Personal habits: Vital to success

Watch your words, for they become actions.

Watch your actions, for they become habits.

Watch your habits, for they become character.

Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”

This is a famous saying that carries with it a lot of depth and needs to be taken seriously.

There are many of us who believe that the only way to success is to be hardworking backed up with fervent prayers. We often times do not consider the fact that our habits  are very instrumental to climbing up the success ladder. Although with wrong and unacceptable habits, many have attained great heights. But the truth is that quality of our life is largely dependent on and determined by the quality of our habits.

If you want to improve yourself and ply the route to personal development, then you need to develop good habits. Habits that will help you become a better person, as well as make you feel good about yourself and the things you do. These include developing your body, mind and spirit into better shape to enable you meet life’s challenges and overcome any problems that may arise during this development process.

Brain researchers have discovered that when we consciously develop new habits, we create parallel synaptic paths, and even entirely new brain cells, that can jump our trains of thought onto new, innovative tracks. Therefore, rather than dismissing ourselves as unchangeable creatures of habit, Janet Rae-Dupree in her book, Can You Become a Creature of New Habits? advises that, “We can instead direct our own change by consciously developing new habits. In fact, the more new things we try – the more we step outside our comfort zone — the more inherently creative we become, both in the workplace and in our personal lives.”

According to www.simplepersonaldevelopment.com, there are six steps to successfully developing personal habits to enrich your life. They include personal hygiene, healthy eating, healthy sleep, meditation, reading, learning, and practice.

Personal hygiene according to the site is important because it will make you feel better about yourself, and it will keep you healthy. Making yourself look good and smell good will make you feel satisfied and push you to improve yourself image. Indeed, this has been proven to help boost self-esteem in many cases.

Sleeping well will ensure that you are alert during the day and focused on your activities. When you have a good night’s sleep, you will often be able to meet the challenges that life gives you with eyes wide open. As well, a good night’s sleep will keep you from becoming too lazy and remove you from the pressure of making yourself look good.

Healthy eating habits the site states, will keep you feeling healthy and good about yourself. “Being able to eat something and feeling good about what you are eating will go a long way to motive you to be a better person. When you have a salad instead of a hamburger, you will feel good about the decisions you are making and that will build confidence in you.”

Developing the ability to meditate and reflect is important because it will keep you calm. When you are calm, you will not feel stressed and you will be able to concentrate on bettering yourself and becoming a better person. Meditation is a very important habit to develop.

Take the time to read and learn as much as you can. This is one virtue many seem to let go at some point in life but is one that actually should remain harnessed and encouraged throughout one’s life. “Instead of watching television, develop the habit of reading so that you can develop yourself. You can learn anything you want for free with a library card or off the internet and that will help you learn as much as you can to boost yourself confidence.”

Practice the habit of being a more humane and better person. By helping people, being a person who socializes and who helps others, you will be able to feel good about yourself and you will be motivated to do more. The better you feel helping others, the better you will feel about helping yourself.

Developing good habits is very important because it will make elate your spirit. Good habits also teach you to motivate yourself. They say that you can develop a good habit in the space of a month, and that means you need to make the commitment to adjust yourself by imbibing good habits.

When you decide to begin this development process, remember why you are motivating yourself and that will keep you on the right path. Every day, make sure you remind yourself of the progress you are making. Like who you are becoming and the good habits will become part of you.