The measure of success is not in how much money you make, but in how fulfilled and happy you are at the end of the day.
The key to becoming a success, both in your work life and at home, is in mind/body self care, changes in attitudes and in setting priorities. Many people are working longer and longer hours, sometimes at the expense of morale and productivity.
How do the most successful people go through the day? Let's take a look at the tips from the experts.
#1 - Get Good Sleep
The average American requires 7-9 hours of sleep per night. If this means going to bed at 8:00 pm, then indulge yourself, because the right amount of good sleep promotes brain health, affects your mood, increases your productivity during the day and helps to prevent burnout.
#2 - Wake Up Early
Studies suggest that when you start your day earlier, you arrive to work more focused and perform better. When you have more time to develop goals for the day, you can create a work routine that is more productive. Starting your day early allows you a trip to the gym, meditation time, a hot breakfast...anything that allows you to focus on you.
#3 - Exercise
Starting your day with at least 30 minutes of exercise not only wakes up your muscles, it wakes up your brain. Exercise releases hormones in your body that give you an overall feeling of well-being. It also allows you time to focus on yourself and on your day.
#4 - Eat a Healthy Breakfast
Your mother always told you that breakfast was the most important meal of the day. She was right. Successful people eat a nutritious breakfast each day and pack it with the most calories. Larger, nutrient-packed breakfasts allow you to stay energized throughout the day. Healthy fats and proteins balanced with quality carbs are key to feeling full throughout the day.
#5 - Meditate
Meditation is a mental exercise that involves relaxation, focus and awareness. It is to the mind what physical exercise is to the body. Even 10-15 minutes of focusing on only your breath and breathing exercises and nothing else can have a huge impact on your day. It allows you to shut out stresses and lists and worries and tackle your day with a better, mindful attitude.
#6 - Prioritize
When scheduling your day, select three tasks that are top priority for accomplishing during your day. A lot of times, it can feel overwhelming to have an avalanche of work tasks in front of you. When you have three things to focus on, you'll find that the lesser-important things can wait or be delegated. Perhaps they are even tasks that you can decline. When tasks are prioritized, you're less likely to feel defeated at the end of your day and can achieve a sense of accomplishment, energizing you for tomorrow, actually boosting productivity and preventing burnout.
#7 - Keep Learning
Being successful in your industry means keeping up on the latest trends, learning new methods and thinking outside of the box. Keeping up with innovations in your industry allows you to become innovative as well. Subscribe to industry blogs, newsletters, etc. to keep up and excel.
Successful people also make time for reading for pleasure and reading up on arts/industries/social subjects that are informational and outside of the workplace. Take a free online course in photography. Watch a YouTube video on leather crafting or painting. Watch a TedTalk or a documentary on wildlife. Engaging in subjects outside of the workplace stretches your "brain muscles" and, not only makes you a more well-rounded conversationalist, but can inspire new methods innovations you can use in your work life.
#8 - Motivate Yourself
Many of us get so wrapped up in tasking and focusing on others. The most successful people are always envisioning dreams and aspirations and have clear visions of what they want to achieve and obtain. Motivational podcast, books, blogs and program are integral in helping you define what your goals ultimately are and how to make your dreams come to life. A simple Google search can help you find a myriad of motivational speakers on a countless number of topics. Definitely worth doing.
#9 - Surround Yourself With Positive People and Be Positive Yourself
"Surround yourself with people who lift you up, not bring you down." How many times have we heard that? It's true. Research shows that the people you surround yourself with impact your mood. Even though we have all been told not to let what other people think about us bother us, nobody ever really told us how to do that. The key is in your mindset. If you spend your day complaining with your coworkers, you're not going to feel good about yourself. Sometimes, you have to have the courage to stop the negativity and simply refuse to engage in it. Other times, we have to take steps in our personal and professional lives to eliminate negative relationships and search out new, better, positive ones. If you are genuinely happy, this will rub off on the people around you and will eventually be reflected back to you.
#10 - Be More Health Conscious
Healthy living has a huge impact on your day-to-day life, from your ability to focus to your level of overall energy to whether or not you're able to perform at your best. Food and nutrition choices are integral, but healthy living also means sleeping well, creating work/life balance, reducing stress, staying well-hydrated, getting good, quality activity daily and so much more. If you aren't sure on how to start, our healthcare providers at Louisville Medical Center will be happy to help you with your initial steps on your healthy living journey. Follow this blog and our Facebook feed for frequent healthy living tips.
#11 - Move Your Body
Perhaps you haven't been able to go to sleep early enough to get up to exercise before work and maybe family schedules prevent you from finding "you" time to exercise afterward. There are other ways to schedule self-care activity during the day. Take five minutes here and there throughout the day for a brisk walk, do stretches, or climb some stairs. These small activity sessions will make you more productive when you come back to working and allows you to destress in small increments.
