10 ways to level up in 2024 and get ahead of 99% of people
How to level up your life in 10 easy steps and make 2024 your year
There is no secret that we are bombarded with distractions from the moment we wake up until we fall asleep.
Not only do we have more access to information than at any other time in history, but we also have information thrown at us from all directions, constantly! Some of this information is only meant to manipulate us, to control us, to generate fear, to nurture addictions, and to take our money.
I am going to present you with 10 ways, and 10 pieces of information that will help you level up and improve your life!
Do what 99% don’t do, and you will be in the top 1%!
Listen more, talk less
The secret to being a master communicator is your ability to listen. Not only listening but listening without the intention to talk. A lot of people feel like they are listening to the conversation, but they are waiting for their turn to speak.
“This happened to me in the gym” → “Oh that’s nothing, this other thing happened to me at the gym”
“I’ve quit smoking” → “Oh that’s nice, I’ve quit alcohol”
People often correlate the story they hear, with one of their own stories and they have the urge to say it. More than that, they have the urge to tell a story that tops the original story. This often leads to poor communication, and being viewed as egocentric, narcissistic, or self-centered.
If you want to be a good communicator, listen, and instead of telling your own story, ask details about their story, and follow-up questions! You’ll be viewed as interested, emphatic, and kind!
Pay attention to what others need
This is a very good technique if you are in sales, venture capital, or angel investing, and if it worked there, it will work for you as well. When you are in communication with someone, or you are going to meet someone, or you need them to sign off something, to become your client, or to partner in some way with you, pay attention to them.
You should identify:
- what they value
- what they enjoy
- what they need
For example, you want to get someone to be your client. Do your homework before discussing it with them.
- What do they value? Family
- What do they enjoy? Spending time with them
- What do they need? They are proud of an achievement of their children such as making the basketball team and want to get them a signed t-shirt.
You might not know everything but if you listen, you will find out. Start by asking about their family. How are they doing? What ages? What are they into? Then you find out about the basketball team and see how you can provide value in that direction. It will put them in a great mood, and they are more likely to associate you with a good feeling and do business with you.
Be more mindful — Meditate
The present moment is all we have!
People spend too much time either dwelling on the past or dreaming of the future! While the latter is not bad, and we’ll get there, dwelling on the past can fill you with regret, shame, guilt, and other low-vibration feelings.
How we feel is what we attract!
So stop focusing on the past that you can’t change, and focus on the present moment when you have control. Control of what you do, how you feel, how you react!
Here is a short list of tips to be more mindful:
- Accept what is happening and pay attention to how you react, it will teach you a lot about yourself
- Express Gratitude daily for what you have, what you are, and what you admire about the world
- Always understand where the feelings come from
- Pay attention to your surroundings
- Do breath-work
- Focus on what you feel, what you see, what you smell, and what you hear around you
- Eat the frog and do what you know you should be doing
Plan your future in advance
Manifesting is a topic that recently became a trend! Law of Attraction, however, is a law of the universe and it’s always been here.
You attract how you feel!
You attract what you are!
So your thoughts, perceptions, and feelings, will attract similar circumstances into your life! Nurture good thoughts, catch the bad ones in their way, and replace them with positive ones. This is neuroplasticity!
One manifesting technique is visualization! Visualization is imagining a future event, as if it’s happening right now or happened in the past! Always think about what you want to be like 1 year from now, 6 months from now, or even 5 years from now! Imagine everything in detail about how you are dressed, what your life it’s like, and how you feel at that moment!
Your goals might change and that’s fine! Visualize what will make you happy to be like in 1 year and focus on that! Your brain will subconsciously try to achieve that feeling and attract in your life what you need to get there.
Exercise every day
Exercising is the best therapist!
This is what most people say and I found it to be true! Having a healthy and fit body will give you the motivation, discipline, and confidence that you are looking for!
Even though you might not have a specific body goal in mind, this will give you the qualities you need, and the motivation to apply to other areas of your life.
For me, exercising is like a meditation. I visualize my goals while exercising, I listen to the songs that motivate me and put me in a good mood, and I get filled with dopamine to get me through the day. More than that, exercising releases dopamine and oxytocin. Hormones that will act as fuel for motivation and a cure for laziness.
