Have you ever stopped to think about what defines success in life? We often hear about big achievements, but what about the everyday decisions that pave the way for that success?

Although success often seems like a distant mountaintop, visible but challenging to reach. Yet, what if I told you that this success is primarily made up of small everyday choices? These choices are like the bricks that build the path to our goals.

They may not always appear extraordinary or grand, but collectively, they form the foundation of our achievements.

In this exploration of success, here are the significance of these everyday decisions that make up our lives and shape our journey towards success.

1. When You Surround Yourself With People Who Brings Out The Best in You

While it’s great to enjoy our independence, having a strong support system is equally important for our happiness and success.

There’s an 80-year, longitudinal study from Harvard that shows how close relationships are better predictors of happy lives than social class, money, fame, IQ, or even genes.

That is to say, maintaining close and healthy relationships with family, social circle, partner, better work environment, and even our pets can be the things that make us happy.

On the other hand, strained relationships can lead to heightened stress and depression, making your life miserable.

The people we surround ourselves with can either uplift or drag us down. This underscores the importance of carefully choosing your social circle. You should assess who is in your life and why, pondering whether they bring happiness and enrichment to your world, and if you enrich theirs. You invest in them emotionally and you should expect a return.

Is that selfish? Absolutely not. It’s not selfish to hold yourself to a high standard, as long as that standard can be achieved by anyone if they tried. Why would you want anyone else besides those that want to be in your life? When having people in your life, just know that it’s their honor to be your friend, and it’s a privilege to be in your life.

You should feel the same way, about everyone in your life you hold close. If not then that friend or partner can’t be worth the effort.

Maintain a high standard for the company you keep, and lead by example. Encourage everyone to be the best they can be around you, just as you work hard to be the best version of yourself around them.

2. When You Manage Time Wisely and Set Priorities

Staying on track and getting things done is hard. Some of us are natural dreamers and not as good at execution.

When you’re inefficient and easily distracted, time seems like grains of sand that slip through your hands. And even when you’re determined to be disciplined with your time, using notorious techniques to track time.

Are you still wondering why time slips through your hands? I’ve been there and it can be tough.

For some people, (and it’s quite common) planning and tracking can end up being a huge time-sink that doesn’t actually move you forward. Make sure that you’re spending more time doing than planning and setting reminders. That’s not to say that those things don’t serve you, but they aren’t the point. They are tools, not results.

Map out your overarching goals, your first couple goal posts for each, and then what physical steps you need to get there. Schedule those. Reevaluate monthly or quarterly depending on the goal and the size of the steps.

For recurring things, always do the biggest impact items first, and that’s subjective to you. Which items will make you feel most productive or give you space to accomplish more?

Doing is better than perfect. To an extent.

3 minutes now can save you 3 hours down the line. This goes for so many things. Maintenance is easier, faster, and cheaper than complete overhaul in just about every area of life.

Ask for help sometimes. Not only will you save time, but people actually bond by helping one another.

Stop and look around every once in a while.

Saying “No” is a complete sentence. You don’t need a reason to not do whatever that person is trying to guilt you into.

It’s the way you evaluate each situation and not what you plan. Does this serve you and your values and your goals? Make good choices in the absence of control.

3. Consistency With The Right Daily Habits

It’s one thing to set goals, it's another to follow up. Maintaining consistent daily habits can be a real pain in the ass, especially if you tend to work in bursts of energy rather than maintaining a steady routine.

I’ve been there too, wanting a reliable daily routine for skincare, journaling, and learning a new language. But struggling to stick to it when the motivation wanes. So, how can you force yourself to build these consistent habits?

One reason for procrastination often boils down to not knowing what to do. By creating a schedule on Google Calendar or a similar tool and following it diligently, can help establish a rhythm for your day.

But what if, despite having a schedule in place, you still struggle to hold yourself accountable?

It’s a common struggle, imperfect consistency is better than perfect inconsistency. Doing something, even if it’s less than originally planned or slightly delayed, is better than doing nothing at all.

For example, if you’re often tempted to skip an activity, you can do 1/3 of it. Such as, doing one set of a workout when you initially aimed for five sets.

