We all want to improve our lives and become highly effective people. But this requires a commitment to forming good habits. As Aristotle said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” The habits we cultivate shape our days, determine our moods, and ultimately decide the level of success we achieve. Highly effective people have mastered certain habits that enable them to accomplish more in all areas of life. By modeling these habits you too can become effective.
The Power of Habits
Habits are powerful because they create neurological shortcuts in our brains. At first, any activity requires effort and thought. But each time you repeat an action in a consistent context, your brain learns to perform it more efficiently. Over time, the activity becomes automatic and part of your routine.
MIT researchers found that habits account for 40% of our daily activities. They are behaviors done with little conscious thought. This automation frees up mental resources for other tasks but can be detrimental if the habits are unhealthy.
That’s why highly effective people focus on cultivating positive habits and rituals. They know habits form your personality and impact your moods. As motivational speaker Jim Rohn said, “Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.” Highly effective people use habits to guarantee they keep going.
The power of compounding also makes habits increasingly beneficial over time. Minor improvements accumulate into significant results. A famous quote from billionaire entrepreneur Warren Buffett illustrates this: “Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.”
Highly effective people start early and persist in their habits without being rigid perfectionists.
Essential Habits of Highly Effective People
Through studying highly effective individuals, several key habits emerge that allow them to accomplish more in all areas of life:
Waking Up Early
Waking up early is common among many high achievers like Apple CEO Tim Cook, Oprah Winfrey, and GE CEO Jeff Immelt. This habit provides time for exercise, strategic planning, or simply focusing on essential goals before distractions accumulate.
Productivity expert Benjamin Spall wrote, “Waking up early allows you to proactively take charge of your day before other people or external events get the chance.” He recommends waking up 1-3 hours before you usually would. Highly effective people often wake up at 5 or 6 AM. Starting the day early lets them get a head start.
Exercising Regularly
Regular exercise energizes both the body and mind. It can boost focus, memory, Motivation, confidence, and overall well-being. Richard Branson, Jack Dorsey, and Barack Obama all set aside time to exercise daily.
Branson said, “I seriously believe that working out is one of the most important things you can do for your body and mind.” Exercise also reduces stress, anxiety, and negative emotions. The mood boost and stamina from regular exercise enable highly effective people to tackle demanding days.
Eating Healthy
A balanced, nutritious diet provides energy for highly effective people to get through their demanding schedules. Foods like fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, lean protein, and whole grains provide sustained energy.
Warren Buffett spends 80% of his day at work, fueled on a steady diet of McDonald’s, See’s Candies, and Coke. While not the healthiest diet, the point remains that highly effective people do not waste time or mental bandwidth worrying about food. They focus their eating habits on practicality and keeping their minds sharp.
Proper nutrition also improves focus, productivity, and overall health.
Setting Goals
All highly effective people set clear, measurable goals to provide direction and Motivation. Goals turn vague desires into concrete outcomes to work towards. A Harvard study found that setting specific goals increased participant’s chances of success by 42%!
Highly effective people break big goals into smaller milestones. As entrepreneur Andrew Grove says, “I divide my time into small chunks to achieve big goals.” Focusing on daily and weekly milestones makes big goals feel actionable. Goal setting channels efforts and prevents procrastination. Reviewing goals also encourages persistence.
Being Organized
The organization helps highly effective people efficiently execute tasks without wasted effort. Steps may include:
- Decluttering.
- Compartmentalizing different areas of life.
- Creating efficient systems and managing schedules.
Steve Jobs was known for his minimalist aesthetic and no-nonsense attitude. Being organized minimizes time spent looking for items and lowers stress. It helps maintain focus on important goals. Organization applies both to living and work spaces.
Highly effective people devote time to organizing their environment and schedules to optimize productivity.
Reading Every Day
Reading daily helps fuel personal and professional growth. Bill Gates reads 50 books a year, Mark Cuban reads 3 hours a day, and Mark Zuckerberg resolved to read 24 books in 2015. Reading exposes us to new ideas and perspectives. It builds knowledge to draw upon.
Highly effective people make reading a non-negotiable habit. They set aside quiet time to read each morning or before bed. They bring books wherever they go and listen to audiobooks during commutes. But they don’t just read for entertainment. These achievers select books that will expand their minds.
Consistent reading stretches our thinking and fuels self-improvement.
Practicing Self-Discipline
All the above habits require self-discipline, the backbone of effectiveness. Highly effective people put duties before distractions, persevere through challenges, and overcome resistance to hard tasks. This gives them an edge over the undisciplined.
Billionaire entrepreneur Sara Blakely explained, “People who achieve great things are the ones who are able to focus intensely on their activity.” Self-discipline enables intense and prolonged focus. Highly effective people also monitor their mental thoughts and redirect them when needed. Staying motivated despite difficulties requires self-discipline.
Cultivating Positive Relationships
Positive relationships provide perspective and accountability for highly effective people. Those around us heavily influence us. High performers curate their inner circle to supportive people who reinforce good habits and productivity.
Steve Jobs, for example, was driven and demanding. But he surrounded himself with intelligent, creative teammates who stood up to him and pushed back on bad ideas. Good relationships provide constructive feedback rather than just blind praise.
Highly effective people contribute to positive relationships instead of merely taking from them.
Continuing to Learn and Grow
Learning is a lifelong endeavor for highly effective people. They read books, take classes, listen to podcasts, or enroll in training programs. Richard Branson said, “Every moment is an opportunity for learning.” Influential individuals act on this mindset.
Seeking knowledge provides fuel for continual improvement. It exposes gaps to be strengthened and sparks new ideas. Highly effective people recognize life as an ever-unfolding journey. They remain humble, curious, and open-minded despite their accomplishments.
