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8 Habits That Will Upgrade Your Life

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Confidence and sense of self are based on accomplishments, and are built on a foundation of good habits. As Maya Angelou said, "Success is liking yourself, liking what you do and and liking how you do it." You like who you are by knowing who you are, living by your values and practicing habits that help fulfill your potential, and make you a better family member and friend. But how do you get to that place? By building good habits, and having the discipline to practice them every day.

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Here are eight habits that will help improve your life:

Discipline

Discipline is the foundation of achieving goals. You check off a to-do list and achieve your goals by having the discipline to do the necessary work every day, whether it is completing a work project, a side hustle, building your network or striving to exercise more, having the discipline to do things when you don't want to do them, repeatedly is the foundation of excellence. As Aristotle wrote, "excellence is not an act, but a habit," and having the discipline to create good habits is what will fundamentally improve your life.

Time Management

Goals are met one day at a time. The key to ensuring you complete the necessary tasks for the day, and work ahead on looming deadlines is to learn how to work efficiently and manage your time. Prioritizing well and strategically allotting the time you need will help keep you on pace, and will enable you to complete everything you need and want to every day. The sooner you learn to manage your time, the sooner you will start getting more done. The more you get done, the more goals you will accomplish.

Exercise

 There is no healthier or greater way to clear your mind, temper anxiety and relieve stress than exercise. Studies show it helps improve mood, state of mind, assist focus and improve quality of sleep. Carving out time to exercise will increase your energy throughout the day, encourage you to eat healthier and help build a routine. Exercise increases work productivity and improves your mood when you are with family and friends. As physically demanding as exercise can be at the time, it only reaps benefits.

Know When To Privilege Convenience   

Even the best laid plans can go awry, or everyone can underestimate how long a certain task or project will take. It's good to know when it's best to order in dinner, send laundry out, have groceries delivered, hire someone to complete an errand, etc. Know when it's worth paying a bit more to help yourself.

 Journal 

 Once you have laid a foundation of good habits: a schedule, regular exercise and time management that you're practicing every day, the way to build on this foundation is to track your progress. Progress is incremental, tracking it will help build confidence as you meet your goals. It will help increase productivity, motivation and encourage greater goals.

Embrace Failure

Everyone fails: Oprah, Steve Jobs, LeBron James and Meryl Streep have all failed time and time and time again throughout their career. Far more times than they've succeeded. Failure, and lots of failure is the precedent to success. Failure isn't permanent. Be resilient, and continue to work and progress despite failure. This is what builds success. The sooner you learn to embrace failure and to keep working in spite of it, the sooner you will see results.

Limit Screen Time

 Too much screen time can impact obesity, body image, quality of sleep, personal relationships and social skills. It has also shown to impact school performance. Managing your screen time: turning off your phone at least an hour before bed, watching less television, decreasing your work in front of a computer screen, etc. will help make you a more efficient worker, create more free time and improve your quality of life.

Get Outside 

Similar to exercise, getting outside improves focus, outlook and mental health. It also strengthens the immune system. Feeling the sun, breathing fresh air and taking a walk can help you re-energize and refocus in the middle or at the end of your day. Making some time for yourself to be outside and get some light exercise will pay dividends as you work more efficiently throughout the day.