What are the 15 healthy habits You should work on to have a positive life?

Exercise everyday! Meditate! Review your goals every morning!

… All of these are great habits to have.

But you’ve heard all of them before (and probably more than a few times just in this thread).

So while I’m a big proponent of all the common “Positive Life Habits” like meditation, exercise, and having clear goals, I want to take a different angle with my response and provide you with a few counter-intuitive habits that will help you create an exceptional life.

Some of these might surprise you and you may vehemently disagree (at first) with quite a few of the items on this list.

But I can tell you from personal experience these work.

So give em a try and let me know what you think.

Let’s dive in.

1. Stop Caring So Much

You are a speck of dust on a rock that is hurtling through space at millions of miles per hour orbiting around a giant ball of fire that gives you life while simultaneously trying to give you cancer…

So chill out, m’kay?

Life is short. So don’t waste it worrying about stupid stuff.

Sure, working your butt off to make millions might make you happier in the long run and allow you to experience more of our marvelous planet.

But at the end of the day, nothing that we do here ultimately matters.

Some billion years in the future, the sun will explode, destroying the earth and wiping humanity off of the map.

Everything that you’ve done will amount to precisely “0” and all that you will be left with are the experiences that you got to have during your lifetime.

So don’t take things so seriously. Stop caring about stupid sh*t. And enjoy life a little bit more.

2. Watch Lots of Funny Shows on Netflix

Other people like to vilify watching TV and YouTube videos as if spending a small fraction of your day unwinding and enjoying mindless entertainment makes you a terrible person who’s destined for failure.

Personally, Netflix saved my life.

When I was at the height of my depression, the only thing that got me through my days were the stand up comedies I watched on Netflix and funny animated crap I watched on YouTube.

Now, I’m not encouraging you to goof off from work and spend your whole day watching cat videos.

But I AM saying that laughter is one of nature’s miracle drugs and it’s completely free.

So laugh more.

Binge watch comedies. Check out stand ups. Attend comedy clubs.

Fill your days with laughter and every other area of your life will get better.

3. Sleep Late

I tried waking up at 5 a.m. every day for a month once.

It was the worst 30 days of my life.

Sleep is, bar none, one of the most important habits that you can adopt for a positive life.

When you’re tired and sleep deprived, you are literally killing yourself, making yourself dumber, and increasing the likelihood that you’ll get fat (don’t believe me, here’s a study)

So if you’re one of those rare people who enjoys waking up with the sun, that’s fine.

But be sure you’re logging at least 8 hours of high quality sleep every night.

If you need to wake up 1–2 hours later than normal so that you can be sufficiently rested for your day, it’s well worth the time that you will lose.

I promise.

4. Spend Lots of Money on Luxury Services

I currently hire a personal shopper, chef, and housekeeper.

I won’t tell you how much this costs me every month (hint: it’s an arm and a leg), but I will tell you that it’s absolutely worth it.

Most people waste their time on low level tasks that don’t push them closer towards their goals or help them achieve their dreams.

If you’re currently a business owner, freelancer, or commission based employee, then you should hire additional help as soon as possible.

Think about it this way…

If you’re a freelancer who can earn an additional $50 for every hour of work, then why would you waste one of those hours cleaning your house when you could pay someone else $15 to do it?

You’re literally losing $35 for every hour that you spend on these tasks.

As soon as you have the financial capacity to do so, I recommend hiring someone else to clean your home or apartment, do your shopping, and cook your food.

It will give you more time to pursue your goals and make the income you desire.

5. Play More Video Games

Much like television, video games have been vilified by “Success Culture”.

We’ve been told that they are a complete waste of time and offer no value to our lives.

And we’ve been told a lie.

Sure… You shouldn’t play games for hours on end or get so wrapped up in a game that you begin to neglect your life.

But spending 30–60 minutes a day playing a mentally stimulating strategy or shooter game can help you relax and think about your problems in a different way.

I’ve actually had some of my biggest business breakthroughs while playing Star Craft II. For whatever reason, the game helped me change the lens through which I viewed my problems and I was able to uncover creative solutions to issues that had been stumping me for weeks.

Like I said, I don’t endorse gamaholism, but if you keep it under an hour a day, video games can have numerous benefits for your brain and life.

6. Drink Alcohol More Frequently and Smoke Loads of Cigars (With an Important Caveat)

Before you get too excited, I am NOT about to tell you that it’s ok to get wasted every day (or even every week).

But what I am saying is that going out to high priced bars and cigar lounges is one of the best ways to build your networks and find new business opportunities.

I’ve made more business deals and met more mentors over a cocktail at various house parties than I ever did through meetup or Toastmasters.

Similarly, if you enjoy tobacco, going to your local cigar lounge is a great way to meet successful people (after all, it’s an expensive hobby) and expand your network.