#12 - Organize Your Space
Your work space reflects your quality of thought. Whether it's your work station or your home, you're less likely to feel productive if you are sorting through clutter. And just looking at the clutter adds to stress and feelings of being overwhelmed. It cuts your ability to prioritize important tasks. Start each work day by cleaning your keyboard and organize your space. At home, do the dishes, put away laundry and do a quick wipe-down in your bathroom. These small tasks only take a few minutes, contribute to a sense of accomplishment and enable you to focus on the things that are really worth your extended quality time.
#13 - Simplify
From your decisions to your surroundings, the less mental and physical clutter that surrounds you, the easier your life becomes. With each decision you make, consider whether or not you are over-complicating matters. If so, explore how you can craft a more straightforward option. Declutter your home and give away anything that is not beautiful or useful. Remember that memories and people are not things. Things may remind you of memories and people, but getting rid of excess things does not diminish the people or memories you have attached to them. Memories and people are important. Things are not.
#14 - Be Social
Being social by going joining coworkers for lunch, calling a coworker just to chat or meeting coworkers for coffee on the way in to work can work wonders for mood and contribute to your overall success. Being social is part of caring for yourself and is far from wasted time. Being social with coworkers can contribute to team cohesion and create work relationships that promote worker retention and job satisfaction for everyone. Being a positive force in the social environment of the workplace contributes to a positive company culture, full of coworkers who are willing to help out with projects and tasks and can provide you with a support system when you need it.
#15 - Make Time for Self-Care
Self-care is a tremendously overlooked component of your health that is tremendously important. Five to fifteen minutes of simply indulging yourself in something you truly enjoy is a necessary component of well-being. A hot soak in the bathtub, reading a good book, an occasional spa day or an occasional indulgent desert...whatever you can define as something that is exclusively for your enjoyment and happiness is just that. Even taking a few minutes for some deep breathing can release hormones into your body that decrease inflammation, promote a feeling of overall well-being and allows you to love yourself. You spend your whole day devoted to taking care of others, so why should you love yourself any less? You are worthy of your own love and being a priority with your time.
#16 - Challenge Yourself
Successful people are always looking to push themselves outside of their comfort zones. Find ways to set yourself challenges and complete them. The act of succeeding at a smaller, personal challenge will give you confidence in your abilities and motivate you to take on bigger challenges in the future, whether they're personal or work-related.
#17 - Look at Failure Differently
A lot of people can experience a failure and cry for a week, succeed and celebrate for a day. Change the way you look at failure. Babe Ruth, who played major league baseball for 22 seasons, comes to mind. He ended his career with 1330 strikeouts, a record that stood for over 30 years. What do most people remember? His record of 714 home runs. Yes, he struck out almost twice as many times as he hit a home run, but that didn't keep him from swinging.
A failure is merely an opportunity to learn how to succeed. Successful people look at failures differently. They do not define failure as the opposite of succeeding, rather they define it as the opposite of trying. Failure is often a feeling of fear that manifests in self-doubt, keeping you from achieving your goals. Change your attitude to cry over failure for a day, celebrate successes for a week.
#18 - Make Time for Check Ups
Young people often feel invincible and treat their health care accordingly. Unfortunately for many, serious issues can show themselves at any age unexpectedly. An annual checkup goes a long way toward prevention. Successful people know it's far better to find out some concerning news early than it is to hear dramatic news that didn't have to be.
#19 - Tend To Your Mental Health
Mental health issues, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and so on, do not have to inhibit your success in your daily life, as long as you acknowledge your problems and honor them. Your pathway to your ideal goals may be more challenging, but certainly not impossible with regular brain training (replacing negative thoughts with positive ones), cognitive behavioral therapy, and an appropriate medication combination. Regularly see your therapist and stay on your prescribed medication regimens for optimal stability and clear thinking in the workplace and beyond.
#20 - Integrate Your Diet
Busy business people can't easily control the food available to them everywhere they go. There are always events, travel, and gatherings that will dictate the foods available. Partake of just what's there and you'll end up increasing your clothing size regularly. Successful people know which foods are healthy and can improvise in any scenario. They create habits of healthy eating that keep them feeling at the top of their game. They master moderation of food and drink so they can stay healthy and sharp. Mentally monitor your intake appropriately for your activity. You never want to miss an opportunity from rushing to the bathroom or being sloshed from the fifth tequila round.
#21 - Choose Your Profession Wisely
Successful people do not remain in professions that they do not find fulfilling, stimulating or engaging. Find your passion and don't be afraid to switch professions completely, no matter what your age or situation. There are many ways to measure success and not all of them have to do with becoming wealthy or famous. Some of the most successful people many of us have around us are people we know who succeeded at being fully human.
The Healthy, Successful Person
A truly successful person is healthy at work, at home and in their social lives.
It would seem that, from the likes of Warren Buffet to Tony Robbins to Ariana Grande to Elon Musk, successful people have all of these traits in common. They've put together structures and routines in their lives that allow them the freedom to be the successful people they are. These tools are available to all of us to implement.
For more information on healthy living or to start out on the first steps of integrating a successful, healthy lifestyle, visit one of our health providers at Louisville Medical Center with an affordable consultation. We would be more than happy to be invited to partner with you on your healthcare journey. Call 402-234-5049 to set up a consultation today.
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