The secret to being happy, healthy and successful (hint: it’s not a quick fix)

Admit it. Articles with this type of headline make you want to click. What’s the big secret? We’re always looking for a quick way to be happier, healthier, skinnier, richer, smarter… and the list goes on and on. Well I am sorry to mislead you here, but the truth is that there is no quick fix. But if you’re not feeling happy, healthy, and successful right now in your life, it means something has to change. Your behaviors, your habits—they’re probably not working for you.

Every day is an opportunity to make a change. I feel so inspired every day by the fact that the outcome of my day is largely going to be a result of MY choices. We really do have the power to change our habits and those healthy habits in turn can completely transform our perspective on our life and the world around us.

I think that whether we’re conscious of it or not, we all tend to gravitate toward people who we admire. But do we ever stop to examine the habits of those who you admire? What are they doing that I’m not?

So when I came across this article from Mind Body Green, I had an aha moment. The article lists 25 habits of happy, healthy and successful people. I think we tend to forget that we are all in this together. It’s not that these people have figured out some big secret to life—it’s just that they are making consistent choices every day and taking action to be happy, healthy and successful. We all have the power!

What I love about this list is that none of these habits are unattainable. We can all stand to take something away from these tips, but there are a few in particular that really struck a chord with me.

They see difficult and challenging situations as opportunities for personal growth.

If something is difficult and challenging, we tend to shy away. But “difficult” and “challenging” are the BEST situations to experience if you want to learn something about yourself. And you should always want to learn something about yourself (the good, bad, and ugly!) as it will only make you more self-aware.

Fear doesn’t hold them back. They’re ready to take risks

If it’s a fear of heights that’s holding you back from bungee jumping, well that I can understand. But the biggest thing we tend to fear is failure. I think the most empowering thing you can do for yourself is to CHOOSE to STOP fearing failure! We all fail. Failure is key to learning and growing. And guess what? As you get older, the more failures you’re likely to have (and the richer your life can be depending on how you deal with these failures).

They follow their inner guidance. Not only do they have a vision, but they follow it.

I really love this one because it implies that one has put in the work to find his or her vision. It is work, but it’s the most important work you’ll ever do in your life. To know yourself is key to happiness. And there are just no shortcuts around this one—it’s hard to establish habits and make choices when you don’t know what you want your end result to be.

They learned a great deal from other people whom they admire. Either they had a great mentor, or they took note of how those they aspired to be like handled various situations. There isn’t a single person on this planet who hasn’t achieved success and lived fulfilled life without being influenced by at least one other person. I really believe that people come into our lives for a reason. Learn from others—learn from their mistakes and their triumphs.

Who do you admire and what has this person taught you about cultivating a happy, healthy and successful life?

The full article contains great insight. You can read it here: http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-9985/25-habits-of-people-who-are-happy-healthy-successful.html