Late December is the perfect time to not only look forward to the New Year but also to assess how far you’ve come over the past 12 months.

So, take some time this week to think about your growth this year. What did you set out to achieve in January? How did you do?

If you didn’t do as well as you would have liked to on your goal, don’t despair. You can turn things around by evaluating your habits and making a committed decision to replace one or more bad habits with good ones.

Changing habits won’t be an easy task. It’ll take strong desire, a committed decision and repetitive behavior to do it. The key is to choose a goal that is exciting and meaningful enough to you that you’ll be willing to put in the time and effort to make the change.

Habits That Automate Your Progress Toward Your Goals

Replacing an unwanted habit with one or more of the following daily routines will go a long way in helping you achieve your goals and fulfill your dreams in 2017 and beyond.

1. Respond rather than react.

A habit is an idea that’s fixed in your subconscious mind that you act on without any conscious thought. Unfortunately, every day, you do many things automatically that are not advancing you, including reacting to the things that are happening around you.

Instead of reacting to things, which is our tendency, we should respond to them. When we react to something it is in control of us. But when we take a moment to think about it and then respond, we are in control. By responding, we are interrupting our habitual patterns and are more likely to get the results we want instead of the results we’ve always gotten.

There’s always a better way to do anything in life. However, if you’re going to enjoy a better life, you must create it, and that will require you to be conscious of your actions.

2. Get up when you wake up.

Anyone who is serious about success in any measure knows that it’s important to wake up early. I usually get up at 5:30 every day, and I start working on my goals for the day right away.

If you usually lie in the bed for a while when you wake up, make a shift. Get your motor running the moment you wake up.

If you’re not a morning person, make incremental changes to start getting up earlier. For a week, set your alarm 15 minutes earlier than you’re used to waking up. As soon as the alarm sounds, get up and get productive. The next week, set your alarm 15 minutes earlier, and continue the pattern until you’re getting up at least an hour earlier than you’re currently used to.

This habit alone will do wonders for your momentum and progress on your goals as you move through the year.

3. Express gratitude.

Most people know it’s beneficial to be grateful, but many don’t understand what gratitude really does for us. Expressing gratitude instantly shifts your energy and focus onto the good in your life instead of your problems.

This is important because anytime you focus on or add energy to something, it expands or grows. Focusing on what’s good puts your mind in harmony with your source of supply so that even more good things can move toward you.

When you feel gratitude in every cell of your being, it allows you to feel peaceful during stressful situations, resolves challenges, and even helps shift your paradigm.

4. Develop your mind.

Spend a part of every day in self-development. You will gain tremendous benefits from rubbing your mind against the minds of great authors.

You may need to invest time in continuing education to develop your intellect. However, if you want to grow into your dreams, you must focus on developing your untapped potential.

5. Carry a goal card.

Write the details of your goal in the present tense, as if you’ve already got it, on a card that you can carry in your pocket or purse. Touch and read the card several times a day.

This works because writing causes thinking. When you write on your card, the image is impregnated into some of your brain cells. Every time you touch the card, it activates those cells, and the image comes up. If you hold that image in your mind and heart, by law, it must move into form.

6. Manage your activities.

This time of the year, many people search for ways to manage their time. Unfortunately, time cannot be managed.

We all have the same amount of time each day. So, rather than attempting to manage time, develop the following two habits:

First, create a goal-oriented to-do list each night. Write down six prioritized activities for the next day that will move you closer to your goal. If you don’t complete all six activities, move the uncompleted tasks to the next day’s list—but always limit the list to six activities.

Second, practice working with a sense of urgency where you use your will to focus on the task at hand so you get a lot done in a short period.

One way to do that is to set a timer for an odd length of time such as 21 minutes and 21 seconds and commit to doing only one task for that long. This keeps your mind focused and less prone to distractions so you can get more done.

Once these habits have been solidified into your daily routine, virtually anything is possible, and no goal will be too big to attain.

7. Leave others with the impression of increase.

There is nothing wrong or reprehensible in wanting more. The one thing every person on earth wants is increase. We all want more. More happiness, more love, more money, more friends. More Life.

But don’t get so caught up in your desires that you forget about others.

You can help everyone you come across enjoy more of life by leaving them with the impression of increase. You can celebrate their gifts, highlight what they are doing well and give them a genuine compliment.

It doesn’t matter what you do. Just get in the habit of making everyone you encounter feel better because you were there. Make them feel good about themselves.

There’s so much good in every person, and if you’re looking for it, you’re going to see it. And when you do see it, you’re going to see a reflection of the good that is in yourself.

Act

The habits above are some of the best habits to have in life. Leave a comment below to let us know how many of them you commit to taking on in 2017.

Whatever you agree to do, your success will boil down to taking small steps day in and day out to help you build up the right repertoire of habits to help you achieve your heart’s desires.

Why?

Because action is the key to success. You can’t just sit and study. No amount of reading or memorizing will help you reach your goals. It’s the understanding and application of wise thoughts that count and make you successful.

Have a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!

To your success,

Bob Proctor