In light of the events that have taken place today, my condolences go out to the family and friends involved in the Aaron Hernandez shooting. A 23 year old with a promising future and a new contract who promised/vowed to turn his life around just got caught up in something that obviously got the better of him. One would ask what could possibly be going through the mind of someone so young and with a great upside that would lead to this? Was it something in his upbringing? Was it the people he surrounded himself with? Well, whatever it is – I am not here to debate that nor am I here to be the judge, jury or executioner.
The point here is that something must have had an impact on his life to get to this point so what is it that we/you can do to ensure it doesn’t happen to us? Below are my top three life changing habits we can institute that can help facilitate that:
1. Be Positive. This is the one habit that will help you form the other important habits. Sure, positive thinking by itself won’t lead to success, but it certainly goes a long way to motivate you to do the other things required. Simply be a genuine, clear and a cheerful person. You will develop a positive mental attitude. Be the kind of person from whom, “never is heard a discouraging word.” Be easygoing, genial, friendly, patient, tolerant and open minded. You will make people feel comfortable being around you
2. Be Goal Driven (start with one). Identify the things you love to do, the things that give you satisfaction. Once you identify what you love to do, use this information to find the purpose of your life or the objective of your life. Some goals are ongoing ones like blogging every day, or exercising every day. In those cases, turn them into habits; focus exclusively on turning the goal into a habit, until the habit is ingrained. Then focus on the next goal.
3. Be Kind. Yes, kindness is a habit and it can be cultivated. Focus on it every day for a month and you’ll see profound changes in your life. You’ll feel better about yourself as a person. You’ll see people react to you differently and treat you better, over the long run. It’s karma and we all know what karma is don’t we?
4) Define Success. You cannot have success if you do not know what it means for you. Everyone views success differently and using someone else’s standard for success is like eating another person’s lunch and expecting to love it. Set clear goals and be realistic. Surround yourself with other people who are successful. When you’re surrounded with people who are highly-driven, it’s encouraging. You can bounce ideas off of people, and they can even connect you with other people. Surrounding yourself with driven, successful people is a way to create a culture of success.
Well that’s it folks – it’s that simple: Remove fear and doubt from your way of thinking. Focus on staying positive in every situation. You will be surprised how your effective you can be when your thoughts are guiding your actions, not the other way around. If and when you fail, don’t be fearful about starting over; be happy that you’ve been given a chance to be even more successful.
So I ask you – what are some habits that you have that have helped change or shape your life? Comment below….
