Think you can handle having good habits?

Here is one thing about which I am 100% certain: The success of my life depends in very, very large part on the habits I create for myself.

Likewise, the success of your life depends in very, very large part on the habits you create for yourself. Some people reading this may want to argue with me, tell me that’s not true, that the formula is actually much more complicated, or that life circumstances make things difficult.

Let’s get this right out of the way: It is not more complicated than that.

People wanting it to be more difficult are most likely looking for an excuse to not have to step outside of their comfort zones, and by doing so, they get to avoid taking full responsibility for the success of their lives.

Yep, I said it.

There are really only two kinds of habits: Good and Bad. The good ones are usually known as being tough to create (and sometimes even tougher to keep), and the bad ones are usually super easy to create and really tough to give up doing.

Want to know a secret? Focusing on giving up bad habits will almost always result in them sticking around for a long time.

Shift your focus. Having good habits is actually pretty simple. It just takes some mental and physical organization, the desire to truly be the architect of your life, and getting yourself comfortable with being a bit uncomfortable.

Think you can handle that?

If you’re still with me, here are the clearest and most keep-able good habits I can give you. It’s up to you to maintain the habits once you begin to put them into practice, though. No list in the world is going to make you keep them unless you want to keep them.

(By the way, I’m writing this list as a Former Keeper of Pretty Unhealthy Habits, so I’m living proof this stuff works…as long as you really want it to work.)

Here is what I recommend:

1. Only commit to doing things that contribute positively to your mental,
   emotional, spiritual, and/or physical health.

2. Get yourself into a quiet space for two or three minutes every day and
   make a [mental or physical] list of people and things for which you are
   thankful, and really feel the gratitude as you express it.

3. Create a weekday routine that works for you and stick to it like superglue.

4. Resolve problems and personal upset quickly, either by yourself or by
   enlisting the help of someone else. Don’t let either one fester unresolved
   for more than twenty-four hours whenever possible.

5. Embrace your mistakes as lessons and move on. Being a victim of your
   errors keeps you powerless, and no number of good habits in the world
   will rescue you from self-imposed helplessness.

6. Finally, find at least three people who are living powerfully and enroll
   them to hold you accountable no matter what kind of excuses you throw
   at them.

Got something I missed that works for you? Lemme have it!

And remember, always: practice makes permanent.