become successful as well. What then are these habits, and what do they entail?
First off, habits come with actions, and you practice them repeatedly, consistently, and to a large extent, they turn out to determine what sort of a person you are or the kind of person you tend to become. You could either be a successful person or an unsuccessful person.
But make no mistakes; you cannot develop any habit without being intentional about it. In other words, you decisively make habits. You choose to have a particular one by working towards it. Very few of them can be said to be hereditary or natural. Developed ones over time become a way of life, or compulsive and addictive even.
Think about it, how much time you spend on your phone or your computer a day that it becomes a habit and, to most people, an addiction. The point is, your habits can make or mar you. It is as simple as that.
Another thing you must have at the front of your mind is that there are bad habits, and there are good habits, and you get determined as a successful person or an unsuccessful person based on the ones you choose.
Do successful people have bad habits? Most likely so, I mean, they are human beings after all. However, what is important is that successful people choose to focus on those good habits that will improve their chances of success.
But then the million-dollar question is this: what are those habits developed by successful people that make them a success? Well, you are in luck. Below are 12 Habits of truly and highly successful people that you can pick up.
1. Truly Successful People Rise And Shine In The Nick Of Time
They are more likely to wake up earlier than others. Simple right? But crucial. Waking up on time enables you to put more time into your morning routines and take charge of your morning activities such as having a well-prepared breakfast, a workout session, meditation, etc.
Moreover, studies show that people who perform well in the morning get better positioned for career success. (1)
2. Truly Successful People Read! Read! And Read
They are readers. Reading is one of the essential elements for success in general. Building a good reading habit is regular for highly successful people.
Based on research, on a normal state, an average person reads roughly 300 words a minute or approximately 18 thousand words an hour,[2] successful people like Barack Obama, Warren Buffet, Elon Musk, etc., have a record of impeccable reading habits.[3] Furthermore, neuroscientists discovered that reading as little as one novel helps improve brain function.[4]
3. Highly Successful People Are Goal Oriented
They are goal-oriented. They set goals and work tenaciously towards achieving them. These goals could be short-term or long-term goals depending on the purpose to which they set these goals.
Most importantly, productive people ensure that they have realistic, achievable, and strategic ways of attaining their goals. One way for you to achieve this habit is to stay focused.
4. Truly Successful People Stay Motivated
Another habit of successful people is their ability to stay motivated. Getting inspired is a necessity to achieve success. The reality of the world we live in is that we get knocked down by one trouble or the other, by one problem or setbacks.
Your ability to draw inspiration from these shortcomings determines your progress. Successful people understand to resort to motivational content to spur them in trying times. It could be motivational quotes, books, speakers, or podcasts.
Whatever it is, the essence of motivation can never be underestimated. Moreover, studies show that motivation influences learning and reasoning processes.[5]
5. They Are As Fit As A Fiddle
Exercise is a vital habit cultivated by highly successful people. Keeping the body in an excellent physical condition is necessary to attain success. Many prosperous people reveal that they work out to get a healthy body and mind for work.
They also engage in exercises such as Jogging, running, golfing, brisk walking, biking, etc. According to Tom Corley, in his book Change Your Habits, Change Your Life, Seventy percent of rich folks exercise for at least 30 minutes.[6]
6. They Network And Connect With People
Truly prosperous people know the importance of networking thus work towards building a network of successful people as well. The common saying is your network determines your net worth.
Interacting with people, exchanging ideas, and meeting people outside of their careers is what successful people do to promote visibility and impact.
7. They Relax And Take Care Of Themselves
Taking great care of themselves is what successful people do to succeed too. Taking care of oneself is perhaps the most ignorable and underestimated habit, yet a very significant one for success.
Engaging in relaxation activities such as meditation, walking on the beach, strolling in a park, swimming, etc., truly keeps your mind in that clear state and helps you focus. It is a typical case of all work, and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
8. Truly Successful People Are Self-Disciplined
It is by far and beyond the birth rock of every habit for successful people. The ability to do what you need to do. When and how you should. Whether or not you feel like it is the habit that makes successful people triumph. You can achieve all other habits through self-discipline.[7]
9. They Take Action
Highly successful people take action. They do not live life in a fantasy of what is to come or what should have come. They put words to action, see opportunities, and shun procrastination.
According to John Ruskin, “What we think or what we know or what we believe is, in the end, of little consequence. The only consequence is what we do.” [8]
10. Highly Successful People Work
They work and work and work their asses out. They hustle day and night, 24/7, and most do not put their eggs in one basket by having multiple streams of income. Highly successful people capitalize on investments and engage in business transactions.
11. They Manage Time
Time is always of essence to highly successful people. Knowing when to call in and out of something is necessary. Time is money. Productive people are time-conscious. They know when/where to be.
They understand the monopoly of time. Hence they invest in every single second. The habit of time management is, in fact, success on its own. Being able to achieve little tasks timely also gives you control over your life.
12. Truly Successful People Are Grateful People
They are always grateful. Gratitude is more than a habit; it is a virtue. There is always something you can be thankful for. And acknowledging whatever that is keeps you positive and optimistic about achieving more goals.
Being appreciative and thankful also makes you happy. And when you are happy, you are inclined to do more, achieve more, progress more, and be successful. A fact backed up by research.
