10 Small Habits that Prevent Pain and Boost Your Success

Maybe you’re like me and have decided you want to write for the rest of your life.

…Or maybe you want to be a doctor, or open an ice cream shop, or move to a land far away and give up on society.

Whatever it is you want, these 10 habits will go on to affect your life in a positive way.

Let’s get right into them, shall we?

1) Delaying Gratification

There’s a reason why I made it #1…

If you can’t discipline yourself to delay gratification, stop reading right now.

The inability to do this will make success in ANYTHING a lot harder than it actually is.

All you have to do is say “NO!” to temptation and you’ll get the results you want WAY faster!

Here, I’ll give you an example…

When I started this blog and my friends would call on Friday night to hangout; I had to delay gratification (say “no” to having fun) and work instead.

Did it suck in the moment?

Yes.

Did I want to say “The hell with this!” and go out anyways?

Yes.

Did I do it?

I won’t lie, I thought about it.

…But at the end, I decided not to.

The result?

My blog looks great, I have a lot of content, and it continues to grow in popularity each month.

THE SUCCESS IS BEGINNING TO POUR IN.

Now that the hard work is done, I can afford to relax a little and hang out with friends.

…But only because I did all the hard work first.

Don’t get me wrong, I still have a LOT of work to do.

The point is I have a lot more flexibility now.

My blog is at a point where it’s beginning to grow all on its own.

What would’ve happened if I’d given into temptation and gone out with my friends?

You wouldn’t be reading this article right now.

Delaying gratification isn’t too bad when you think about it.

You’ll still be able to enjoy whatever you want, you just have to wait a little longer for it.

…And by learning to wait a little longer, you can achieve anything you want in life.

Trust me.

“Everything comes if a man will only wait.”
― Benjamin Disraeli

2) Reading

On your phone, computer, tablet, or holding an actual book…

At home, on the bus, on a mountain…

I don’t care what or where, just read daily!

Reading is food for the brain.

You should have the goal of learning a little bit about everything.

Not one day goes by where I don’t read.

Most of the time, I read on my kindle app on my phone because I enjoy reading in bed.

I also read whenever an opportunity presents itself.

Instead of checking Facebook or any other social media site while waiting in line at the grocery store; I read.

Technology has made it so simple for you to educate yourself anywhere!

However, it has also made it simple to do unproductive things.

Make the best of your time and read.

You can check Facebook and all your other social media profiles later.

Everything will still be there at the end of the day.

My advice? 

Delete all social media accounts unless it’s for business use.

All it does is rob your precious time by distracting you.

3) Wake Up Daily at 5 a.m.

“It’s only hard until you splash cold water on your face.”

That’s what a friend of mine (who gets up at 5am) told me once.

…And now I’m telling YOU the same thing.

When your alarm goes off at 5am, every fiber in your body will convince you NOT to get up.

However, if you push through and just walk over to the bathroom to splash water on your face; you’ll be well on your way to staying awake.

Getting up at 5am has so many benefits.

For starters, you get many things out of the way.

You can exercise, get caught up on work, plan your day, cook your meals, or anything else that’s time consuming.

I won’t lie to you, it’s isn’t going to be fun at the beginning.

However, once you develop the habit, you’ll never look back.

The easiest way to start is by getting up tomorrow at 5 a.m.

You’ll be so tired at night that you’ll fall asleep earlier.

Getting up at 5 a.m. is also mentioned in the book 30 Days of Discipline by Victor Pride.

A book you should read if you’re serious about building the discipline habit.

4) Intermittent Fasting

Eat 6-8 small meals a day like a chipmunk?

No thanks.

Instead, I eat 2 to 3 big meals within an 8 hour window.

I eat from 12pm to 8pm and then fast until 12pm the next day.

This gives my digestive system a break from constantly breaking down food.

Eating 6 to 8 small meals puts a lot of stress on your body.

When digesting food, blood is taken away from your brain to help with the process.

This is why you get sleepy or experience mental fog after eating.

However, when you fast the majority of the day, your energy is amazing.

I wake up at 5 a.m., drink my water and black coffee (no calories so it doesn’t break my fast), and kick ass with work all the way up until 12 p.m.

