Three Most Important Habits to Live a Truly Successful Life
What is success?
There were times when I thought success was about creating great work; times when I believed success was about making more money; and times when I thought success was about living in the present.
None of the above definitions of success are wrong, but almost every single one of them is incomplete. How you define success defines you. Those definitions described part of my identity at the moment, but not me.
Now, I usually describe success as the combination of accomplishments and happiness. For me, success is about having fun and joy along the journey of creating the results—art, reputation, lifestyle—you desire. Success is the process of growth.
Many habits help one achieve success. I’ve written a lot about them in the past too:
- How to think clearly and make better decisions.
- How to motivate yourself and handle setbacks.
- How to eat better to improve your health.
Out of all the specific tips, tricks, and habits, there are only three habits that really matter when we’re looking at success from a broader angle. These are what keep us on track, what help us persist, and what bring us pure joy.
Practicing Self-Awareness
Self-awareness is the first step to making your life easier in both accomplishing your dreams and experiencing happiness. In other words, it’s about knowing who you are and where you want to go.
Practicing self-awareness harnesses your ability to make the right choices for yourself. It helps you to keep your priorities straight and direct your energy to the right thing.
You can do anything but not everything. —David Allen
However, self-awareness is not something that we’re born with. Just like passion, you can’t find it without testing things out.
- Take action to test out what you love, so you don’t waste 20 years on something only to find out it’s too late to change course.
- Figure out your strengths and weaknesses, so you don’t fight a battle that you can’t win.
- Define who you are and build your self-identity, so you’re not trying to be everything and end up becoming nothing.
The best way to learn about yourself is to keep asking yourself tough questions and answering them. Questions that challenge your existing paradigms and require you to think deeply. Do this every day, write them down, and reflect upon them regularly.
(I found that most creative work is a process of self-discovery. Over the past year, writing has helped me discover and uncover a lot about myself.)
Adopting The Child-Like Mindset
I have a two-year-old nephew. It’s great to have a kid at home. There is a saying that kids are here to remind adults about how to live, and that’s very true.
I found that everyone deserves to be successful because everyone is born with the traits required to accomplish great things and be happy.
First, kids don’t overthink stuff and always see the world as it is. We don’t see kids dwell on how hard it is to build a LEGO castle. We don’t see kids overthinking about the meaning of playing. And we definitely don’t see kids hide their feelings and emotions because of their egos.
We can act faster if we stop dwelling, live happier if we stop over-thinking, and communicate so much more effective when we speak our minds.
The second trait I learned from my nephew is even more important: he doesn’t stop playing. What do kids do when they fall down? They get back up quickly and start playing again. And that’s exactly what many of us need to accomplish in order to get what we want in life.
Almost all top performers and high achievers have this. They may be gifted with a better head start and opportunity, but what really makes them stand out is their ability to keep trying—again and again—every time after they’ve failed.
Finding Fulfillment in Hard Work, Challenges, and Setbacks
There is a group of people who complain about anything—the weather is terrible, the teachers suck, the government is dumb—and do nothing. They can only enjoy life when everything is going well.
The truth is, life never goes as smoothly as we want it to, and often, greatness is found and nurtured in the face of adversity. Hoping to get lucky is like hoping to hit the bullseye without aiming.
Don’t wish it was easier wish you were better. Don’t wish for less problems wish for more skills. Don’t wish for less challenge wish for more wisdom. —Jim Rohn
Instead of hoping that life gets easier, and hoping that you will get better:
- If you’re an entrepreneur, don’t wait for customers to come knocking at your door. Go out, share your product, and get customers for your business.
- If you’re a writer, don’t hope for more readers to come naturally. Write every day, at the same time, reach out to other publications and writers to promote your work.
- If you’re a music producer, don’t assume people will love what you make. Give your work away for free and build your audience slowly.
Acknowledge that success is not easy. If it were easy, everyone would have done it. Then, be the other group—the group who finds joy in challenges and setbacks, the group who loves the things they do, and the group who puts in the hard work and gets addicted to the process.
Accomplish Success with Appreciation
People can accomplish a lot but still feel miserable. At the same time, some people live in the illusion that happiness is everything they ever needed without getting anything done.
Again, I see success as a combination of both accomplishment and happiness.
Ultimately, your habits are what lead you to them. The secret is simply to be self-aware, to keep a child-like mindset and momentum, and to appreciate and find fulfillment from every moment of your life.
FOOTNOTES
- Speaking of happiness, I want to expand more on the concept of appreciation. I think it’s wrong or ineffective to seek happiness. We hustle to achieve our dreams, to make more money, to do great work. But we can never hustle to achieve happiness.
- What I learned about seeking happiness (and peace of mind) is that the more I seek it, the less I get it. Simply because it’s not something we can get. It’s something we choose to live with. How? Appreciate the people, things, and moments you have.
