Mind Habits

I recently learned the eight mind habits of successful people from Dr. Duan Roen, who happens to be a Professor of English at Arizona State University. These habits make a person better in every corner of his/her life:

• Personal life: An individual communicates better with his family, friends and close ones. He makes meaningful connections with them which in turn enrich his life.
• Professional life: An individual is better equipped in his workspace. He does his work to perfection and is respected by his peers. He becomes a force of excellence and enjoys growth in his career.
• Civic life: An individual can take better decisions in his community and work with others in society's framework. He is better in making judgements and doing negotiations.
• Academic life: An individual is more inclined towards success and learning in academia.

 The eight mind habits are:-

1. Curiosity:  To be curious about everything. Ask questions as to why and how something happens. Our best role models are children. Being curious helps open new doors and paves way for opportunities. Moreover, the satisfaction of living increases tremendously.
2. Openness: To remain open towards new ideas and viewpoints. It also refers to considering other's opinion which might differ from our own. It doesn't mean to let go of our own opinions, but to be neutral and letting other ideas to shape ours in case we are wrong.
3. Engagement: To invest our full attention in whatever things we are currently indulged in. The duration of attention can vary - 5 minutes for some to an hour or more. It is tremendously important in execution of basically every type of activity.
4. Creativity: Its interpretation may differ from person to person. Some examples of creativity are: solving a problem using an entirely new approach, creating things from ground up, composing music, doing research and so on. It helps to keep thinking about world in new ways.
5. Persistence: Perhaps the most important one in all eight. The quality of never backing down and being true to one's own goals. Learning from failures, and welcoming new challenges form an important part of this habit. Dr. Roen shares a story from his own life - his wife and he are in the habit of writing daily journal entries for over 40 years of their married life. Each journal entry takes around 15-20 minutes. They have remained so persistent that the journal now contains over 16,000 entries! They view it as a treasure and a memory-corridor to the life they had led.
6. Responsibility: My favorite. The quality of showing credibility about the things you say and do. Meaning if you enjoy applause when you succeed, you ought to accept failures too. Humility is the chief attribute here. In failures, you should try to understand what went wrong and promise the affected parties of better performance in future. Promise keeping, disciplined life and an edge for excellence in every aspect of life are the chief skills to master.
7. Flexibility: The ability to change your thought processes easily as new ideas and knowledge come flooding in. The skill to interact with other people and take the best possible qualities and ideas from them. Allowing yourself to improve at each moment of time.
8. Meta-Cognition: It is about thinking and reflecting upon your actions and deeds. It is asking yourself how could you have done some things better and what are you lacking in. It is also about the analysis of results of the things you did or are about to do. You should have a clear idea about the paths you are choosing or are currently walking on.

I will be doing my best to incorporate these points in my life. Would also love to hear from you.