Welcome to this series on Success. I hope you find the readings thought provoking and inspiring. Please enjoy.
“Happiness is not something ready-made. It comes from your own actions” – Dalai Lama.
This is exactly why I have been taking action in my everyday life to make myself happier than the day before, and I would like to share some of these with you.
- Seek positive friends. A negative social circle will act as an echo chamber for bad ideas. A positive social circle will also act as an echo chamber, but one that supports your dreams, so choose your friends carefully.
Find people who reflect the values you want to adopt. Join groups online and go to networking or social events focused on personal growth. As your own mind starts to change, it’ll become easier to connect with more positive people.
- Challenge your thoughts. When old thinking comes up, as it will, it’s not enough to try and ignore it. We need to challenge our beliefs.
Weigh your thoughts against the evidence. If they crumble under scrutiny, then explore why you believe them in the first place. By challenging your thoughts, your mindset will begin to evolve.
- Write out your action plan. This is about looking at the possibilities and then doing something to make it happen. Forward thinking will move your focus away from where you don’t want to be to where could be.
But it’s not enough to simply write it out, because we only grow when we take action. It’s just a thought until we do something to make it happen.
Don’t know what the right steps are? Don’t worry, just identify the first thing you could do to start on the path, then do it. Even if it’s a mistake, you’ll still make progress, and that will keep you focused on creating positive change. Never allow paralysis by analysis. You have the vision; go with it.
- Adopt a healthy lifestyle. A healthy body will support a healthy mind. During the most difficult time of my personal struggles, bad health was a major obstacle. Chronic fatigue could wipe me out for whole days.
Nonetheless, getting into action, changing my diet, and working out set the foundation for all other changes to take place. Slowly, my energy levels started to rise till the point that my health no longer was an issue.
- Write a win’s checklist. So, you started on good note; now finish on a great note by making a mental list of the day’s wins. It doesn’t have to be monumental; the point of the exercise is just to keep your focus on the best of your day’s experience.
Keeping track of losses can help you improve, but dwelling on them will kill your motivation and momentum. Finish strong and it will be much easier to wake up feeling happy
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Nick Thorne is the founder of Nick’s Digital Solutions Limited. He lives in Levin, New Zealand.