Leadership starts with habits, but habits don’t just happen. They need to be cultivated and put into practice. Recently, I read a list from Square that includes habits that successful entrepreneurs should have. It got me to thinking–what about my habits? Here are 4 Habits I’ve adopted and practice daily:
1.) Don’t get out of bed until you have thought of 10 things for which you are thankful.
You may even want to keep a list by your bedside as a reminder.
2.) Speaking of bed, make yours every day.
To quote Navy Seal and Admiral Bill McRaven (from a 2014 UT Austin commencement address): “If you make your bed every morning you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another.”
3) Read outside your comfort zone.
Exposing yourself to viewpoints radically different from your own challenges your preconceptions and increases your empathy for how other people see the world.
4.) Avoid procrastinating the things you are afraid to do.
Often times, it’s easy to make tasks into giant obstacles simply out of fear of the unknown. As a habit, I now put feared things first. When it comes to the things I’m afraid to do, I just need to get started and the fear will subside.
What about you? What are some habits you practice? Share them in the comments and we can learn from one another.
