When I started my career, I worked in the hospitality and tourism industry. Like any responsible organization, it was standard practice to watch our numbers very closely. In fact, my team would have a morning meeting to update us on the daily forecasts and yesterday's actual performance numbers (e.g. Memberships, arrivals, departures, stayovers, customer satisfaction), in comparison to every other location in the hotel group.

Even on the days when we would be on the top of the list in one measure (rare, given the number of locations), there were loads of other measures we weren't doing as well on. More often, we weren't at the top in any measure. Somebody else was always doing better. Over time, intent review of the morning updates took me and my team away from more important focus we should have had on the progress our location was making. In this article I will teach you the five habits that you need to change as soon as possible if you want to make the remaining months of this year the best ones for you and your family.

Here are the five habits you need to change as soon as possible:

Comparing your life

Coaching and training clients tell me all the time that it is easy to compare ourselves to others. Inevitably when I ask them about their progress, the response will start with, " I just don't feel like I am as far along as (insert name)" and we end up talking about the other person more than we do about them.

Many of us measure our success in reference to other people. That's what our society tells us to do. But, there's a better way.

Earl Nightingale said, "Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal." Success is not just about a destination, and it doesn't ask us to compare ourselves with others. Life challenges us to have a worthy ideal and to make progress in getting there.

Here are the two things Nightingale recommends having in a fulfilled life:

A worthy ideal. This is a vision of the future that is worthy of our time and effort, makes our lives and the lives of others better, and gives us a target to shoot for. This should be in writing.

Progressive realization of it. You are making consistent progress towards the worthy ideal and able to measure your progress in comparison to where you were in the past. In essence, you compare yourself to yourself - not to others.

This does not mean ignoring what others are doing and/or the key performance indicators set by yourself of the organization you work for. Any responsible leader should be aware of these. We simply shouldn't use them to define our success as a person.

Do you have a worthy ideal? Is it written down? Are you comparing yourself to yourself?

Being late

Effective time management is a key factor in achieving success in both business and life.

One of the biggest benefits of effective time management is increased productivity. Effective time management can also help you reduce stress and improve your work-life balance. By prioritizing your tasks and creating a schedule that works for you, you can minimize the risk of burnout and ensure that you have time for the things that matter most to you.

Poor sleep patterns

Research bears out the connection between too much sleep and too little energy. It appears that any significant deviation from normal sleep patterns can upset the body's rhythms and increase day time fatigue. Although most of us need about eight hours of sleep a night to feel refreshed during the day, what counts as sufficient sleep is highly individual. Getting good sleep, in the right amount for you, can make a huge difference in how you feel and the quality of your waking hours.

Spending before

you earn

Smart personal finance can be reduced to one simple equation: [wealth] = [what you earn] - [what you spend].

If you spend more than you earn, you have a negative cash flow. You are losing wealth and in danger of going into debt. (Or, if you are already in debt, you are digging the hole deeper.) If you spend less than you earn, you have a positive cash flow, which will let you climb out of debt and build wealth.

Personal finance compromises three essential skills:

Earning - your ability to bring in money.

Spending - your ability to live frugally and spend wisely.

Saving - your ability to produce a surplus and to make that surplus grow.

Some people are good at one skill, but not the others (maybe you are good at keeping your costs low, for instance, but struggle to earn money). Other people are good at two of the skills but fall down on a third (you might have a good income and keep your costs low but have a small nest e.g. because you lack skill in saving). And still others are passable at all three skills - not really excelling, but not failing either.

To be truly successful at personal finance, you must maximize your performance in all three areas. Mastering money means mastering each of these three skills. In my books "You Know More Than You Think You Do" and "The Eye of The Needle", I teach you all about the mindset required to put the information in the books into practice. You can then achieve your financial goals with surprising speed.

Being scared to try

In a speech in 1993, American President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, addressing a nation mired in a depression and on the verge of a world war, famously stated, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

Fear is universal. It crosses all boundaries of race, culture, religion and generation. We all feel fear. So, why do some people appear to be fearless, doing battle with enemies that others cower before? Because they recognize that the greatest enemy, they face is the fear itself.

Here are a few actions you can take to face and overcome fear:

Admit your fears. According to American general, George Patton, "The time to take counsel of your fears is before you make an important battle decision. That's the time to listen to every fear you can imagine! When you have collected all the facts and fears and made your decision, turn off all your fears and go ahead!"

Develop a burning desire that overcomes fear. The firefighter runs into the burning building not because he is fearless, but because he has a calling that is more important than the fear. Sometimes the best way to fight fear is to focus on our reasons for confronting it.

Focus on what you can control. American Basketball Coach, John Wooden said, "Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do." I often have to deal with international clients who have the wrong attitudes and who take the wrong actions as a result of their thinking. Repeat after me:

I can control my attitude, but not other's actions.

I can control my calendar, but not other's circumstances.

It's not what happens to me, but what happens in me.

"Any act often repeated soon forms a habit; and habit allowed, steadily gains in strength - at first it may be as the spider's web, easily broken through, but if not resisted it soon binds us with chains of steel." - Tryon Edwards.

Decide to own the remaining months of this year. Reflect on what you are trying to achieve and why. Understanding 'the why' will help you to stay motivated when inevitable roadblocks to building new routines surface.

As we realize what's true and focus on what we can control, the fear naturally fades and weakens. The only solution is action. Change, habits, and fear are what we make of them. We first make our habits and then our habits make us. Avoid comparing your life to others, being late, poor sleep patterns, spending before you earn, and being scared to try.

Make sure you share your ambitions for the remaining months of the year with someone who can support you and remind you of why you are taking this on in the first place when the going gets tough. Research shows that your odds of success increase dramatically when you make your intentions known to someone perceived to have a higher status than yourself or someone who's opinion you value.

Now, go get started!

• Eliot Kelly is recognized as a serial entrepreneur, business coach and mentor and has been featured on CNN, BBC Three's Be Your Own Boss and an extensive list of magazines and articles. His five books have been translated in over seven languages and sold in twenty-nine countries, recently being shortlisted for Best Self-Help and Best Advice Books 2019 by The Author Academy, and MBCC Award nominee for Most Inspirational Person of The Year 2023 and Mentor of The Year 2023. Contact him via his website at www.eliotkelly.co.uk, email at info@eliotkelly.co.uk and Twitter via @eliotkellyofficial. 

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