How to make success a habit
We all have habits. Good habits, bad habits, habits we know we should change but don’t seem to be able to. Sometimes, there are things we do that we don’t even realise are habits!
Whilst the habits we have in our personal lives effect those we live with or our friends and family, the habits we carry into the work environment can have a wide-reaching effect on not only our colleagues and those we come into contact with, but they can also effect how the business itself performs over the long term.
So if we want to be successful in business, we need to habitualise successful traits and actions.
There’s one book that went a long way to popularising this business theory. Stephen R Covey’s book, ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’, is said by many to have pioneered the business self-help genre with its publication in 1989.
If you’re not familiar with the book, amongst other things, it discusses seven things business leaders should do to increase their productivity and overall effectiveness. These are:
- Be proactive
- Begin with the end in mind
- Put first things first
- Think win-win
- Seek first to understand, then to be understood
- Synergize
- Sharpen the Saw
There are some useful things to think about here.
But let’s be honest, existing habits aren’t easy to break. The good news is, new habits are comparatively easy to form. In fact, some theorists say you can make a new habit automatic in as little as 3 weeks.
So, the takeaway from this article… Think about the areas your business is lacking or falling down and how your habits might be affecting this. If there are any of the 7 above listed habits that particularly resonate, consider trying to adopt them into your daily routine.
And remember…
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit”. -Aristotle
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