“Every man is where he is, and what he is, because of the habits he has
acquired.”
– Napoleon Hill
(1883-1970)
Author
We all have
habits. Some are good and some are not
so good. Some habits will lead us to
success and the achievements of our goals.
Some habits will lead us to failure and personal destruction in the
end. The common ground of all habits is
that we create them, stop them and change them.
It is all in your power.
One of the goals of the Scouting
program is to teach boys what are good habits and how to keep them in their
life. The first step is to recognize
what habits are moving us forward and what habits are holding us back. When we see those that hold us back, we must
change them for better, more productive habits.
You cannot just stop a habit without replacing it. Humans cannot live in a vacuum; we must fill
the empty spots. By replacing bad habits
with good we not only fill the spot where the habit was in our life but we stop
the ability to go back to the old ways.
Here are four good habits that all success-minded people want in their
lives.
Habit #1. Good Behavior
This may sound simple enough,
but it is extremely important for those who wish to succeed. Bad behavior is not always the out bursts of
anger, addictive habits or immoral actions some people have. It can be smaller and less noticeable
(although just as destructive) than some behaviors. Things like interrupting people who are
talking, bad manners in social settings or telling off color and rude jokes.
The best way to establish good
behavior is to become a person of good manners.
Good manners is not just how you eat your dinner or saying please and
thank you. Good manners is being kind
and respectful to others and showing respect for yourself as well. As Emily Post said, "Manners are a
sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you
have good manners, no matter what fork you use."
Habit #2. Good Decision Making
The greatest power in all the
universe is the power of choice. Choice
is the ability to make good and informed decisions. The choices you make will make the difference
of a life of success or a life of failure.
Success-minded people know the difference between right and wrong; good
and evil. Make the right decisions and
you will always come out on top.
The habit of good decision
making starts with the ability to make a decision in the first place. Some people think that by not making a
decision they will never make a mistake.
Not making a decision is always making the wrong decision. Remember this simple formula for decision
making: Good decisions are made quickly
and change slowly. Bad decisions are
made slowly and changed quickly.
Habit #3. Good Learning
Learning is very much an
acquired habit. We learn to learn from
every person we meet and every experience we have. Success-minded people cannot allow anything
to pass them by without gaining some lesson that will move them forward in
life.
It is good to know and apply the
words of automotive giant, Henry Ford who said, "Life is a series of
experiences, each one of which makes us bigger, even though sometimes it is hard
to realize this. For the world was built to develop character, and we must
learn that the setbacks and grieves which we endure help us in our marching
onward."
Habit #4. Good Attitude
Create the habit of being
positive, cheerful and encouraging and you will go a long, long way in
life. Positive people have a distinct
advantage over negative people in every area of life. They get along with other people better, they
face challenges and difficulties better, they find better solutions to problems
they face. In short, it is as Zig Ziglar
said, "Positive thinking will let you do everything better than negative
thinking will."
Of all the habits that a
success-minded person should have in their life, that of a positive attitude is
the most important and the most productive.
Positive people do not stand still and worry about what might happen
tomorrow, they get busy and make tomorrow happen.
You
matter! You matter to the world and to
yourself. Remember to be your best, love
God, have good manners, achieve the unknown and change your world.
John Patrick
Hickey is an author, speaker, Life Coach and proud Scouter. To read more from
John Patrick Hickey or to get his books, training and book him to speak to your
church, business or group, visit our website at http://www.growthcenter.net or www.johnpatrickhickey.com.
© 2014 John
Patrick Hickey
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