Good habits can be hard to stick with, but consistency over time is the key to success. Visual clues (such as sticky notes or apps) can help keep your goals top of mind, while tracking your progress can be a powerful motivator.
Whether they’re the CEO of a large corporation or the busboy at their local deli, certain people seem to have an innate ability to build amazing relationships. They’re always able to connect with everyone from their closest friends to their coworkers, you should start engaging in activities where people regularly gather.
1. They Listen
The ability to communicate effectively with others is one of the most important traits of successful people. While effective communication doesn’t happen overnight, there are several ways that you can improve your skills and make it a regular habit.
The first step is to give the person you’re talking to your full attention. This means putting down your phone, and making eye contact with them. This shows that you’re genuinely interested in what they have to say, and it will help you understand what they mean better. It’s also helpful to summarize what you hear them saying in your own words before responding. This way, you can ensure that you’ve understood them correctly, and prevent any misunderstandings from occurring.
Listening empathetically is another critical component of effective communication. Empathy is the ability to experience situations from another person’s perspective, or “walk in their shoes”. It allows you to see life through a different kaleidoscope, and allows you to gain appreciation for differences.
During conversations, you can practice empathy by asking open-ended questions that allow the other person to express their thoughts and feelings in detail without interruption. You can also encourage a dialogue by using “I” statements, which minimize defensiveness and encourage open communication.
The final ingredient to good communication is patience. It can be easy to become distracted or preoccupied when someone is speaking, but by being patient and allowing the speaker time to express themselves, you can foster an environment of open communication. You can also practice patience by refraining from interrupting, and by asking thoughtful, nonjudgmental questions. The more you practice these habits, the more comfortable you will feel communicating with your peers and coworkers.
2. They Share
The quality and amount of relationships one maintains is an important factor in health and well-being. Friendships relieve stress, provide a sense of belonging and can even help us maintain a positive mindset when we’re facing challenges. Studies have also linked social connections to a healthy lifestyle and longevity, and a strong network of friends can help us deal with illness.
But building amazing relationships doesn’t come naturally to everyone. So how do some people seem to effortlessly connect with everyone from the CEOs they work with to the busboy at their local deli? Perhaps these individuals are innately charismatic and have an uncanny way of making people feel at ease around them. But more likely, these people have developed a set of habits that they’ve found to be effective in the long run.
Sharing is an essential component to building and maintaining great relationships. This means that successful people are willing to be vulnerable with those they care about and open up about their own struggles as well. This type of deep sharing is often accompanied by trust and respect, two key traits in the development of any relationship.
In addition, successful people are also interested in learning from others. Matt Mullenweg, founder of WordPress, regularly meets with leaders and entrepreneurs in fields that aren’t related to his own, because he believes that the wisdom they impart can be applied to all areas of life. He’s also a voracious reader, another top daily habit of successful people.
Covey suggests that we should continuously renew ourselves by educating our conscience through reading, prayer and service to others. These activities are important for both personal and professional growth and can help us to develop a sustainable, healthy lifestyle.
3. They Encourage
Successful people often seem to have an innate ability to connect with anyone from the CEO of a Fortune 500 company to the busboy at their local deli. But how do they do it? Is it their natural charm or an innate ability to build amazing relationships that keep them moving forward in their professional lives and personal lives? What is it that they do differently than others to help them cultivate the kind of close connections that everyone desires?
One of the most important habits that successful people engage in is encouraging themselves and others to succeed. When you encourage someone, you provide them with the confidence and encouragement they need to succeed at whatever endeavor they’re pursuing. This could be a business project, a new hobby, or a life goal. The key to this habit is making sure that your goals are specific, measurable, action-oriented, relevant and time bound. This will ensure that your goals are attainable and will help you avoid procrastination.
Another way to be a great encourager is by finding ways to celebrate each other’s successes along the way. This is a powerful way to build strong relationship and to maintain a positive outlook on the journey of life. It’s also important to be flexible with your goals and habits. If something comes up that interferes with your routine, like a traffic jam that cancels your 10 minutes of meditation or your regular jog around the block, be sure to create some “emergency reserves.” This will give you some get-out-of-jail-free cards for those days when your first-best plans have to take a back seat to the unexpected.
These five habits can help you strengthen your bonds with those around you and propel yourself toward the success you desire in both your personal and professional lives. However, remember that these are not quick fixes. Like any other worthwhile pursuit, developing these healthy habits takes consistent effort and requires a commitment to the process.
4. They Support
Providing support to friends is an important aspect of a healthy friendship. Sometimes this involves helping them get through difficult times, like a health crisis or an emotional breakdown. Other times it involves stepping in to help out in an emergency. A friend who’s there for you in a crisis creates strong bonds, and can be a person you look to for help in the future.
Supporting can also involve encouraging, praising, and cheering on a friend’s accomplishments. This can include personal and professional achievements. Supportive behavior helps build a sense of community, which is important for mental and physical well-being. Studies show that people with a strong network of supportive relationships experience less stress, depression, and anxiety. They also have a lower risk of heart disease and are more likely to live longer.
Developing and nurturing healthy relationships takes time, effort, and commitment. But the benefits are well worth it. Friendships can be a source of comfort and support throughout life’s challenges, from finding meaning in work to dealing with the loss of a loved one.
In his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey outlines an upward spiral model to achieve success in both the personal and interpersonal spheres of influence. He believes that habits 1-3 enable independence, habits 4-6 cultivate interdependence, and habits 5-7 focus on maintenance and continuous improvement. The key to successful interactions with others is to seek mutual benefit in all your actions, and strive for win-win situations. Using these five habits can help you develop and maintain strong, long-lasting bonds with the people in your life.
5. They Nurture
It may be obvious, but a healthy relationship requires both parties to invest in it. A lack of effort will often result in a break down of that relationship. A commitment to nurturing the relationship, however, can strengthen it even in the face of challenges.
Love is a powerful force in relationships. It is like kinetic energy that provides vitality and momentum to the relationship. It is important to express love in a variety of ways, including physical touch and verbal affirmations. This can be done on a daily basis and can include activities such as family dinners, walks in nature or simply giving hugs and kisses.
When children are young, it is essential to teach them how to nurture their relationships. This includes learning how to talk openly and honestly with others. It also means teaching them how to treat others with respect and dignity. It is also essential to help them develop their own interests and talents. This will help them feel confident and capable in the world around them.
As adult children enter into their own relationships, it is still important to nurture those bonds. They will likely need to adapt to major life changes, such as a new job or a move out of the house. They may need to work on building trust in new relationships and establishing their own boundaries.
It is also important to take time to renew yourself on a regular basis. This can be done through exercise, healthy eating habits, learning new things and taking time to relax. Covey explains that this will result in an “upward spiral” of conscience, which leads to growth and change.
