-
Apply 80-20 Rule
The 80- 20 rule states that roughly 80% of results manifest from 20% of factors. 20% of customers are responsible for 80% of the sales. 20% of your clothes are worn 80% of the time. 80% of the time, you commute on the same 20% of routes.
Spend time on those 20% actions that give you 80% of the results in daily life. Identify and invest 20% of the budget to keep your 80% of customers happy. Swiftly deal with those 20% of clients that cause 80% of the increase in your workload.
80% of our most memorable memories are usually 20% of the meaningful time that we spend with our loved ones.
Feedback loops are the primary cause of the 80/20 rule. This is the reason a good head start and a proper schedule can make or break fortunes. A beneficial action gives you an initial advantage over others. With a healthy routine, you can set a feedback loop that enables you to take 80% of advantage from 20% of actions.
-
Practice Stoicism or Mindfulness
Stoicism philosophy dates back to the 3rd century BC when Zeno of Citium founded it in Athens. Stoicism is the art of not being phased by situations that are not under our control. Stoicism enables us to let go. It creates self-awareness and eases anxiety.
Don’t worry about things you cannot control- you can’t change them anyway. Don’t worry about things you can control- you have the power to change them. If you can fix it, don’t worry. If you can’t fix it what’s the point of worrying about it?
Accepting reality and controlling emotions is essential for emotional stability. Instead of emotional reactions to situations, you can give a rational response. Focusing on what we can control increases efficiency in our ability to achieve desired outcomes.
It is important to have attention to detail, but you should also visualize the larger picture. A 360-degree view gives you an unbiased perspective on your problems’ significance and worth to reach effective and positive decisions.
-
Differentiate between Needs and Wants
To succeed it is crucial to learn how to accept and adapt your wants and needs. Fulfilling your wants would give you materialistic satisfaction, but focusing on your needs will bring you happiness. Wanting to succeed often makes you think you want an ideal X but in reality, makes you blind to the fact that you need Y in your life.
When someone becomes obsessed with their vision of the ideal job or partner, they become extremely inflexible. The more they adhere to their standard the more they can’t find anyone to meet them. If someone does check all the boxes you want, still if your intrinsic needs are not met you will find yourself not happy.
The ego of having your ‘wants’ fulfilled work well when applied to systems and structures, but not when you try to apply it to people and relationships. A holistic approach to wants and needs is required for a successful balance in the realm of people.
For successful career and professional development go after what you exactly want. For interpersonal relationships, be more flexible. Learn to accept all the uncontrolled variables of a human relationship.
Your heart usually knows. Sometimes you just like spending time together. Feel understood by them. Feel happy with them. And want to be with them even if they don’t check off some list.
Not everything is win or lose, right or wrong. A lot of life is collaborative like relationships and friendships that require compromise. Success needs to be both professional and personal life, ignoring one for others leaves a feeling of emptiness. They are two sides of the same coin.
-
Nurture your inner child
If you can’t focus, take a break and engage in activities that trigger your ability to focus. This could be anything from cooking, baking a cake, cuddling with pets, drawing, or solving sudoku.
If you are feeling unmotivated, connect with your environment in an attempt to reach out to your inner child and remind yourself what you want out of life. Start naming your goals out loud as if you already have the life that you want.
If it’s not your circus, don’t try to be the ringleader. Let go of the things that does not matter. Relax and focus on the big picture.
-
Command Respect
Be respectful, from the receptionist to CEO, trust me, it eventually comes back to you. You never know how powerful a simple connection can turn out to be.
Choose to be respected rather than liked by everyone. Respect is earned, being liked is easy. If you care too much about people liking you or not, you would lose focus on self-improvement.
In order to be liked by everyone, you would lose the sense of yourself. A fake persona, who is liked by everyone because you do and say things that are liked, instead of what you actually believe in. It’s okay if not everyone likes you, but at least they respect you.
-
Decide to surround yourself with greatness
Choose wisely the kind of people you want to associate with. A bad neighborhood would being down the value of your house, no matter how good it is.
Surround yourself with people who help you grow professionally, financially, emotionally, or intellectually. People who understand you and make you feel great in their company. If someone drains your energy or takes everything but never gives anything in return, don’t hesitate to cut them out. Life is too short to be in a toxic environment.
Don’t hesitate to question the people around you. Communicate your needs and feelings clearly. Learn to say no and lay down your boundaries.
-
Define your own Success
Never limit yourself to other people’s limits. They are often much lower. Define what success means to you and set out milestones to achieve it. People will tend to try to put you back in the row if you step out of what society defines as a measure of success. Forget about what people may think. Carve out your own destiny and parameters for success.
The path to success is from the continuous growth of self. Constant learning from experiences of your own and others. You might not get immediate results, but knowing that you are taking baby steps to achieve your dreams matters. There are ups and downs in life, but it’s important to constantly improve and keep moving forward. Never give up.
Hunaid Germanwala is a digital marketer and content creator at Health Products For You since 2014. He has an MS from Ulm University in Germany. His mind is always buzzing with creative ideas and is eager to explore new perspectives. His motto in life is “Better to Light the Candle than to Curse the Darkness.”