In order to have a successful business, you need to have certain things in place in your life. The best place to begin is by establishing good habits. The habits of successful people is a well-researched topic that can tell us so much about how to best set up our life for success.
IE 245: The Habits of Successful People that You Can Put in Place Today with Sophia DeSantis
If you missed the last episode, please go back and listen to it, either before or after this one. It goes along with today’s topic perfectly.
My guest to discuss how to set up habits that will lead you to greater success is Sophia DeSantis, creator of Veggies Don’t Bite, a health and wellness site. Sophia is a health and wellness expert, a plant-based recipe creator, and she focuses on helping people feel empowered instead of overwhelmed when it comes to health and wellness.
What Is a Habit?
The average person has many goals they would like to reach, whether in a year, in 5 years or lifetime goals. But how do you keep from getting overwhelmed and actually make progress?
That’s where habits come in.
Habits are the behaviors we repeat every day or multiple times a day without giving them much (or any) thought.
In order to make real progress toward your goals, you need as much of the process as possible to be automatic. Creating habits, those small steps toward your goal, helps you go from overwhelmed to feeling like you can achieve your goals.
And while some habits will be daily or multiple times per day, some might only happen a few times per week. The important thing is to attach a new habit to an existing one so that it quickly becomes a no-brainer to keep it going.
Healthy Habits Are a Part of Overall Wellness
There are some habits that we all need to develop, no matter what our business or goals are.
Think of your electronic devices. They need to be charged to work. If they aren’t fully charged, they won’t function correctly or for their expected duration.
We are the same way as humans. We have to tend to our overall wellness to function at our best. And wellness itself is not a goal; it’s more of a continuum. You can move back and forth on that continuum.
But to perform at your best, you want your wellness to be moving forward.
Healthy habits are those actions that keep you moving forward toward the positive side of the wellness continuum.
The thing about wellness is that it’s unique to each person. What’s important to you might not be important to me. So each person has to decide where to place their focus, whether that’s on their physical, mental, or spiritual wellness.
Habits for Wellness
If you aren’t caring for your mental health, your overall health will suffer. You won’t want to exercise for your physical health if your mental health isn’t in place.
One of the best things you can do for your mental health, which will, in turn, affect the rest of your life, is to spend at least 10 minutes meditating or being in a quiet place every day.
You can use a guided meditation app like Calm, or you can simply find a spot where you are alone and sit quietly, read a book, or just close your eyes and breathe.
Another essential habit to incorporate into your days is some type of movement. This doesn’t have to be a full-on workout. It can be going for a walk. Bonus points if you can go for a walk in the sunshine, or at least outdoors because that boosts both your physical and mental well-being.
Social wellness is another habit to consider. Make it a part of your week to connect with a friend, go on a date with your spouse, or network with others.
How to Begin Developing Habits for Success
We’ve covered why habits are important and the different areas of life you should consider developing habits in. But how do you go about it? Do you try to start a bunch of new habits all at once? Or break it up into smaller pieces?
Sophia suggests going back to that wellness continuum. If we think of our overall health and which habits will support it, we can take it one step at a time without feeling overwhelmed.
You don’t need to “hit a goal” in one area before you start working on another area.
If you want to start meditating every day, just do it for five minutes before you go for a walk or do a workout. Attach some kind of goal to the habits you’re working on and know when you’re happy enough with where you are to move on to the next habit.
How Do You Know Which Habits Are Right for You?
In the past, I have tried to follow the direction of people who write about habits, and instead of it helping me, I often felt frustrated because their habits weren’t necessarily what I needed to make my day run better.
So, how do you know which habits you need to incorporate for success?
First of all, a healthy habit should add to your day. It should make you feel better, not worse. It shouldn’t leave you feeling overwhelmed; it should relieve stress.
If you feel overwhelmed from trying to start too much at once, it’s time to take a step back and lower your expectations. Start smaller. Choose tinier pieces to work on. Instead of trying to develop the habit of meditating for 10 minutes every day, start with once a week.
To be clear, creating new habits isn’t easy, but it shouldn’t leave you feeling constantly frustrated.
Does the Past Make Forming Habits Easier for You?
I wanted to get Sophia’s input on this topic because I have found that when it comes to habits, I will always gravitate toward the physical health ones. But then, I had a very active childhood and I played college sports.
So I wondered if our childhood habits or lifestyles contributed to the habits we find easy to take on versus the ones that are more difficult for us.
Sophia says yes! And not only does out past affect our ability to develop new habits, but also the stories we tell ourselves. For her entire life, Sophia thought meditation was for “hippies.” She never considered it and she often said, “I’m not a hippie. Why would i meditate?”
It was a series of life events that set her on a trajectory toward that habit. She knew she had to do something to protect her mental health and to make forward progress in that area.
Setting the Right Goals for Your Business
When you’re trying to develop a new habit, you need to be sure that it is tied to a goal. A habit without a goal is never-ending. How will you know when you reach it?
If taming your anxiety is your goal, the habit of meditation will help you toward that end.
If you want the mental power to be able to run your business successfully, you need to start building habits that will allow you to do that.
Ask yourself some clarifying questions, like, “What am I struggling with?”
Is it anxiety? Is it overwhelm? And once you know the answer, break it down further and decide on one small action that will help you begin to move forward on the mental health continuum.
Your Guide to Creating Healthy Habits
If you’ve been listening to this and you realize that you need to start developing some of the habits that successful people already have in place, Sophia has got your back.
She has developed a Healthy Habits Guide that will walk you through finding your why, goals associated with your why, and the tiny habits that will help you reach those goals.
It’s her method of helping you take small steps in order to eventually achieve the larger goals you have set for your life and business. It’s filled with examples of habits, tracking sheets, and baby steps to set and reach your goals.
Sophia also has a podcast, Real Food. Real Conversations. If you’re interested in all things healthy lifestyle, be sure to check it out.
And if you’re ready to dive into creating habits for success, DM Sophia on Instagram and ask for her Healthy Habits Guide!
Action Steps:
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