Have you ever wondered why many really bright people struggle in life?
Or why sometimes, when we give something everything we’ve got, we just can’t seem to make it happen?
Well, after several years of trying to figure it out, I was finally able to piece everything together.
My interest in this topic began nearly 60 years ago after I experienced a life transformation. Up until that point, I had been chugging along in life—just like everyone I knew. I was a high school dropout with a series of dead-end jobs.
At the urging of a successful businessman, I started reading every day. And a few years later, I had a healthier body and owned a company that was operating around the world, and I was earning $1,000,000 a year.
Now, those kinds of dramatic changes don’t happen by accident. However, I couldn’t explain what I had done to make such a tremendous difference in my life. But, after nine years of study, I finally found what I was looking for…
The Answer Changed Everything
We think we see the world as it is.
We don’t.
We see the world as we were programmed to see it…
First, we were programmed genetically. That’s why we look like our relatives.
And then, after we’re born, we are programmed environmentally. We learn to speak the language of that environment. We like the food in that environment. And we stay at the same socioeconomic level as the people in the environment we were born into.
However, a few people are an exception to the rule, and they manage to create a new, more exciting environment. Unfortunately, most people are not exceptions.
The good news is, even if we’ve been living a certain way for 30 years, 40. 50, or 60 years, we can take steps to update our mindset and change our programming (our paradigm) to be, do, and have anything we seriously want.
Here are three habits you can start developing or strengthening today to help you change your paradigm and upgrade your life:
Habit 1 – Create a Mental Image of What You Want
Remember what I said about people struggling in life and not being able to make things happen?
When that happens, we’re letting our circumstances or conditioning dictate our lives.
To keep that from happening, you must think of something you really want and develop a clear mental picture. Then, keep that image in mind as long and as often as possible.
The clearer and more definite you make your picture, and the more you focus on it and all its delightful details, the stronger your desire will be. And the stronger your desire, the easier it will be to keep your mind fixed upon the picture of what you want.
When you hold that image in your mind, you do things and release energy every day that moves you and the resources and people you need closer to your desire.
Habit 2 – Prioritize and Persist
Habit 1 teaches you to use your mental power to visualize your desired results and start changing how you think and feel each day.
Prioritizing your daily activities, Habits 2, helps you turn the image that is in your mind into your reality.
You see, most people complete all kinds of meaningless tasks each day so they can cross them off their long to-do list. However, people who really make things happen in their lives create a list of the most important things they must accomplish that day to move closer to their deepest desires.
Make sure you do at least one thing each day that moves you closer to your goal. Every evening (or morning if you prefer), make a list of the top goal-achieving activities you can take the next day and then act on them, starting with the most critical task.
Discipline is not about “forcing” yourself to do unpleasant things. Instead, it is about being willing to act upon your own deepest values. It’s giving yourself a command and then following through on it—even if it means making sacrifices like missing parties or other social events or not eating the junk food you crave.
To create the life you want, you have to pursue your goals and dreams relentlessly. You must overcome adversity and persist, sweeping aside anything that stands between you and your goals.
Persistence is an essential factor in achieving any goal that makes you stretch. So, get in the habit of pivoting or finding ways to navigate around impasses. Finish what you set out to do.
Habit 3 – Commit to Lifelong Learning
Consistent growth is key to updating your mind and upgrading your life. So, it’s important to spend part of each day involved in activities that improve your mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical health.
Study a book every day. This the way to experience real success because it helps you develop your untapped potential. Lifelong learning is the only way to do that.
Start with Small Bites
These are powerful, life-altering habits.
And none of them are hard. You can start developing or strengthening any one of these habits right away. But start small – make one change at a time.
Over time, you will experience a synergetic effect from your new habits. Synergy occurs when the sum is greater than the separate parts. Not only will you move closer to your goal, but you’ll also become happier, more prosperous, and more creative.
To your success,
Bob Proctor