It's a new year, if you're reading this it means you scale through into the new year. Some people don't realize how important it is to start a new year with a set out plan, if you're a goal getter then planning is the major key to making achievements. I took my time to lay out 18 rules that would be useful for living our lives and making achievements, these rules are things you need to attach to your lifestyle and everyday activities if you don't do them already.
1. Have a TO-DO list: We are all guilty of forgetfulness ones in a while, it's humanly normal, we have in mind to get some thing done then we totally forget, probably remember when it's a little late. Learn to have a TO-DO list, write down in digital or in ink your plans and schedules for the next day or the following week, wake up every morning to your TO-DO list and read exactly what your plans are for the day.
2. Visit places you've never been: It's important to visit at least two new places every year, visiting a new place doesn't have to be entirely a new country to those who can't afford travel tickets, visit small towns and villages in your country that you've never been to before, this would let you have a conscious mindset, adaptive ability and the power of establishing verbal relationships (esp. with strangers).
3. Read/watch local news: in 2018 make it an habit to read or watch your local news everyday, besides the fact that it would keep you aware of the situations in your country, it would also give you insight on security issues and how to help you prevent being a victim of circumstances in you surroundings.
4. Make new friends: Try making at least two new friends every year, I don't mean acquaintances, make real friends you can confide in and pour out your heart to, making new friends is another way to understand life, when you meet new people you see different characters and know different ways people reason from their own point of view, this would help you develop leadership skills and the ability to work with anyone.
5. Listen to music everyday: Music is generally referred to as a universal language, listen to music that could put smile on your face, at least 3 different songs everyday, a song goes an average of 4 minutes, you won't be spending 15 minutes to listen to 3 songs, this is important for relaxing the soul and the mind, a good r'n'b music can calm your temper and reduce your blood pressure.
6. Make friends with elderly people: When making friends, make at least one friend that's way older than you, this person shouldn't be a relative, should be a total stranger you grew up the friendship with, you might wonder why this is important, "The only knowledge you can acquire that colleagues or friends don't have access to, is a shared experience (esp. from an elderly person)" the world has gotten a lot closer to the level in which acquiring different sorts of knowledge can be done from the internet but guess what, an elderly person has experienced things you'd still need to grow up to experience and those experiences are not on the internet, make friends with an elder, you don't necessarily need to confide in their advice but confide in their experience and how they dealt with it, this would help you be in-charge of some difficult challenges you'll face in life.
7. Know your total income monthly: This aspect is for those into business, knowing the fact that you don't have an exact figure you make as income every month, it is important you make calculations of each income you make with your business during the month and put into writing the total income that was gained all through, by the end of the month. This would help you decide the success of your business, the month you made lesser income, what exactly happened during that month that brought the loss, knowing this would give you a clearer insight on how to tackle and prevent same kinda loss from happening again, this is good for making your business a success.
8. Always spend with budget: Not minding how small what it is you want to buy, be it a pair of jean or shoes, before going ahead to the store to purchase that item, make a budget of the minimum and maximum you plan to spend on that item, if item cost more than your maximum budget, if it's a gap you can instantly cover up or a mandatory item, then it's fine to purchase, but if not, make sure you're disciplined enough to leave that item for another time, working with a budget would help you be aware of your spending and how to save up.
9. Lay down awake an hour everyday: According to scientific research "The world most creative minds are those who create quiet time for themselves besides their night rest" if you admire creativity and you would like your mind to work in that direction, make this part of your schedule everyday, give an hour to free your mind from all your problems and dedicate that hour to think of fresh new ideas that would be of benefit to your line of work, this is a moment where all creative sense are opened, don't sit, it's less comfortable and can easily get you distracted, lay down on a bed or couch, during the day or few hours before you go to sleep at night, in a quiet environment for at least an hour and take note how you grow in creativity.
10. Learn to wake yourself up without an alarm: Being in control of your body is important to your health and a good practice to take control of your body is being your own alarm clock. Go to sleep with a mindset to wake up at a certain time, learn to program your body to wake up around that time without an alarm clock. The more you practice this, the more it becomes part of you and help grow the ability to control your body which would make you feel healthier.