It’s VERY distracting having to stop whatever you’re doing to eat every 2 hours.

…Not to mention all the time you waste doing so.

There are no benefits to eating that often.

The benefits of eating 6 to 8 small meals is a lie by the food industry to get you to eat more often so you buy their snacks, shakes, etc.

Think about it…

If you don’t buy their products, they don’t survive.

Frequency and timing of meals doesn’t make a difference in your body.

What matters is your total caloric intake.

So whether you eat 2 big meals or 20 little meals; your body will look the same.

…But you won’t know this until you ACTUALLY TRY IT.

Intermittent fasting has major benefits including: increase in longevity (you live longer), decrease in appetite, amazing energy, less stress, better sleep, and so on.

Most people who do intermittent fasting do it for the benefits of fat loss.

You burn fat because you deplete all glycogen from your body and force it to use your stored fat as energy.

There are countless articles on the internet on just how great intermittent fasting is.

Keep in mind that it’s OK to eat a little earlier or later on any specific day for any reason.

The idea is to keep this schedule more often than not so your body benefits as much as possible.

Nothing crazy is going to happen if you eat at 10pm one day.

You don’t have to eat from 12 a.m.-8 p.m. like me.

You can choose any 8 hour window you’d like.

For example: 7 a.m. – 3 p.m., 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., 3 p.m. – 11 p.m.

As long as you give your body 16 hours to “take a break”, you’re good to go.

5) Water

I won’t list all the benefits of drinking water because I’m sure you’ve heard them by now.

What I’m going to share are the bad things that happen if you don’t.

Being dehydrated leads to headaches, lack of energy, slower metabolism, and increases appetite.

Take the last two and combine them: Slower metabolism + Increased appetite = Weight gain

No good, my friend…

You might think you drink enough water but the reality is you probably don’t.

Unless you’re peeing often throughout the day and it’s light yellow or clear; you’re dehydrated.

The most important time to drink water is first thing in the morning.

Your body loses water at night as you sweat and breathe.

You’ll notice that your pee in the morning is very yellow. (Dehydration!)

In order to kick start your body, give it the gift of 16oz of water first thing when you wake up.

Then just drink throughout the day and not just when you’re thirsty.

It really isn’t hard to do.

It holds 25oz and I refill it 5 to 6 of times throughout the day. (Sometimes more!)

Drink your water!

6) Brush, Floss, Scrape Tongue

This habit can take less than five minutes when you get good at it.

It can save you hundreds (possibly thousands) of dollars in the long run.

It can also save you the time, hassle, and pain of having to sit in a dentist chair with a bunch of tools and chemicals in your mouth.

I’m sure you already brush your teeth (at least I hope you do), but many people skip flossing and even more people skip the tongue scraper.

Flossing helps remove food that gets stuck in between your teeth which rots if just left there.

This leads to tooth decay and bad breath; two thing I’m sure you want to avoid.

A tongue scraper helps remove any food residue that sticks on your tongue.

You’ll actually be shocked the first time you use it and remove the layer of crap stuck to your tongue.

All three are very cheap and easy to do.

…But only you can actually do them.

I’m sure you already have a tooth brush and floss.

You can find a tongue scraper next to the toothbrushes in most stores.

Here’s the tongue scraper I use and recommend from Amazon.

7) Sleep with Ear Plugs

This is such a small and simple habit that comes with HUGE advantages.

I got this idea from a seminar I was watching online.

The speaker was talking about ways to be more productive.

He explained how getting quality sleep was vital in order to perform well the next day. (No surprise there)

He went into detail on how noises wake us up more often than we think.

I tried it and noticed I did in fact feel like I slept a lot better.

Could it just be a placebo effect?

Maybe, maybe not.

All I know is the only thing I hear at night is my phone if it rings and the my alarm at 5 a.m.

…And that’s because it’s literally right next to me on my nightstand.

Many people also use them when studying to avoid any distractions.

Earplugs are extremely cheap and you can pick them up in most stores or just order them online.

I buy these from Amazon.

8) Cold Shower

Jumping into a shower and splashing your body with ice cold water isn’t ideal.

