By Guest Author Sarah Cummings
Success means a lot of different things for a lot of different people.
For some it could mean rising to the top of their particular field. For others it could be raising a family of healthy well-adjusted children. For many it can mean the financial freedom to retire at forty. For me it means being able to travel, work and still get a good night’s sleep.
While success can come in many shapes, sizes and forms, if we look closely at the people we consider successful they tend share some remarkably similar healthy daily habits.
Successful people tend to be…
Early Risers
Successful people don’t tend to mess about in the morning time. Getting the day off to a good start has a remarkable knock on effect for the rest of the day. The trick is to get some big wins in early before the rest of the world gets up and distracts you. To achieve this a lot of successful people are early risers.
Some are at their desk an hour or two before the rest of the house are awake. Some hit the gym or go for a run. Exercise is often awkward to fit in during the regular course of the day so getting it in early is a smart move and one that many successful people do.
List Makers
Being successful is all about getting things done. The key to this is setting regular and achievable goals. These can be daily, weekly or even yearly but the important thing is to always know what you are working toward.
A lot of successful people will start or finish the day by writing a to do list. For some this might only include one high priority item. Everything else takes second fiddle until that one item is achieved. Phones will go unanswered (“They will call back if it’s important!”). Emails won’t even be checked.
When this one item is ticked off the day is considered a success, everything else is then a bonus.
Healthy Eaters
Successful people don’t have time to be unhealthy. Niggling colds and annoying stomach bugs will just get in the way of getting things done. For this reason successful people for the large part tend to pay a lot of attention to what they fuel themselves with.
They tend to pay a lot of attention to the nutritional content of food, focussing heavily on fresh food – prioritizing fruit, vegetables, fish and lean meat.
They also pay a lot of attention to the maintaining healthy nutrient and vitamin levels. Where necessary to bolster what they perceive to be lacking in their diet with supplements like dessicated liver and organic greens powders.
Regular Exercisers
Heading to the swimming pool or the gym for an hour a day might seem like it would get in the way of achieving things, however that’s an old fashioned way of thinking. Successful people don’t simply work long hours, no, instead they work smart. That means achieving more in less time.
Keeping the body fit helps to keep the mind sharp. Exercise helps to reduce feelings of stress and anxiety which tend to hamper decision making. Sitting at a desk for two hours worrying about the same problem is simply wasted time. Going for a walk or run, clearing the mind and then coming back with fresh eyes is a smart move.
For those exercisers with achy knees and tired joints, cod liver oil can be an absolute godsend. Not only does it reduce inflammation but it also promotes cardiovascular health.
Bedtime Respecters
There is a common myth that successful people tend to sleep less. That they can get by on only four or five hours sleep a night. This is simply untrue. Sleep makes us better at just about every single thing we do. It’s for this reason that a good night’s sleep has been referred to as the single greatest natural performance enhancer available.
There are of course anomalies, creative geniuses like Leonardo Da Vinci or Nikola Tesla who scoff at sleep in favor of all night bursts of creation and invention. But for the most part, the people that get stuff done are good sleepers.
If you want to improve your odds of success then adopting healthy sleep habits is one very important step in the process. A regular bedtime encourages regular sleep. This is true no matter your age. If you don’t have a bedtime this handy guide will help you work out when yours should be.
Have trouble sleeping even when you do go to bed on time? Try drinking Natural Calm Magnesium during the day as it helps many people get better sleep.
TV Avoiders
Television has a habit of sucking you in and getting you hooked like a drug. The average American watches an eye-watering five hours of television a day! Now, look around the house of a lot of very successful people and the chances are you won’t find a television. That’s not to say they don’t keep up to date with current affairs or the latest pop culture it’s just they don’t let the current ‘must see’ show take over their lives.
Final Thoughts
Well, there you have it six healthy habits that a lot of successful people share. Now obviously there are hugely successful people out there who break every single rule in the book, they eat nothing but junk food and haven’t done a day’s exercise in their lives. It’s a percentage game however, and if you want to increase your odds of being successful I would say following the habits above will have a far better chance of paying off, and paying off big!