13 Daily Habits of Happy Successful People

February 12, 2020 35 Comments

Improving your life doesn’t require a giant shift. Start with these 13 daily habits that happy and successful people do.

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Each and every one of us has our own set of daily habits. But, the question is, are your habits making you happier or are they setting you back for what you truly want?

I challenge you to think about your daily habits right now. What do you do every single day? Do you hit your snooze button? Do you start your day scrolling through Facebook? Or do you stop each morning for a blended frappe?

Now, consider how each of these daily habits affects your happiness? I don’t mean surface level happiness. I mean deep, honest, fill your soul kind of happiness.

Each day, you do certain things that alter your mindset. That mindset follows you through the day and impacts every conversation and thought you have, and every choice you make.

Want to know what daily habits those who are happy and successful have established? Through a lot of reading, research, and personal experience, I’m sharing the 13 habits of truly happy people.

13 Daily Habits of Happy Successful People

1). They Read Every Day

Reading has been proven to reduce stress and create feelings similar to when a person meditates. According to a study, it only takes six minutes of reading to lower stress levels.

Not a reader or don’t know where to start? Check out You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero. I haven’t met a single person who doesn’t love this book. Or, head to Amazon’s Book Club Picks to find something that excites you.

2). They Unplug Morning and Night

Most of us have our smartphone attached to our hip day and night. Happy people leave their phone on the charger during their morning routine and then put it down about an hour before bed.

Staring at a phone screen stimulates the brain, but not always for the better. Research has shown that checking for and receiving notifications can increase stress. It also increases our FOMO, fear of missing out. This too can add to stress and decreased self-esteem.

3). Happy People Workout in the Morning

Working out stimulates endorphin production in the brain. One of the daily habits of happy and successful people is getting a workout in first thing in the morning.

It will make you feel accomplished and increase your energy levels throughout the remainder of the day. Also, it improves clarity and focus, allowing you to be more productive.

Can’t get out of the house? Try this 30-minute low impact workout that you can do from home.

4). They Practice Gratitude

If you hang around here on the blog long enough, you’re going to hear me talk a lot about gratitude. Every self-help book I’ve read goes into depth about the importance of daily gratitude.

Gratitude should be one of your daily habits, starting right now. You can start by thinking of three things you are thankful for right now. Take it a step further and write them down.

5). They Eat a Variety of Foods

Happy people have a diverse palette. They eat colorful foods with different textures.

But, on top of that, they really focus on eating whole foods that fuel their body and mind. Omega-3 Fatty Acids help increase blood flow to the brain and maintain high levels of dopamine to improve overall mood.

Other healthy foods that can improve your happiness include foods with live cultures like Greek Yogurt. Dark chocolate, Curry or other spicy Indian dishes, and bananas rich in L-tryptophan can boost serotonin levels and improve your daily life.

6). They Don’t Multitask While Eating

Whether you are looking to increase your happiness or you have a poor relationship with food, eating mindfully is one of the best daily habits you can establish.

When sitting down to eat breakfast, lunch, dinner, or when grabbing a snack, put down your phone and don’t eat at your computer. It may seem difficult, but don’t eat in front of the TV either.

Instead, sit at a table and focus on your meal. Notice how your food makes you feel when you start to feel full, and the different flavors in the dish.

7). They Acknowledge Their Achievements

Far too many people see their failures and dwell on them before seeing their achievements.

Take some time each day to reflect on what you accomplished in the last 24 hours. This doesn’t have to be big and grand. It can be something like getting eight hours of sleep, replying to an email, putting laundry away, or getting in the shower.

Give yourself credit wherever you can. It’s not bragging. It’s building yourself up and creating confidence on a deeper, subconscious level.

8). Happy People Wake Up Earlier

For as long as I can remember, I have been a night owl. I prefer to stay up until 1-2am and then sleep in a little bit in the morning. So when I first read about how waking up earlier makes you happier, I wasn’t having it.

But, over the last few months, I have been waking up (even on weekends) at 5am. And the results are in, I’m much more satisfied at the end of the day.

Science has shown that those who are morning people are happier than their night-owl counterparts. This isn’t to say you have to wake up at 5am. But, try getting up 15 or even 30 minutes earlier than usual. Use this time to focus on your goals or meditate and focus internally.

9). They Have a Morning Routine

Having a routine keeps you grounded. Even when everything else is spinning out of control, a routine can keep you level headed and sure of yourself.

Having a routine can also reduce stress since you no longer have to worry about what you need to do. Instead, you know what needs to get done and at what time.

You can include many of the things on this list into a morning routine. Start by making a small change each week. For example, week one might just try to wake up earlier. In week two you can add a workout. And week three can add reading.

10). They Meditate

Meditation has long been tied to happiness. Celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, the late Kobe Bryant, Will Smith, Jennifer Lopez, and many others dedicate time to meditate daily.

Meditating for just two minutes a day for 21 days can rewire your brain to make you more optimistic and happier.

If you don’t know where to start, you can try the Headspace App. It has a ton of varying length guided meditations. But, you can also head to YouTube or Spotify to find free guided meditations in under ten minutes.

11). The View Obstacles as Opportunities for Growth

Another daily habit of those who are the happiest and successful is taking obstacles head-on and viewing them as an opportunity. It’s likely that no matter what your daily life looks like, you run into obstacles. From time to money and school or work, we all face different obstacles.

After reading Successful Women Think Differently by Valorie Burton, I realized how many obstacles I have let deter me from my dreams. Sometimes, even on a daily basis.

When faced with an issue, look at it from a different perspective. How can you learn or grow from it? What will you do differently next time? Where is this obstacle leading you?

12). They Work on Their Relationships Daily

Rather than allowing your friend or sister to send you a text message, do it first. Happy people are proactive with the people they care about.

They put forth an effort to show how much they care. And perhaps, because they know they are doing everything they can to maintain or build a relationship, this brings satisfaction.

This also rings true if you are married or in a serious romantic relationship. Don’t take your significant other for granted. Work to better that relationship every day with open and uninterrupted communication.

13). They Affirm Their Worthiness

I recently wrote a blog post about learning how to love yourself again, in which I go journaling techniques that will improve confidence and sense of worth.

One of those techniques is using daily affirmations. This is the process of affirming your amazing qualities and potential.

Give this a try by saying an I Am statement out loud. For example, “I am a healthy woman who works out daily.” When you say statements like this, you are adding them to your subconscious to change the way you think about yourself.