My Director of Content has generated more than $30,000 in personal revenue for himself over the last 2 years by doing nothing more than sitting at his local cigar shop and puffing on a stogie.

As with all things, exercise temperance and be sure that you are the master of the substances you’re consuming and not the other way around.

7. Throw a Pity Party

You hear it from all the great self help gurus.

STOP COMPLAINING.

They tell you that negativity is toxic and that complaining is poison for the soul… And they’re right.

Sort of…

Here’s the thing. Life can be hard, and at times, bad things are going to happen to you and they’re going to suck.

But instead of trying to hide from your negative emotions, you need to embrace them.

Set a timer for 20 minutes and throw yourself the biggest, cryiest, whiniest pity party that you can.

Cathart and get all of your anger, frustration, and sadness out.

Then, when the timer goes off, pick up your kleenex, dry your eyes, and move on with your life.

You’ll feel better for taking the time to express your emotions and you’ll be able to move forward without allowing the negative event to impact you as much.

8. Don’t Read So Many Books

We have an information overload epidemic in our society.

We have more access to knowledge and wisdom than at any time in human history. And the problem is that people get so bogged down with new information that they never actually take ACTION on what they’re learning.

So what’s the solution?

Stop reading so many books and start using books to help you accelerate your life.

Look…

You can read the top 100 personal growth books day in and day out for a year. Most of them say the same thing and, until you take action on them, your life will never change.

OR…

You can be selective about what you read and use books to help you overcome specific issues in your life.

Think of books kind of like the Doctor. You don’t need to go for a checkup when you’re healthy, only when you’re sick.

If you have an issue in your life or even if you forsee an issue (e.g. you’re in a new relationship and don’t want to make the same mistakes you did last time), then pick up a book about your specific problem and use it to find the solution.

But don’t waste your time re-reading the same canned crap that you’ll never implement anyways.

This is the laziest sort of “personal development” there is.

9. Stop Apologizing So Much

Seriously…

You don’t need to apologize for being in someone’s general vicinity while walking through the grocery store.

Apologizing mentally puts you in a place of inferiority and makes you feel like something is wrong with you.

Unless you seriously hurt someone or accidentally kicked a baby, you don’t need to apologize. Period.

10. Meditate… On The Fact that You’re Going to Die (What a Happy Thought!)

Here’s a fun one.

You are going to die!

So am I and so is everyone that we know and love.

It’s inevitable.

But it doesn’t have to be a sad thing.

Spend time every day or week meditating on your mortality and thinking about death.

Imagine that you’re on your death bed thinking back on life. What decisions would you have wanted to make? How would you have wanted to live? Who would you have wanted to be?

The more that you can meditate on the shortness of life, the more effectively you will use the time you have.

Never forget that you’re going to die.

Because this is the only thing that makes life worth living.

11. Drink Coffee Every Morning

Plain and simple.

It’s delicious, energizing, and has a metric crap ton of benefits.

12. Be Lazier

Laziness breeds efficiency.

If you spend less time working and more time playing then you’ll be forced to be more productive at work and identify the truly important tasks that drive your life forward.

Learn to cultivate laziness in a healthy way that allows you to get more done in less time.

It changed my life and helped me make 7-figures.

It’ll change yours too.

13. Goof Off From Work

So here’s something most people don’t know.

Your brain doesn’t work in a linear fashion.

Meaning, your mental energy levels aren’t a straight line.

They are a cycle. And it repeats every 90 or so minutes.

So the next time you’re struggling to be productive, realize that your brain simply needs a few minutes to recharge and reboot.

Take 15 minutes off of work and play chess on your phone, meditate, go for a walk, or just sit in a bathroom stall and scroll through Facebook.

Make sure that you take enough breaks throughout the day to keep your brain firing on all cylinders.

It’ll help you be far more productive in the long run.

14. Talk Sh*t About Yourself

You’ve all heard the saying that you should talk to yourself like a treasured friend.

Heck… I’ve even said this on MEDIUM a few times.

But today, I want to recommend a different approach.

Instead of fighting your negative self talk and trying to turn it positive, for the next 30 days, I want you to talk as much sh*t about yourself as you want.

BUT…

Whenever you do, pull out your phone, talk out loud, and record a voice memo.

Then, when you’re done telling yourself what a rotten and useless piece of sh*t you are, save the recording and listen to it 30–60 minutes later.

It will probably make you keel over laughing from how ridiculous you sound.

When externalize your negative self talk you have a chance to hear just how preposterous it really is which will allow you to switch to more positive self talk even faster.

15. Choose Happiness

At the end of the day, this is THE most important habit for a happy life.

Happiness is a choice.

You can choose to find meaning in terrible situations or you can succumb to them and allow them to defeat you.

You can CHOOSE to be happy now and make this life your best life.

But it’s a choice that YOU and only you can make.

Hope this helps

Stay Grounded
Vansh Jha