Self-discipline and productive habits are the main traits of successful people, and if you want to be one of them someday, it’s crucial to adopt these things into your life. It’s not a secret that many of us want to achieve success and greatness, and each one has a different plan to make it happen. But, the road to success is long and filled with obstacles, so perseverance and consistency are the only way to overcome anything that gets in our way.
It’s important to self-improve daily, otherwise you are stagnating and not making any progress. What makes a person healthy is physical exercise, but that has a lot more depth than some people think. It’s more than just training, it’s an entire lifestyle, and probably the only lifestyle that requires so much self-discipline and consistency. But, alongside physical exercise, you have to train your mind as well. These two things go together.
Today we’re going to help you become a better individual, so if you are looking forward to improving but you don’t know where to start, this is the right place to be. Let’s take a look.
Contents
1. Read books
![](https://thefrisky.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/reading-book-in-office-books-read-730x487.jpeg)
Source: entrepreneur
I cannot name one successful person who doesn’t read books. It’s one of the best ways to learn about things that you’ve never really thought they matter. There are books old more than a few centuries, but that knowledge is not less-worthy than things we know of today. The more you know, the more people will value you. Not to mention the fact that in 2024 you can “consume” the knowledge of books in a lot more interesting ways than what you had to do in the past. Sitting and reading is not the only way to actually “read” these days.
You can listen to e-books while working out, doubling your productivity, and a lot more. All you need is the will to do it and some creativity.
2. Do any form of cardio
![](https://thefrisky.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/cardio-55-730x487.jpg)
Source: workoutfu.com
What’s the point of being wealthy and successful if your body and heart are in a very bad state? Your heart is a muscle, and that muscle never stops working. Cardio is what strengthens your heart and increases your lifespan and the best thing about it? You can do it anywhere. With the recent events related to COVID-19 and global pandemic, most of us are stuck at home with a lack of physical activity.
Don’t let this part of your life stagnate, take one hour out of your free time, and perform the exercises. You’ll be and feel healthier afterward, with increased energy to go through the rest of your tasks.
3. Meditate and spend time alone
![](https://thefrisky.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Meditate-730x487.jpeg)
Source: Medium
Meditation is what you need to stay on top of your thinking game at all times. Meditation relaxes the mind and clears it off all the negative energy we absorb through work in these modern and noisy times. Spending time alone helps you learn more about yourself. A lot of successful people meditate, and they said that this helped them improve in every field, so why not try it? You can meditate anywhere, so there shouldn’t be any excuses. It takes less than thirty minutes per day. Motivationate.com is a website where you can learn a lot about self-improvement activities.
4. Improve your diet
![](https://thefrisky.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Diets-Are-Actually-Depressing-730x487.jpg)
Source: Gesundheitsbote NRW
Your diet has a lot to do with your productivity and self-improvement. Those who eat in an unhealthy manner are usually less-energetic and with a reduced will to work and get things done. It’s pretty logical, you can’t get a lot of things done when your energy levels are so low at all times, and your confidence as well, which is a result of the way your body looks and feels. There’s a reason why successful people focus a lot on what they eat, and about ninety percent of them have a personal diet advisor.
5. Write down what you accomplished daily
![](https://thefrisky.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/How-to-Keep-Someones-Memory-Alive-write-a-letter-730x485.jpg)
Source: shutterfly
It’s very easy to get caught up in the entire “I have a very long way to go” feeling that a lot of people feel every once in a while, and when it happens, your motivation to do better drastically drops. Why? Because we don’t appreciate the things that we’ve completed daily. Every day we’re making progress, but it’s never acknowledged properly. You can change this by writing everything down in a small list. Write down the most significant things you’ve accomplished today, and slowly you’ll realize that you’re doing a lot more than you thought you are.
6. Set short-term goals
![](https://thefrisky.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/How-to-Write-a-Cover-Letter-Thatll-Get-You-Interviews-with-Templates-730x506.jpg)
Source: jobstreet
“I want to become rich” is a great goal, but it will eventually seem like something impossible to do, and that’s when you’ll start questioning yourself. But, “I want to earn more this week than I did last week” is a great goal that you’ll have a lot more motivation to achieve. If you apply this every single week, you’ll eventually reach the goal that we mentioned earlier. But, aiming for short-term goals and eventually reaching your long-term one is a self-improvement practice that you have to implement in your career or life.
7. Practice “staying in your lane”
![](https://thefrisky.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Persuasive-Negotiation-Skills-730x487.jpg)
Source: Shutterstock
Comparing with other people is bad. No explanation for it, it’s just bad. There will always be someone who started earlier than you or had better luck at the beginning. If you compare with such people, the only thing you’ll get is reduced motivation to continue. You’ll start questioning your skills and that’s when everything starts going downhill.
Believe in what you’re able to achieve, and stay in your lane. Don’t compare it with anyone, it’s a waste of time. You can use that time to achieve amazing things.
8. Engage in weightlifting
![](https://thefrisky.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/weightlifting-730x483.jpg)
Source: No Excuses Nutrition
Last but not least, weightlifting is something that builds character more than it builds muscles, believe it or not. You learn this through many years of self-improvement, discipline, and consistency. If you build a spirit strong enough to last through all the things that weightlifting requires, you’ll crush every other obstacle in life, and nothing will stop you.