This growth mentality allows them to adapt to change and seize emerging opportunities. Their pursuit of learning enables continued advancement.
Turning Habits Into Daily Rituals
Understanding the habits of highly effective people is the first step. But information alone is insufficient for lasting change. We must turn desired habits into engraved rituals. As the ancient philosopher Lao Tzu put it: “Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power.”
Here are steps highly effective people use to master their habits:
Routinize It
Habits must be performed consistently in a predictable routine to stick. The simplest approach? Schedule them. Allocate set parts of your day or week to each habit. The more inhabited the habit becomes in your schedule, the faster it becomes ritualized.
Highly effective people wake up, exercise, eat meals, read, and sleep roughly the same times each day. Maintaining a steady schedule builds neural pathways that reinforce habits. As success theorist Napoleon Hill said, “Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire and begin at once.” Planning and routines transform desires into actions.
Use Cues
Cues trigger habit performance through association. They can be visual, such as keeping running shoes by the bed. Or auditory, like an alarm at 6 AM. Related to the previous step, the routine itself becomes the main cue. When 6 AM rolls around, no further motivation is needed.
Highly effective people engineer cues for their habits. Leaving a book on the nightstand cues reading before bed. Placing workout clothes nearby makes exercise easier to start. Cues put habits on autopilot, so they happen naturally. Tie your habits to contextual cues, which will unfold automatically when they are present.
Offer Rewards
Rewards satisfy cravings and make habits enjoyable. After exercise, treat yourself to a hot shower. After hitting a daily reading goal, watch a favorite TV show episode. Positive reinforcement increases Motivation and makes habits sustainable.
As entrepreneur Jim Rohn noted, “Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines practiced every day.” Habits become easier when consistently rewarding. Highly effective people attach rewards to energy-giving habits to wire in positivity. This endorphin rush gets intrinsically linked, and the habit becomes the reward.
Build Accountability
Accountability improves follow-through. Tell a friend your fitness goals and schedule weekly check-ins. Share progress on social media. Accountability partners provide external Motivation when internal drive wavers. They keep us honest.
Highly effective people leverage accountability to stick to good habits. Sharing your goals commits you to others. Having an accountability partner provides Motivation to persist. It adds social pressure to stay consistent. Accountability tools like habit-tracking apps can also reinforce daily habits. Track progress to keep momentum going.
Be Consistent
Adopting new habits requires consistent effort over an extended period of time. Attempting massive change overnight often fails. Minor improvements compound into remarkable progress given enough time. As motivational speaker Darren Hardy said, “Success is a few simple disciplines practiced every day.”
Highly effective people focus on steadiness over speed. Expect new habits to feel natural after a period of time. It takes an average of 66 days to cement a habit. Be patient and trust the process. Results will come. Stay consistent even on days when Motivation dips. Maintain the habit regardless of mood or circumstances. Consistency cements habits over the long term.
Overcoming Obstacles
Habits do not form effortlessly. Our brains prefer the status quo. We must overcome inevitable obstacles through preparation and resilience when establishing new habits.
Here are vital strategies highly effective people use:
Identify Roadblocks
Before starting a new habit, proactively identify situations that may trip you up. If mornings are busy, pick a different time for reading. If friends constantly peer pressure you into unhealthy choices, limit time with them.
Analyze context and timing to ensure habits fit seamlessly into your routine. Highly effective people prepare for disruptions, distractions, and temptations. They change circumstances when needed to support habit formation. Being proactive reduces excuses and exceptions later on.
Carefully consider when and where you attempt new habits. Design an environment conducive for success.
Have a Plan When You Fail
Falling short of habit goals is inevitable for everyone. How highly effective people react to failure determines long-term success. The most effective mindset? Stay calm and get back on track. Failure is an opportunity to refine your approach and build resilience.
Don’t let perfectionism derail progress. Frank O’Brien explained, “Don’t give up just because you fail. I failed the first nine times I tried to build a company. On the 10th try, it worked.” Highly effective people use a failed habit session to tweak their process rather than quitting altogether. Have a plan to restart so one failure doesn’t snowball.
Surround Yourself with Positive People
The people we surround ourselves with greatly sway our habits. Studies show obesity, happiness, productivity, and other habits spread through social ties. Highly effective people curate a positive peer group that reflects their values and aspirations. They cut toxic relationships and prioritize motivational, inspiring friends that push them higher.
Steve Jobs admired creative thinkers who challenged his ideas. Oprah Winfrey focuses on gratitude in relationships. Jack Dorsey looks for integrity. The social circles highly effective people cultivate reinforce excellence. Surround yourself with people further ahead on the path you want to take. Their energy, knowledge, and support will pull you up and inspire positive habits.
The Payoff from Positive Habits
Implementing even a few habits outlined here can significantly increase your effectiveness. Minor improvements in performance compound over the months into tremendous gains. With enough practice, these habits become second nature.
Imagine waking up refreshed, exercising, eating nourishing foods, setting goals, staying organized, reading, showing discipline, building positive relationships, and continuously learning. These habits prime you for success each day. When maintained consistently over time, extraordinary outcomes become inevitable.
Conclusion
Habits dictate our effectiveness. Highly effective people consciously shape habits to propel themselves to new heights. They know small repeated actions crystallize into lifelong personal upgrades.
While the habits outlined here require commitment, they ultimately enable a more rewarding, impactful life. What holds most people back is an inability to persist. But big and small efforts compound into massive results given enough time and consistency.
Review the key habits here and select 2-3 to focus on implementing for the next 60 days. Engineer these habits into your schedule and design cues, rewards, and accountability. Pursue this self-improvement challenge wholeheartedly to upgrade your effectiveness and become highly successful. The payoff from persevering will be immense.
