15 Beliefs and Habits of Highly Effective and Happy People

Regardless of industry, profession, town, city or nation, highly effective and happy people share many of the same perspectives and beliefs and they act on those beliefs.

1. Time doesn’t fill me. I fill time.

The average person who is given two weeks to complete a task will instinctively adjust his or her effort so it actually takes two weeks. Average people allow time to impose its will on them; remarkable people impose their will on their time and allow fluidity. They don’t stress about time and because their perception is more fluid, time does not become their focus and tasks become more manageable.

2. I understand balance. 

They know that the terms money and success are not interchangeable. They understand that people who are successful on a financial level only, are not successful at all. They have an off switch. They know how to relax, enjoy what they have in their life and to have fun. Their career is not their identity, it’s their job. It’s not who they are, it’s what they do. Unfortunately we live in a society which teaches that money equals success. Like many other things, money is a tool. It’s certainly not a bad thing but ultimately, it’s just another resource. Unfortunately, too many people worship it.

3. The people around me are the people I chose.

Choose the people you want around you and don’t let people you don’t want around you choose you. If the people around you make you unhappy it’s not their fault. It’s your fault. They’re in your professional or personal life because you drew them to you and you let them remain. Kind people like to associate with kind people. It’s about aligning yourself with like-minded people. They understand the importance of being part of a team. They create win-win relationships. A mean boss will only attract people he or she can control where a boss that empowers will attract people that love to be empowered. The former is a disempowering relationship while the latter is an empowering relationship. Know the difference.

4. I’m never bored and I never complain.

Complainers, whiners and those who refuse to take complete responsibility for their actions and outcomes (or lack thereof) often meet their demise in this respect. They bore easily because they are too busy pretending life has to meet their expectations instead of them reaching out and being passionate about every experience. It’s about being busy, productive and proactive. While most are laying on the couch, planning, over-thinking, sitting on their hands and generally going around in circles, effective people are out there getting the job done. When you are living the life you choose, complaining, whining and boredom don’t exist.

5. I have never paid my dues.

Dues aren’t paid, past tense. Dues get paid, each and every day. The only real measure of your value is the tangible contribution you make on a daily basis. No job is ever too menial, no task ever too unskilled or boring. Remarkably effective people never feel entitled except to the fruits of their labor.

6. I ask the right questions.

They consciously and methodically create their own success by asking the questions that will make them more productive, creative, with a more positive mindset and empowering emotional state.

7. Failure is something I accomplish; it doesn’t just happen to me.

8. Clarity, innovation and focus. 

They have clarity and certainty about what they want (and don’t want) for their life. They actually visualize and plan their best reality while others are merely spectators of life. They innovate rather than imitate. They don’t procrastinate and they don’t spend their life waiting for the ‘right time’. The focus and apply themselves.

9. Volunteers always win.

Whenever you raise your hand you wind up being asked to do more. That’s great. Doing more is an opportunity: to learn, to impress, to gain skills, to build new relationships to do something more than you would otherwise been able to do. Success is based on action. The more you volunteer, the more you get to act. Effective people step forward to create opportunities. Remarkably effective people sprint forward. They look for and find opportunities where others see nothing.

10. Not only good communicators, but the best communicators

They are good communicators and they consciously work at it. They are more effective than most at managing their emotions when communicating with others and they are not slaves to these emotions. Ego does not rule their lives. They have identified their core values (what is important to them) and they do their best to live a life which is reflective of those values when speaking with others. Their ethical behavior is sound.

11. I address the solutions, not the problems.

People have a tendency of creating more problems than solutions which hinders their effectiveness. They can only see obstacles where as others just have a way of seeing past them and getting right to the solutions that no longer make a problem – well, a problem anymore. They are solutions seekers, not problem enablers.

12. I am humble and happy to admit my own mistakes.

They apologize when they must. They forgive and they are confident in their ability, but not arrogant. They are happy to learn from others and see other perspectives than their own. They are happy to make others look good rather than seek their own personal glory.

13. I set higher standards for myself.

This in turn produces greater commitment, more momentum, a better work ethic and of course, better results. They don’t rationalize failure. While many are talking about their age, their sore back, their lack of time, their poor genetics, their ‘bad luck’, their nasty boss and their lack of opportunities (all good reasons to fail), they are finding a way to succeed despite all their challenges.

14. I finish what I start.

While so many spend their life starting things that they never finish, effective people get the job done even when the excitement and the novelty have worn off. Even when it ain’t fun.

15. Being multi-dimensional, amazing, and wonderfully complex 

They realize that not only are they physical and psychological beings, but emotional and spiritual creatures as well. They consciously work at being healthy and productive on all levels inside and out. They don’t hang out with toxic people and they don’t invest time or emotional energy into things which they have no control of. They do what they can do advance themselves to the best of their ability and never look back, even for a second, because the past is no longer within their control. They plan for the future in harmony with their present state of mind and don’t overplan or overanalyze because they understand that thought processes are constantly evolving and forever growing.