This way, you can still make progress and avoid the trap of waiting for the perfect moment that might never come. Less is better than nothing, late is better than never, and taking action, even in small steps, can lead to more consistent habits over time.

4. When You Maintain a Belief in Yourself Daily

We all know the key to success often starts with a daily dose of self-belief. But why do we still find it hard to believe we can achieve our goals?

Well, life throws us curve balls – financial woes, fear of failing, rejection, loneliness, relationship hiccups, poor sense of self-value, or that never ending social anxiety.

These situations can shake our confidence and hold us back. It’s okay to have insecurities. But it’s how you handle them that truly matters, it’s what defines you.

Before you even start doing something, you need to believe in yourself to do it. If you believe you can do it, you’re more likely to take chances and succeed. But if you think you can’t, you might miss out on cool opportunities.

Successful individuals grasp this concept. They understand that self-belief isn’t merely “important” it’s the cornerstone of success. Others might try to discourage you from your dreams or sow doubt in your mind. But in those moments, the only thing that can rescue you is your unwavering self-belief.

Let’s say you want to ask someone out but secretly think they’ll say no, you might chicken out and never ask.

The more you practice something, the better you become at it. If you keep dodging tasks or procrastinating, you’re essentially honing your skills in avoidance and procrastination.

It’s a destructive cycle that chips at your confidence daily. Doubt feeds doubt, and procrastination feeds procrastination.

However, knowing that you can weather tough times will help you to overcome almost anything. So, always hold onto your self-belief and go for it. You’ve got this!

5. When You Learn From Your Mistakes

We know success activates our reward system, which makes us want to keep succeeding at that thing. But what about mistakes?

Mistakes can actually makes us more creative and learn new things.

Sometimes our actions or decisions result in an unintended or undesirable outcome.

Whether it’s errors in judgement, lack of information, or simply trying something new and unfamiliar.

This is a natural part of life, but we all know it hurts and no one plans to fail on purpose and what we can do is try to give it our best every time.

But when—and it will happen—you face failure, don’t let it bring you down.

Even when we mess up, we benefit from it because now we understand what went wrong, and try a new strategy, that’s a kind of success too. It’s only called “failure” because we didn’t reach our goal just yet, but we’re getting closer.

Our brains are wired to work this way, always pushing us to improve.

6. When You Maintain Curiosity and Open Mind to New Things

The most successful people and the richest people in this world have one thing in common: They’re all some of the most profound experts at exploring their curiosities.

Being curious is like having a special pair of glasses. It helps successful people see the world through the lens of a student or beginner, always ready to learn new things.

There’s a lot you can learn if you keep an open mind to it. The willingness to learn and digest information that’s outside of your frame of reference is an excellent catalyst for making progress in all aspects.

Unfortunately, as we grow up, we lose that child-like curiosity and sense of wonder. For some, it takes travelling to a new country to rekindle it.

Have you ever wondered why many people experience a newfound curiosity and inspiration after traveling abroad?

Perhaps it’s the realization that there are countless opportunities beyond our usual daily routines?

Whatever motivates you to travel, whether it’s for a vacation or to settle in a new place, experiencing a different world can make life feel like an exciting playground. I’m not saying we all have to pack up our bags and go on a vacation spree, we just need to discover practical ways to infuse our lives with this sense of playfulness.

Undoubtedly, curiosity plays a fundamental role in driving progress. It serves as the spark that fuels exploration, innovation, and learning. When you’re curious, you ask questions, seek out new information, and approach challenges with an open mind.

7. When You Prioritize Health And Well-being Through Good Nutrition and Exercise

What’s success without good health and well-being? Choosing to prioritize our health through nutrition and exercise is another piece of the puzzle.

What is success? A successful life is when you feel happy and fulfilled, and since your caveman body releases hormones that make you feel good when you do healthy things.

You have to be alive to succeed whatever your definition of success might be.

If you’re disciplined enough to eat the right foods, get some exercise, and make sure you sleep for a solid 8 hours, then there’s a good chance you have the discipline it takes to do well at work, manage your money wisely, and take care of both your physical and mental well-being.

Success starts with taking care of yourself. When you’re healthy and feeling good, you’re setting yourself up for success in all areas of life.