7 Habits You Need to Cultivate for a Successful Year
By: Neha Ravindra
Tags: Self Improvement, Habits, Success, Education, Education Reform

1. Create a morning ritual

“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive — to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.” — Marcus Aurelius

Many of us are busy, have a lot of responsibilities and obligations, and often fall short. But having a great morning routine can make all the difference in being productive, achieving goals, feeling organized, and doing all of this with confidence. Creating a morning routine is not focused on who can accomplish the most or check off more boxes than everyone else. Instead, it is about allowing yourself to begin your day with confidence, peace, and a positive attitude.

The most advised morning routine starts with getting up from the bed as soon as the alarm asks you to. I personally find peace in freshening up and attaining the peace one would get after praying — just sit down on the ground and talk to God. Dwell at the moment for some more time by meditating or listening to positive affirmations. Follow this by some exercise or whatever it is that makes you feel supercharged, kickstart your day with that habit.

2. Appreciate life

“Be thankful for what you have, you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.” — Oprah Winfrey

After a year’s worth of research about the Universe, God and life, my response is that not only will a grateful attitude help — it is essential and necessary. In the face of brokenness, gratitude has the power to heal. In the face of despair, gratitude has the power to bring hope. In other words, gratitude can help us cope with hard times. Practising gratitude is a great way to create positivity, reduce stress and improve your mental health.

You can start by keeping a journal. Every morning, ink down at least five of the things you can are grateful for. Go out of your way to thank someone for what they are doing. Watch a sunrise or sunset, smell a flower, listen to the rain on a roof, walk on some autumn leaves and breathe in some fresh air. Taking a few seconds to appreciate beauty and nature is a great way to forget your worries and bring a smile to your face.

The more you appreciate the little joys of life, the happier you’ll be.

3. Read more

“Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.”― Neil Gaiman

Reading books is a great way to gain knowledge and stimulate creativity. Reading also improves focus and has a calming effect similar to meditation. Moreover, reading before bedtime can help you sleep better. It improves your diction and increases your knowledge.

Books contain the knowledge we need and help us to learn the skill of concentration and comprehension. Hence, if you want to be successful, you need to read daily and make it a habit. Pick out a few topics that interest you. They could be fictional or factual. As long as they are adding to your knowledge, they are setting you on the right path to success.

4. Don’t make excuses

“At the end of the day, let there be no excuses, no explanations, no regrets.”― Steve Maraboli

Successful people don’t make excuses. Excuses are a lazy man’s best friend, you need to develop a hatred for excuses and being lazy, you will never become successful if you make excuses, no one has time to waste on your excuses, the only thing that matters is results. Either you’re making progress or you’re making excuses.

Excuses are used as a justification to defend your inaction, break this habit and take daily consistent action. Excuses are a direct result of taking a lack of responsibility for your life, people like to just take it easy doing nothing all day long, they don’t realise how this is impacting their future.

Own up to your mistakes, learn your lessons, and focus on moving forward.

5. Say no to toxicity

“Let go of negative people. They only show up to share complaints, problems, disastrous stories, fear, and judgment on others. If somebody is looking for a bin to throw all their trash into, make sure it’s not in your mind.” — Dalai Lama

Certain people and situations are just bad for you, period. They suck your motivation to work, make you question your abilities, and generally are bad for you. If you recognise somebody or something like this in your life, stay away. Just don’t tolerate unsupportive friends, family and fake love.

Take it from me, toxic people don’t do well with boundaries. They tend to want to control others as well as situations. But you can set limits on the things you can control. Don’t invest too much time or effort with toxic people. Keep interactions brief and the topics light.

6. Less is better

Modern culture has bought into a belief that the good life is found in accumulating things — in possessing as much as possible. That’s not true.

“Do only what is necessary and required. Efficiency is elegant. Less is more.”― Scott Perry

Minimalism — as the trend has it — is intentionally living with only the things one really need — those items that support their purpose. This New year, I have decided to remove the distraction of excess possessions so I can focus more on those things that matter most. I have heard from YouTubers that it offers the freedom to disengage. It seeks to keep only the essentials. It aims to remove the frivolous and keep significant. It values the intentional endeavours that add value to life.

7. Invest in yourself

In the end, all you have is yourself.

“Invest time and energy in your well being. Create an atmosphere of emotional safety for yourself.”

― Amy Leigh Mercree

Taking some time off to unwind can do wonders for your mood, mental health, and self-esteem. Do at least one thing every day that makes you feel good. Listen to uplifting lectures or podcasts, learn a new skill, take a long bubble bath, or prepare a nice meal. Just don’t forget to take care of yourself.