Five behaviours that will change your life

I’m not one to believe in quick fixes or overnight successes.

In fact, I think hard work, healthy habits and a strong long-term plan are the real crucial elements of success.

These things won’t bring you success overnight, but lasting success isn’t the kind that arrives overnight.

It involves hard work, dedication, and a commitment to seeing your plan through.

However, there are changes you can make now, that will vastly improve your day-to-day life and your ability to keep striving for long-term success.

They are five simple changes that are powerful on their own, but when introduced together, can make an even bigger difference to your wellbeing.

So without further delay, here they are:

1. Turn off your phone

We’re all available 24/7 these days, and to be honest, it’s a trend that’s a bit of a worry.

I think hard work is great — I work long hours, too — but I also understand the importance of switching off.

If we all worked at full tilt for our entire working lives we would not only burn out, but we wouldn’t enjoy ourselves. What’s the point of that?

So, here’s an idea...

Switch off your phone occasionally.

Don’t sleep with it next to your bed (if you’re using it as an alarm clock then buy an alarm!)

Trust me, you’ll be more energetic and connected when you do turn it back on.

2. Get rid of the brain drains

Some people are energetic and inspiring, others bring you down with their constant complaining and negative attitudes.

You may be tempted to try and cheer these people up.

Don’t. Negative people are bad for you.

And I’m not confusing negative people with those who are going through a tough time — it’s necessary to support your friends in need.

What I’m talking about is a life attitude.

Some people are glass half empty and some are glass-half-full.

You want to surround yourself with people who encourage you to chase your dreams.

3. Stop trying to be perfect

When you stop trying to project a perfect image to the world, guess what happens?

You become you, and then people like you for you.

Once you stop trying to be something you’re not (i.e.: perfect) it frees you up to really explore what your strengths and weaknesses are, and your mental health improves as you’re not constantly beating yourself up.

You’ll attract better people into your life and any success you achieve will feel like a genuine accomplishment, rather than something you conned your way to.

Trying to copy another person’s idea of success, will lead to failure.

4. Say no more often

OK, so hear me out on this.

I’m not saying to say ‘no’ to opportunity, that would be stupid, but what I am arguing is that you should not do anything that doesn’t advance you or your career, or make you feel good in some way.

Don’t agree to things that you don’t want to do because it prevents you from spending time on the things that will help you achieve your goals.

We only have a certain amount of time on Earth to achieve financial freedom so make sure you spend yours wisely.

5. Change your thoughts

I really have saved the best (and the hardest) for last.

Our thoughts are very powerful, which is why it’s important to pay attention to them.

What is your internal dialogue saying to you?

Is it overly self-critical?

Or are you too judgmental towards others?

How can you change that?

The more you notice the thought patterns you fall into, the better able you are to challenge yourself on beliefs that are overly critical or unhelpful.

It’s not easy, especially when some of these thought patterns are decades or years old!

But even if you manage a small amount of change, even if it’s just a few times a day that you’re able to pull yourself up, you will see the changes throughout the rest of your life.

It will change how you react to situations, and in turn, how others react to you.

So many people, you see, are waiting for things to happen to us: success, good fortune, love.

Others realise that you have to work for these things, but not many of these people realise that much of that work is internal.

We have the power to change our habits and thoughts, and this has a huge influence on how successful we are.

But more than that: it impacts how fulfilled we feel in life.

And really, at the end, of the day isn’t feeling fulfilled and fulfilling our potential the meaning of life?

About Mark Creedon Mark Creedon is Director of Metropole's Business Accelerator Mastermind and business coach to some of Australia's leading entrepreneurs - each who call him their "unreasonable friend"
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