Image by: sasint
By Alvin Martin

Initially, I was thinking of just focusing more on the habits for a successful life. However, before I started writing, an interesting question popped in my mind, “Does success actually guarantee happiness?”

A couple of months ago, I attended a mini high school reunion. And as I was expecting, the conversations revolved around accomplishments, how everyone has proven themselves, bragging about fancy toys, spouses, and job promotions. But of course, I was prepared to endure it all.

But one thing I found interesting was the story of our school valedictorian Dave and salutatorian Victor. Although Victor is the richest among all of us now, he isn’t very happy. He told us how his wife left him for another man and took his only son away from him. Dave, on the other hand, doesn’t have much money because he chose to become a social worker and volunteered to teach poor children in South East Asia.

I can’t judge Victor and I can’t say that if I had the same intellectual capacity as Dave that I would take the same path as his. But I have realized that to make success happen and to allow happiness to manifest, you need to have the right mindset and the right habits in your life.

Here’s a solid guideline to living the life you desire guys.

Set Your Boundaries

How can you work on improving your own life when you always get distracted by other people’s requests and favors, or when you’re always busy pleasing others? When you’re trying to achieve a goal, you need to have focus and invest a good amount of time on it. If you’re always putting other people’s wants before yourself, you might never complete or reach your own goals.

This is not to say however, that you should stop helping others. You just need to start setting healthy boundaries so that you could have time to focus on your needs and your growth. And let me just reiterate that it doesn’t mean that you’re being selfish. Of course, not! You’re just taking responsibility of your life and performing your obligations to being your best to yourself.

This also applies in the dating scene. If you want to get exactly what you want, whether you’re looking for long-term romance or just a casual hookup, you need to learn to delineate what is and is not acceptable to you. By having clear personal boundaries, you will have the power to decide how you want to be treated by others, and make choices and decisions that serve you and are better for your well-being.

Cultivate Patience

In order to make a difference and emerge a winner in a world full of people who have short fuses and bad tempers, you need to have a certain level of mental focus that can repulse unnecessary stress and negativity, as these things can disrupt you from thinking straight and acting accordingly.

Settling for instant and convenient results, and adopting a short-term mindset make you miss out on more fulfilling and satisfying opportunities. So, have the patience to push through trying times and just get the difficult work done. Don’t ever allow setbacks and defeats make you lose track of your dreams and always put in your best effort to produce higher-quality outcomes.

I believe that anything great takes time to grow and mature. Only a lifetime of patience and dedication will give you the rewards you’re looking for.

Exert Continuous Effort in Unlocking Your Fullest Potential

Don’t get easily discouraged by your mistakes and failures, or when you feel that others are doing better than you. Don’t give up just because things are hard. Giving birth to success and producing something great don’t come easy. You need to persevere and be consistent to be able to reach your maximum potential.

Overnight success is a myth. When you embark on a weight loss journey, for instance, you can’t just go overboard and starve yourself. Doing so may lead to good initial results, but it definitely won’t last, either you’ll get sick or you’ll get trapped in a dieting rollercoaster. So, unless you do things right and stick to your plans, you will have trouble visualizing and achieving success.

And to help you achieve the right outcomes and maintain your body for long lasting health, writer Emily Abbate suggests doing this ultimate workout plan that will maximize fat burn and boost muscle growth.

Be Driven by Purpose

In my previous job as a Customer Service Associate, I was motivated by money. It paid good, so I didn’t really mind if it was crappy in the sense that we were expected to just stay calm and patient even if the clients were cursing at us nonstop or even if they couldn’t understand a simple instruction. And it wasn’t bad – at least for the first 3 years.

Though I got my promotion and salary increase, I felt something was missing. And then, after some time, I started to get bored and unenthusiastic, so I resigned.

Right now, I am working from home as a writer. To be honest, it doesn’t pay that well. But although I’m not earning as much as before, it is okay because I know that I’m helping my readers to learn more and become more in their lives.

Guys, success is not only about money and fame. It’s about making your life meaningful, adding value to your actions by having a deeper sense of purpose, choosing to not just exist, but actually live in the real sense of the word, and contributing to making the world a better place.

This interesting video proves that there’s more to life than just making money to survive.