Habits are reoccurring behaviors that are virtually on autopilot. Habits compound in returns and can set you on your life trajectory. Everyone has habits and they can be either good or bad they can lead to success or failure. Habits require little to no thought and once they are embedded in your daily routine they’re difficult to stop doing. You know you have formed a habit when not doing it feels uncomfortable. The choices for creating habits are our own early on and then they can take on a life of their own. We need to choose our behaviors and thoughts carefully as they can evolve into habits.
12 Daily Habits That Can Actually Change Your Life
Below are twelve things I have done consistently for the most part in my life that have really kept me improving, growing, and continuing to change myself for the better. I hope as a reader you can find a few that fit into your own life and goals and it helps you on your own path.
1. Starting to invest and build capital at 18 years old.
I started consistently moving my earned income into invested capital at the age of 18 years old. I understood how compounding returns worked at an early age and knew time would be on my side and could result in amazing growth. My ability to do this consistently over my life has allowed my accounts to grow to the amount I projected as a teenager. Everyone should be regularly depositing money into an investing or trading account as early as possible to benefit from the financial markets. The next step is using an investing or trading strategy with an edge to start created growth on capital through returns.
2. Getting my 401k match 100% when I was an employee.
When I was an employee I made sure I always received the maximum 401k match from my employer. Whatever 401k deposit I had to have to get the full match that’s what I maintained. The 100% 401k match of equal contribution that matches your deposit is virtually free money. This can expediate your account growth twice as fast as what you could do on your own. Never miss this free money, you will not find 100% returns anywhere else in the financial markets and this return happens at the start.
3. Reading nonfiction books every day.
I have read 30-50 pages of nonfiction books everyday for over 30 years. I have learned lessons and principles from these books that have changed every area of my life for the better. I have read over 1,400 nonfiction books at last count and still going. Books are the cheapest software you can buy for your brain. Pick your areas of interest and get started at whatever level you can. Focus on reading what interests and energizes you. You can buy an author’s experience and wisdom for a cheap price versus the value you receive.
4. Writing every day.
I have written every day in some form for the past 17 years, whether in writing my books, on my blog, book reviews on Amazon, or on social media posts. Writing is a great way to digest what you read and then summarize it to process the lessons learned. I get just as much out of writing as my readers get. Writing forces the author to learn their topic in depth.
5. Not caring what other people thought.
I have been able to accomplish my long-term goals in life by not caring what people thought about me in the short-term. There is a lot of freedom in living your own life on your terms and not needing to impress others or keep up with the Jones’s.
6. Being mindful of my eating.
Learning about nutrition has helped me understand the effect my food intake would have on my body and health. This has helped me stay healthy and at a moderate weight by designing a diet that I both enjoyed but gave me energy.
7. Staying active and getting exercise.
I have always stayed active in some way in my life whether through regular exercise or an active lifestyle. A sedentary lifestyle can be dangerous in many ways both psychological and health related.
8. Maintaining a entrepreneur mindset.
My whole life I have always looked for ways to make money from the perspective of a capitalist. I educated myself in all areas of business to be able to to optimize any opportunities is came across. This has enabled me to seize opportunities in investing, trading, and in business when they presented their self.
9. Keeping losers out of my life.
Setting boundaries and avoiding manipulation, con artists, toxic people, and keeping losers out of my life has really helped me be open to constructive and positive relationships. I’m very careful who I associate with in my personal life and business. Losers can bring you down mentally, emotionally, and financially.
10. Believing in myself.
If you don’t believe in yourself you can’t expect anyone else to either. I always thought I would accomplish all my goals even if it were from pure grit, determination, and perseverance. I never doubted my abilities of relentless research, work, and grinding toward my goals.
11. Letting math be my guide.
I have always thought in terms of probabilities, risk/reward ratios, and analytics. I have not had big issues with my ego, emotions, and impulses in my life overall as I think through the filter of math. This has been a personal edge of mine as it’s not common.
12. Keeping up to date on business and technology.
My relentless reading and curiosity as an autodidact has kept me up-to-date with emerging technology and the business world. This has also helped me seize opportunities in the trading, investing, and the modern online business world.
What habits can change my life?
- Doing what you love for a living can make you happy and rich if done correctly.
- Choosing to spend less than you make and live within your means can remove financial stress.
- Marrying the right person can change your life for the better.
- Exercise can have big returns on your health and energy levels.
- Deciding to consistently eat healthy and nutritional food can give you energy and maintain your health.
What are the 7 steps in changing your life?
- Be proactive and give up the victim mentality of making excuses.
- Move toward areas in life you have a passion for and that give you energy.
- Write down your goals for all areas of your life.
- Study models of success that you want to be like.
- Create systems for accomplishing your goals.
- Track your progress so you can do more of what works and less of what doesn’t.
- Develop faith in yourself and your systems.