You're constantly making choices as you live your life each day. You choose what to focus on and how to spend your time. You choose who to spend time with and which relationships to invest in. You choose your response to all the situations and circumstances that come your way. Over time, the choices you engage in repeatedly become habits. A habit is defined as: "a settled tendency or usual manner of behavior; an acquired mode of behavior that has become nearly or completely involuntary." The habits you cultivate matter; they influence the trajectory of your life. Habits Influence the Trajectory of Your Life Your life reflects a collision of a multitude of factors. Some of these factors can be anticipated and/or controlled; others are entirely beyond your control. Ultimately, your own personal habits play a significant role in determining the trajectory of your life and the outcomes you experience. In light of that, it makes sense to cultivate solid habits that serve you well. You want to cultivate habits that will bring about the kinds of outcomes you find desirable. Regardless of your goals and the outcomes you wish to achieve, the following five habits will improve your life and lead to greater well-being. Habit #1: Make your own decisions. At one time or another, everyone has faced the experience of being pressured, swayed, or influenced in their decision-making. While facing the negative consequences of a poor decision may be bad, nothing is worse than dealing with the fallout from a decision that wasn't even yours to begin with. Strive to make your own decisions, based on your own values. This forces you to develop your own convictions about the path you want to follow, enabling you to proceed wholeheartedly and confidently. It also enables you to weather the impact if things don't turn out well, as you know you did what you truly believed in. Habit #2: When you're knocked down, get back up as quickly as possible. At some point in life, likely at many points, you’ll find yourself knocked down. It could be a job loss, a relationship breakdown, a personal setback, the loss of someone close to you, or some other event. Such events are inevitable, and they can be incredibly painful. When something happens that knocks you down, you need time to catch your breath and regain your bearings. How much time? That differs from person to person, and we all know you can't rush the process. It's a balancing act; allow yourself adequate time to recover without setting unrealistic expectations for yourself, while at the same time aiming to get back up as quickly as you can. Why is this so important? Issues can start to pile up while you're down, further draining you and making it even more difficult to get back up onto your feet again. Habit #3: Identify the good people in your life and invest in those relationships. Don't make the mistake of taking the good people in your life for granted. Invest in these relationships, allowing the bonds to grow and strengthen over time. You'll continue to meet new people in future, but nothing can replace the trust and intimacy of longstanding relationships nurtured over years. In times of distress, these relationships can truly be a lifeline, providing the support and encouragement you need to push through. Habit #4: Identify the unhealthy or harmful relationships in your life and distance yourself from them. Especially when you've had someone in your life for a long time and you're closely attached to them, it can be extremely difficult to separate yourself from them. Even when you can clearly see yourself being dragged down, or dragged into situations you would rather not be in, you might still be reluctant to pull away. Challenges in close relationships are normal, and pushing through those challenges often makes the relationship even stronger. However, if the entire tenor of a relationship is one of pain and distress, that's not normal or healthy. If issues are ongoing (or worsening) with no possibility of improvement, that's a concern. These kinds of relationships can hold you back, drain you, and wreak havoc in your life. Know when it's time to distance yourself from the unhealthy or harmful relationships in your life. Be honest with yourself about the detrimental impact the relationship is having on you and take action. It may be difficult, but letting go could wind up being the best thing you can do for your emotional health and well-being. Habit #5: Think big-picture and long-term. How many of our problems are due to the fact we were short-sighted; or acted impulsively without thinking things through? As we look back, it becomes clear how many of our problems could have been avoided simply by pausing long enough to ask: "What are the possible consequences of this decision?" Do you find yourself procrastinating and dragging your heels on something, or perhaps looking for a shortcut? Are you about to make a poor decision because you're focused on one issue, to the exclusion of everything else? Taking a moment to think about the big-picture and the long-term impact can help you shift your perspective and reassess your priorities. Conclusion: as you make choices every day, strive to make the kinds of choices that will lead to healthy, beneficial habits that steer your life in the right direction. Comments are closed.
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