11. Use a mirror: Most people believe using a mirror should be done by females but this is wrong, even has a male it is important to use a mirror. You don't necessarily need to own a very large mirror in your home or carry a mirror around everywhere you go, you can use your phone screen, phone camera, your car mirror, a motorcycle mirror etc. Whatever you find around you that can be used to see yourself, make use of it at least ones a day. Seeing yourself shows you the reflection of your strength and it works as a reminder of what you've been through, what you stand for and what your purpose is. The mirror can boost up your self confidence.
12. Watch movies and play games: Most people don't realize the importance of movies and games, some believe it's a waste of time while others just don't derive interest. Watching movies and playing games are two of the worlds most accessible system for expanding your IQ. Besides storyline, use of English, a movie can expand your IQ with the suspense and action. When you watch a movie, there's always a part of your thoughts that would like to predict the end of the movie, the process would make you have an imaginary mental picture of what could happen next in the movie, these imaginary pictures works to expand your IQ. Have you ever wondered why you play games?, most people would say they use it to while away time, but the fact is games are to challenge ourselves, when playing a games your purpose is to win, so you make use of your last senses to think on moves that would let you win that certain level. This would boost your striving ability to win and work to increase your IQ.
13. Always smile to a stranger: We meet random people almost everyday, when you see a stranger keep that beautiful smile on your face, either there would be a conversation or not, it's important you smile. That person is called a stranger because you don't know who they are, just having that smile on your face can save you from unexpected circumstances, 84% of those who get help from strangers are those who kept a smile on their face.
14. Discover your talent: Talent is your natural abilities or qualities, everyone has that inbuilt unusual innate ability in them, waiting to be discovered, in 2018 work towards discovering your talent. Paying attention to your hobby, know what makes you happy, take note of that thing that keeps you awake at night, your talent is found in them. No one was born with a perfected talent, if you realize you love listening to music but when you do, you pay more attention to sound and the keys of the music, this is a sign your body and sense has a thing for musical instruments, get a keyboard, guitar etc, practice with it to groom that talent of relating to sounds. Your talent might be all you need to succeed, don't take it for granted.
15. Have a best/close friend: It's important to know you have a best/close friend, you don't necessarily need to call them that but you know deep down you can confide in them. A friend who understands how you think, someone who can see things in your point of view before you even explain, a friend that can defend you in any situation even without knowing if you're truly guilty or not. Make such a friend, no man is an island always have someone to confide in, it's useful with making decisions.
16. Laugh to dry jokes: Don't expect everyone to be perfect as you are not, appreciate anyone who makes effort to make you smile, no matter how boring or dry their jokes seems to be, laughing to it can go a long way. Don't let anyone get tired of trying to make you laugh, those kind of people are rare to find, if you have one, appreciate and keep them close they are real friends who care about you.
17. Make random research at least ones a week: Make it an hobby to learn something significant at least ones a week. Did you hear some people speaking about a place, an incident or a subject matter and it sounds amazing to you, go straight to the internet or any research facility around you and learn about that particular matter, you would be surprised how much you could learn from a single research, make this an habit at least ones a week.
18. Know your characters and bad habit: People who don't know how to introduce themselves are still very much in existence, they find it so hard to describe their personality. Don't be like that, study yourself, know your characters, those things you know you can't do and the ones you can do, know how to accurately introduce yourself, starting with your name and further, be aware of the way you see life and know how to put it into words at anytime. Watch yourself closely and know those bad habit of yours, that you've gotten so used to it, you don't notice when you even do them, study yourself and know those things. You might not be needing to share your bad habit with people, but being aware can help work towards controlling yourself from doing them in public.
ITS TIME TO WORK WITH YOURSELF, 2018 CAN BE THAT YEAR FOR YOU, WORK WITH THESE RULES AND YOU'LL NOTICE THE CHANGE.
Happy New Year