Five More Characteristics Of Effective People In Every Country

Here are five more characteristics of people who lead effective lives.

In Russia, not everyone drinks, but there is a famous, if somewhat exaggerated, drinking culture that emphasizes vodka. In the United States, hardly everyone uses heroin, but there is newly reported culture of hard drug abuse. Hiding from not being OK is not just unhealthy, it is a poor way to lead a life. People who live well are reconciled to the fact that things are not always the way they should be.

 

Rather than drowning sorrows in drink or hiding your disappointments by getting high, it's best to ask yourself:

Effective people are happy take small steps toward change. There is a lot of invisible suffering in the world. There is a lot of invisible success, too. 

 

Maybe nobody but you will know when you work out with kettlebells at five o'clock in the morning before you go to work. Maybe nobody but you will know that you have to focus all your mental energy to overcome anxiety to meet your daily fears. Maybe nobody but you will see you pass eighty-seven varieties of Oreos on the grocery shelves without putting any of them in your cart. These are small victories, and no one will congratulate you for achieving them, but you make a difference in your own life.

There are more good role models around than most people imagine. Maybe your grandmother has steel teeth, drinks too much vodka, lacks modern fashion sense, and saved her little sister by hiding out in the woods in the war. Maybe your father eats too much fried chicken, needs to lose 60 pounds, never gets any exercise except for work, and cares for his father and mother and is always there for the entire family. A kindergarten may get all her exercise corralling 24 children at recess twice a day, or a poor person may walk miles to the bus stop to get to work and to church and stores and social activities. Every role model does not have to perfect. It is not necessary to be exactly like good role models. It is possible to borrow what is best for them and become the expert at your own life.

Part of success in life is finding the right work-arounds to deal with life's problems. Much of the world operates on a kind of "I have a friend who" system. People ask their friends and neighbors for help, and make their way through life being the kind of friend that they themselves need. Most people aren't naturally good at most things. They embrace the opportunities to make small changes in their lives and the lives of those around them for the better.

Some people choose impossible goals that become a quixotic quest doomed to failure. Some people never try to do anything at all. Effective people choose goals that just out of reach, and make a series of choices along the way to improve themselves. If you need to lose weight, you don't try to lose half your body mass in a month. You resolve to make a habit of mindful eating for the rest of your life. If you need better lung function, you don't wage a holy war on cigarettes. You make many sensible choices, including exercise, and getting cleaner air, and, yes, quitting tobacco. If you are afraid of cancer, you don't move to the Andes to avoid air pollution. You make daily lifestyle choices for good health and you see your doctor regularly to get early treatment if you need it.

 

People in places like Russia and the United States don't enjoy the best national health statistics. However, life isn't about being a statistic. Life is meaningful, or it is not. If your life is meaningful to you, you have a way finding the improvements you need to make to live a little more meaningful life, and a little more, and a little more. Constantly refocusing your control over life is what gives you the health outcomes you need. Health outcomes are not declining in any nation where people choose to live their lives well.