What is your most important habit to guarantee success in the New Year?

We’re at the beginning of a new year, a time when many people start thinking about how to make this a great year.

Every year, millions of people make New Year’s resolutions, hoping to spark positive change.

The recurring themes each year include a more active approach to health and fitness, improved finances, and learning new things for personal and professional development.

It’s a time when many of us think about improving our lifestyle and building new habits.

Our habits can have a considerable impact on our life.

Of course, we’ve all got some good habits and probably a lot of bad habits.

After all, bad habits seem easy and effortless to establish, yet hard to break.

In contrast, good habits often require hard work to establish.

As you know, my good friend, Tom Corley, who is the co-author of my international best-selling book Rich Habits, Poor Habits, spent five years studying the habits of the rich and successful.

And I’ve been studying the habits of successful property investors, business people and entrepreneurs as I’ve been running my Mentorship program for over 18 years.

Just ask any professional in the field of personal development and they’ll tell you that there is no greater predictor of your future success than your habits.

So, as you’re setting your goals and building your plans for this New Year, it’s time to take a serious look at what habits you really need to drill down on.

Because I probably don’t need to tell you that habits are a hard thing to make stick.

But as Tom Corley found in his Rich Habits study, there’s a science to forming lasting habits and it comes down to specificity!

 The science of habits that last

I recently read a study that showed that the greatest factor in whether or not your habits stick is the number of new habits you try to implement at once.

If you only try to introduce one new habit and go all in on it, you’ll have an 85% chance of making it last.

But… If you try two new habits at a time, your odds go down to 40%.

And try and implement three new habits at once? You’ve really got no chance of success.

So my recommendation…

It seems to be clear, if you want to stack the odds in your favour, just start with one new habit, start to implement it right now, and then pick up another one in one month’s time.

This begs the question…

What should your One new habit be?

The answer is up to you.

Just remember that this is the bedrock of your well-being and mindset.

So dig deep and find one habit that you’re no longer willing to tolerate.

What has been holding you back and what habit would fill that gap?

A lot of people find success by starting by changing their morning and nightly routines.

If you’re low on energy and feeling lethargic during the day, maybe it’s important to get your body moving.

Go for a ten-minute walk or dedicate yourself to doing 20 push-ups first thing in the morning.

If you can’t focus and find yourself getting overwhelmed, there’s nothing proven to be more effective than meditation.

Whether you use an app for guided sessions, join a class, or do it on your own, it doesn’t matter!

And while many people talk about diet, exercise, and meditation as a trio that goes together, and they try to change all three together, I’m asking you to single out the most important for you.

Because once you get that new habit down, the others will follow a lot more easily.

Some more tips…

Clear out a space for this one new habit every day and put it in your schedule.

Then write it out on sticky notes and put them someplace you’ll see them when you’re in the right location.

If there’s a chair you plan to meditate in, stick a note on it.

I know many people leave notes on their bathroom mirrors to say affirmations.

It’s all about making this habit stick and doing it now!

So, I’ll ask one more time and I want you to take the time to answer seriously…

What is the most important habit you want to develop in 2024?

About Michael Yardney Michael is the founder of Metropole Property Strategists who help their clients grow, protect and pass on their wealth through independent, unbiased property advice and advocacy. He's once again been voted Australia's leading property investment adviser and one of Australia's 50 most influential Thought Leaders. His opinions are regularly featured in the media.