My Top 10 Most Popular Articles of 2016
In 2016, hit the publish button 43 times.
That makes last year my best ever in terms of output.
I’ve listed the most popular ones below.
For the sake of DRAMA, we’ll start with #10.
Happy reading! 🙂
10. Forget About Motivation. Focus On This Instead.
Motivation is a feeling. And since feelings are always changing, it’s a bad idea to rely on motivation to take action. The article covers how to implement a personal system that makes it second nature for you to show up and do the work — no matter how you happen to feel.
9. This is the Most Fun Way to Get Started With a New Habit
When creating new habits, we tend to ask too much of ourselves too soon. That depletes our willpower and causes frustration and overwhelm. By starting small instead, we allow ourselves to experience small wins. That, in turn, helps us stick with our habits long enough for them to become automatic.
8. The Simple Habit That Will Make You Happy, Backed by Research
We all know that when we’re happy, we tend to smile. But did you know this works the other way, too? When we smile, we tend to feel happy. Smiling has tons of benefits we can tap into by setting up our own “smile therapy.”
7. This is How to Create a New Habit: 5 Secrets From Research
- Start ridiculously small.
- Get yourself hooked on the habit.
- Use a trigger.
- Deliberately change your environment.
- Surround yourself with the right people.
And don’t forget to adopt a “scientist & subject mindset.”
6. This is How to Figure Out What to Do With Your Life
Instead of following your passion, you should aim to become so good they can’t ignore you. Most people ask what the world can do for them. A better question to ask is what you can do for the world. Find out what unique strengths you have to offer to the world in the intersection of what you like to do, what you’re good at, and what the world will pay you for.
5. A Powerful Hack to Become Who You Want to Be, Backed by Research
Studies have shown that the clothes you wear can have a big effect on your behavior. Researchers call this curious phenomenon “enclothed cognition,” and you can use it to your advantage by dressing like the person you want to become. By doing that, you’ll likely soon find yourself starting to embody the traits and qualities you associate with the clothes you’re wearing.
4. This is the Best Way to Realize Your Full Potential, Backed by Research
To realize your full potential, you need to remove the mental barriers you’ve put up for yourself. You do that by:
- Putting your thoughts in perspective.
- Using empowering language.
- Changing your feelings.
- Surrounding yourself with the right people.
- Taking control of your behavior.
3. This is the Best Way to Easily Improve Your Life, Backed by Research
The quality of your life depends on your daily habits. So, the best way to improve your life is to change these automatic behaviors. “Substitution habits” makes it easy to get started, build momentum, and create positive ripple effects across all areas of your life.
2. This is How to Get Better at What You Do, Every Single Day
To keep getting better at what you do, you have to increase your efforts consistently. You have to always be stretching yourself just a little bit further than you’re used to. If you do that, your regular tiny improvements will compound into huge results over time.
And the Winner is… (Drumroll please!)…
1. This is the 1 Thing Successful People Do Differently
The common denominator of success — the secret of success of every person who has ever been successful — lies in the fact that they formed the habit of doing things that failures don’t like to do. So, if you want to be successful, you have to practice being comfortable being uncomfortable.
Final Words
Thank you so much for reading and sharing my work last year. It means the world to me!
I’ll work hard to become a better writer with even more useful ideas in 2017.
So, if you’re not yet on my newsletter, now is the time to join us!
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Here’s to a spectacular 2017!
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Photo by Sergey Zolkin.