Instead, what you do is make the water cooler by gradually switching from hot to cold.

Cold showers have many benefits.

Some include: improved blood flow, better skin, wakefulness, and even improved moods.

Cold water closes your pores preventing dirt from entering your skin leading to acne and other skin conditions.

You’ll notice instant improvements on how your skin looks and feels.

Many people like to take a cold shower before working out because it energizes them.

When cold water splashes all over your body, it causes a shock!

As a result, your breathing deepens.

The reason for this is your body increases your oxygen intake in order to keep you warm.

This makes your heart rate increase, creating a rush of blood all over your body, providing you instant energy.

9) Personal Development Audio Books

Do you want a simple tip that will MASSIVELY improve the type of person you are?

OK, I’ll give you one.

Dedicate an hour a day to listening to personal development audio books.

This can be done while walking, driving, working out, grocery shopping, and so on.

The point is to flood your brain daily with positive and informative material.

I’m not kidding here…

THIS WILL REALLY MAKE A POSITIVE IMPACT IN YOUR LIFE.

I absolutely guarantee if you listen to personal development audio books DAILY FOR AN HOUR, you will see a HUGE difference in yourself almost instantly.

My all-time favorite audio book is none other than the bible of success “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill.

You can download it for under five bucks on Amazon clicking here.

However, there are literally thousands of other options available.

Whether you want to get better at selling, communicating with people, dating, or anything else; you can turn your means of transportation into a university on wheels and learn as you travel.

Thanks to advancements in technology, downloading audio book is quick and easy.

If you really want to take this to the next level, here’s an amazing routine I recommend.

Wake up at 5am and go for an hour walk while listening to your audio book.

If you do that consistently, it is impossible for you not to become a better person.

Not only will you be getting great exercise, but you’ll become smarter and more positive.

I dare you to try it for a month and tell me it didn’t change you in a very positive way.

10) Write Affirmations and Visualize (It Really Works!!!)

If I tell myself “I’m smart” but also tell myself “I’m dumb”; which one am I really?

The answer is: Whichever one I tell myself more.

Picture your mind as a land with a bunch of train tracks.

Every thought you have and everything you say creates a new train track.

If you repeat it often enough, the train track will be complete and that same thought (the train) will run around your mind all day.

There’s no way to cheat the system.

What you put in you get out.

Therefore, it’s vital to feed your mind positive affirmations daily.

What do you want?

…No, really – what do you want?!

You want to make $5,000.00 monthly?

Become an actor?

Travel the world?

Get as specific as possible, write it down and visualize it every single day.

Eventually, you’ll complete the train track and have no choice but to make your goal a reality.

I’m going to share a little secret with you…

Many successful people didn’t know how they were going to reach a goal, they just knew that somehow they would.

By repeating it so often, they developed the habit of thinking about the goal.

You know what happens when you develop a habit?

…You can’t run away from it.

Eventually, whatever you repeat often enough has no choice but to come into your life.

[bctt tweet=”Eventually, whatever you repeat often enough has no choice but to come into your life.”]

Read my article How the Law of Attraction Really Works.

“I don’t know Alex, it sounds too good to be true.”

…Does it?

Then do it and tell me if it doesn’t work.

Forget the “how”…

Just repeat and visualize your goal over and over.

Repeat it so much you leave your mind no choice but to make it your reality.

The problem?

Most people say “Yeah, I’ll do it” and proceed to do it for a few days and quit.

YOU MUST DO IT EVERY SINGLE DAY.

“But Alex, how long will it take to come into my reality?”

You’ll have your answer as soon as it appears.

[bctt tweet=”You’ll have your answer as soon as it appears. “]

…And you will get your answer just as long as you keep doing it daily.

Any Questions?

Whoa!

I JAM-PACKED this article with some good stuff!

These are 10 very powerful habits, my friend.

I want you to look over all of them again.

Ask yourself what your life would be like if you did all of them daily for the rest of your life.

How much would the quality of your life improve?

Better yet, how much would you suffer down the road if you don’t do them? 

We’ll talk again soon,

-Alex

PS – Don’t forget to download my Dominant Discipline book. Click here for more Information.