文章内容来源:
https://deanyeong.com/3-important-habits-to-success/
以下为翻译内容转载自煎蛋网:
http://jandan.net/2019/03/06/habits-to-success.html
最重要的的三个习惯：帮你过上真正成功的人生
什么是成功？
我曾以为，成功就是创造伟大的作品，就是赚更多钱，就是活在当下。
殊不知这些成功的定义都没有错，可是几乎每一个都不完整。如何定义成功，成功就会如何定义你。这些定义都只是描述出了我当前特质的一部分，但不是我的全部。
现在，我经常把成功定义为成就和幸福的结合。对于我而言，成功就是在创造你所期望的结果的旅程中，收获欢乐和喜悦，而无论你追求的是艺术、声誉，还是某种生活方式。成功其实是个成长的过程。
很多习惯帮助人活得成功。比如：
- 如何清晰地思考并作出更好的决策。
- 如何激励你自己和处理挫折。
- 如何吃得更好以改善你的健康。
当我们从更广阔的角度看待成功时，在所有具体的提醒、技巧和习惯中，只有3种习惯至关重要。正是这些习惯让我们走上正轨，帮助我们坚持，并带给我们纯粹的快乐。
练习自我认知
自我认知是让你的生活更轻松、实现梦想和收获幸福感的第一步。另一方面，它关于认识你是谁，以及你想去哪里。
练习自我认知有助于你为自己做出正确的选择。它帮助你保持主次分明，将精力投入到正确的事情上。
You can do anything but not everything. ——David Allen
你能做任何事，但不是所有事。——大卫·艾伦
然而，自我认知并不是与生俱来。就像激情，如果没有不断尝试各种各样的事情，也就不会发现自己会为什么而激动万分。
- 采取行动去尝试，找到你热爱的东西，这样你就不会浪费20年的时间，才发现改变方向为时已晚。
- 弄清楚你的优势和劣势，这样你就不会打一场注定无法获胜的战争。
- 确定你是一个怎样的人，并建立自我认同，这样你就不必什么都是、什么都做，到头来却什么都不是。
了解自己最好的方法，就是不断问自己艰难的问题，并回答这些问题。回答这些对你现有的模式提出挑战，并要求你深入思考的问题。每天如此，写下来，并定期反思。
(我发现大多数创造性工作都是一个自我发现的过程。在过去的一年，写作帮助我发现和揭露了很多关于自己的地方。)
养成赤子之心
我有一个2岁的外甥，家中有个孩子真好。有一种说法是，孩子们来到这个世界，就是为了告诉大人们怎么活，这话说得很对。
我发现每个人都应该成功，因为每个人天生就具备完成伟大事业和快乐的特质。
首先，孩子们不会过度思考，往往能看到世界本来的样子。我们不会看到孩子老想着搭建一个乐高积木城堡有多么难。我们不会看到孩子们过度思考玩耍的意义。并且很明显，我们不会看到孩子们为了自尊，隐藏他们的感受和情绪。
如果我们停止纠结，我们能更快采取行动。如果我们停止过度思考，我们能活得更快乐。当我们说出我们的想法时，我们的沟通会有效得多。
我从我的外甥学习到的第二个特质甚至更重要：他不会停止玩耍。当孩子们跌倒时，他们会怎么做？他们迅速站起来，再次投入玩耍。为了获得我们想要的生活，这正是我们很多人需要达到的境界。
几乎所有*的演员和成功者都拥有这样的特质。他们也许被上天赐予了更高的起点和更好的机会，但真正让他们脱颖而出的是他们每次失败后，仍然坚持不断尝试。
在努力工作、挑战和挫折中取得成就
有这样一群人，他们抱怨任何事情——天气多么不好、老师多么糟糕、*多么愚蠢——以至于什么都不做。他们只有在一切都顺利的时候，才能享受生活。
真相是，生活永远都不像我们想象中顺利，我们往往会在逆境中发现并培育伟大。寄希望于幸运，无异于不瞄准就想正中红心。
Don’t wish it was easier wish you were better. Don’t wish for less problems wish for more skills. Don’t wish for less challenge wish for more wisdom. —Jim Rohn
不要期望事情变得容易，而是期望自己变得更好。不要期望存在更少的问题，而是期望获得更多的技能。不要期望面对更少的挑战，而是期望领悟更多的智慧。——吉姆‧罗恩
与其盼望生活变得容易，不如盼望你变得更好：
- 如果你是一个企业家，不要等待顾客主动敲你的门。走出去，分享你的产品，为你的公司创造顾客。
- 如果你是一个作者，不要盼望读者会自然而然多起来。坚持每天写作，同时，通过接触其他刊物和作家，提升你的水平。
- 如果你是一个音乐制作人，不要假设人们会爱上你的作品。免费提供你的作品，慢慢建立你的听众群体。
成功的确并不容易。如果成功很简单，那么每个人都能做到。所以，成为另一种人，一种能在挑战和挫折中找到快乐的人，一种热爱他们所做的事情的人，一种努力工作并沉迷于这个过程的人。
通过欣赏来获得成功
人们可以做很多事情，但仍然感到悲惨。与此同时，一些人活在幻觉中，以为幸福就是他们需要的一切的，而不需要做任何事情。
再次重申，我认为成功是成就和幸福的结合。
最终，你的习惯会引导你。秘诀很简单，就在于自我认知，在于保持孩子般的心态和动力，也在于欣赏生活中的每一刻，并从中找到满足感。
本文译自 deanyeong，由译者 CampZhe 基于创作共用协议(BY-NC)发布。