Success, whether at work or in other areas of life, is strangled by certain bad habits. What’s more, these bad habits can last a lifetime – which means they can shackle you to a lifetime of failure. Don’t make that your future! Here are 3 big bad habits that, when kicked, will finally invite success and satisfaction into your life.
Bad Habit #1: Taking Things Personally
When a waitress messes up your order, or when your date flakes out on you, or when a customer gives you a bad review: Do you take it personally? Do you feel as though these little offenses are personal attacks on you?
Here’s my advice: In life, don’t take ANYTHING personally. That’s right – even if it WERE a personal attack, don’t take it personally. Seriously. Don’t.
Why not? Because when you take anything personally, a good chunk of your time, energy, and attention gets relegated to self-pity, plotting vengeance, or simply wishing ill fortune on whoever offended you. Your REACTION to personal attacks keeps you away from success – not the attacks themselves!
To kick a bad habit of taking things personally, simply promise yourself, from this moment onward, to never engage in any arguments, whether online or in the public square. If you offended someone, apologize and make it right – then re-focus your time, energy, and attention to your goals.
Bad Habit #2: Playing the “Victim” Card
Answer this question honestly: Why aren’t you successful yet?
If your mind immediately came up with a person, situation, or event as the reason why you’re not successful, be careful. You may unconsciously have the dreaded “victim” mentality.
The problem with thinking you’re a victim of past circumstances or events is that, deep down inside, you’re expecting someone or something to save you. Unfortunately, that rarely happens in life. People with the victim mentality tend to realize too late they’ve wasted their lives waiting for nothing.
Think you play the “victim” card too much? Here’s how to get out of it: Simply remind yourself that no one’s going to save you. After all, people are often too busy saving themselves. Your past doesn’t define your future, but your present does.
What can you do TODAY that’s going to make you more successful TOMORROW?
And lastly:
Bad Habit #3: Approval Addiction
Do you crave people’s approval? Do you feel it’s better to be “well-liked” that to be successful?
Guess what: Seeking people’s approval is a sure path to mediocrity. You’re so worried about what other people think of you that it keeps you from making the BIG changes in life – the changes that matter, the changes that break you out of the endless cycle of failure and disappointment!
To get rid of approval addiction, remember that no matter how hard you try, or no matter how successful you get, you can’t please everyone. There will always be people who will criticize you and say bad things about you.
So instead of trying to win their approval, try to win ONLY the approval of those important to you: Your customers, your family, your staff, your colleagues, etc. Simply decide who’s important in your life, and forget about the rest.
Kick the Habit Now!
Do you have any of the three bad habits I mentioned in this article? Then you know what to do.
Self-doubt is the biggest enemy of success. The moment you doubt yourself, you lose the game. I’d like you to kill any trace of self-doubt in your life by simply having an unbreakable, unshakeable belief in yourself.
Secondly, find ways to work faster. Some people try to avoid stress by pacing themselves and giving themselves generous deadlines for their goals. That’s okay to do if you’re burning out and getting sick, or when your work is interfering with the more important things in life.
Here’s a fun fact about millionaires: They make as few decisions each day as possible. They put most of the mundane, menial decisions on autopilot, which allows them to focus their attention and energy on the work that really matters.
The key to success is to make every single moment of your day count. Strive to lose no time to daydreaming, TV watching, mindless Internet surfing, and so on.
What’s a weekly/monthly/quarterly thing you can do that will make you smile and think, “This makes it all worth it?” If you can afford it, then invest in it. Remember, the road to your first million isn’t a sprint – it’s a marathon. Keep yourself fueled and you’ll get there in time.