Have a productivity system
There are thousands of tips and tricks for productivity. We will discuss in other articles which ones are amazing and which ones are a coax. But what I know for sure, is that applying them sporadically, randomly, without a plan, actually doesn’t work.
You not only want to apply the productivity hacks, but you also want them to be successful.
A Productivity system is not just a collection of practices, but an order within the tricks to put your life in order.
It should never be a set-in-stone practice, but rather a dynamically regulated system.
There are certain criteria that it should follow:
- It should be adapted to your beliefs, practices, identity, and schedule (i.e. you don’t shut your phone off completely if you have kids)
- It should be tested
- It should not follow practices that are trendy if they don’t work for you
- It should be revised constantly and regularly
- It should not tire you but rather make you more relaxed
Example of a productivity system:
- Exercising in the morning to regulate dopamine and increase energy
- Delay drinking coffee until 1–2 hours after waking up
- Plan your day the night before
- Follow a to-do list
- Use the timeboxing approach in your to-do list
- Use the Pomodoro technique while working
- Prioritize your tasks
- Have one break in nature at lunchtime
- Turn off all work notifications in the evening
- Do physical tasks early in the morning and more creative tasks in the evening
Your system should be unique! This is just an example, a bunch of ideas.
Establish a routine
The human nature is not structured to be chaotic. During the Golden Days of Hollywood or the Renaissance period, we were conditioned to believe that chaos is our mind’s purest form of expression. Order is killing creativity, and making us obedient.
While this is partly true, it’s not fair to associate routines with such creativity killers.
Even artists have routines before getting into the groove.
Sports people have routines preparing for matches.
The purpose and benefits of following a routine is to free up processing power within our minds. By repetition, the action moves from our conscious mind to our subconscious one. Which results in a more relaxed way of doing things, and allows us to use our energy on something else.
Another reason for doing a routine is to signal our brain that a certain action is going to follow, and mentally prepare for it. For example, having a coffee and meditating might signal that we will start working soon, and our brain is prepared for a focus period. Having a skincare routine in the evening will signal our brains to destress and prepare for sleep.
Bio-hack your body
In Latin there is a saying:
Mens sana in corpore sano
This means “A healthy mind in a healthy body”.
There is no productivity, goal setting, progress, or improvement in your life when you are not healthy. Taking care of our bodies should be our utmost priority.
Biohacking is about hacking your body by triggering hormones to be increased or decreased, putting stress, and triggering cellular regenerating.
Here are the 4 main natural ways to biohacking your body:
- Intermittent fasting
- Cold Exposure (i.e. cold showers, cold plunges)
- Hot Exposure (i.e. sauna)
- HIIT workouts
Socialize mindfully
Socializing is something that our species does best out of all the animals. Our power of comprehension of emotions and our intricate ways of communication is what turned us into a superior species.
This is a fundamental need that we have, emotionally but also psychologically. However, as with anything in our lives, there are extremes. And these can vary from antisocial behavior to extremely social behavior such as people that are out for as long as they can, as often as they can, and they can only do things when they have company.
What I mean by socializing mindfully is to organize these plans into your schedule, not organize your schedule along with social plans or your group. There are times within a week when you need to be alone, there are times when you need a one-on-one with a friend, and there are times when you need a group experience like a party.
You need to understand yourself, express these needs, set boundaries and dynamically adjust in such a way that socializing will empower you, not drain you of energy or get in the way of your plans.
Have a Personal Development Plan
A PDP is your main professional goal, or life goal if you want. It’s where you want to go and how to get there. This is recommended a lot by trainers within your career, such that you gain a few benefits:
- You are clear on your goals
- You know how to get there in detail
- You know what to prioritize
- You know how to track your progress
Your PDP can always change, or adapt, or you can throw it out completely and change your whole life trajectory. However, it’s important to have it such that you don’t lose track of where you are going.
The rat race will have us working, falling into a routine, doing the same things day in, and day out until 20 years pass and we realize that we are just keeping the ball rolling with no direction in mind.
A PDP will not only help you track progress and see if you are going in the right direction and at the right pace. It will also help you to constantly review your goals and how relevant they still are.
In conclusion, drop the New Year resolutions and just focus on improving your life a little bit in all the areas.
I have started a newsletter that is focused on becoming 1% better every day, where I give you this kind of advice every week, to improve every part of your life!
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