Read this if you want to stay energized over the long term.

When you ask most people who accomplished incredible things what made the most significant contribution, you’ll find a common answer:

Determination.

No one is determined all the time. We all suffer setbacks and moments of doubt. But we can nurture a determined spirit that carries us over the long term.

Here are 9 tiny habits that will make you more ambitious than 98% of people:

1. You honor your commitments.

Commitments drive their lives, as does the need to follow through with what they said they would do.

They create commitments and do whatever it takes to fulfill these contracts and live with integrity.

They hire coaches to help maximize their support and accountability with commitments if they can.

2. You write your goals down.

The practice of physically writing goals down daily is a secret of the determined.

They know that the act of putting exciting targets down is invigorating and foundational to living one’s purpose. Purpose is not lived tomorrow. It is created today.

Writing sets this reality in motion and keeps it moving.

Michael Neill described the power of goals in a way I loved: ‘Creating goals helps you fall more deeply in love with life.’

3. You prioritize the ‘non-negotiables.’

Many people burn out or quit because they neglect their need to maintain high energy levels.

We can become so focused on a target that we fail to care for what we need the most: our energized selves. Determined people identify the essential habits they can’t go without. This might be a daily walk, reading for an hour, or meditation. And they come FIRST.

Time is carved out on the calendar for non-negotiables before everything else.

Your clients, your career — even your family — can not take precedence over your energy. Do this, and you’ll have trouble putting your fire out.

4. You find a way to enjoy things.

It’s not about thinking positively — it’s about acting with less of the burden of negative thoughts that hold us back.

We gain an unfair advantage when we become intolerant of doubtful thoughts and instead turn to the present. Those who can find a way to enjoy even the most menial of tasks have the advantage.

Confucius encapsulated the idea well: ‘Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart.’

If you have the final say on whether you’ll enjoy something or not, you can’t lose.

Photo: Julia Avamotive/Pexels

5. You practice self-compassion.

Many of us feel continually burned out, wanting to curl up on the sofa every day by 3 pm.

They wonder why they lack energy and never look at how they regard themselves in their heads. They constantly beat themselves up and call themselves horrible names. They are imposing their limits, and this is felt physically. Create space for compassion.

Forgive yourself. Let go of the need to continually berate, and — like a sick stray dog you picked up from the street — you can bring yourself back to fighting strength.

6. You re-stoke the inspiration fire.

Determined people are continually looking for ways to be inspired and fuel that fire daily.

They don’t wait for inspiration. They create it. They read books and watch moving films about people overcoming adversity. They talk to people who’ve done what they dream of doing.

They find the grain of value in a beach of junk.

They re-inspire, and they prioritize it like buying groceries.

7. You take note of your wins.

The advantage a determined person creates over the average Joe is measured in inches.

Writing down your wins at the end of the day or noting them in your mind before sleep will make an exponential difference over months and years. You need to be the most fired-up coach for yourself.

You’re not ‘above’ championing yourself — especially when everyone is preoccupied with themselves.

8. You make space for the quiet voice of inner wisdom.

There’s one thing that separates those energized for a day after a motivational talk by a guru and those who keep going and producing year after year.

What’s that? They cultivate a connection to their inner wisdom. It’s there, and you can access it when you still your mind. Stuck people continually ruminate. Free people let go and allow insight to come to them without effort.

9. You continually simplify.

I have spoken before about how specialization isn’t always the answer — and that immersing yourself in several skills is beneficial.

However, there’s a fine line between doing what’s right and taking on too much. We can complicate our lives.

The determined are such because they prioritize clear goals and execute on the doable. You might dream the impossible — but we certainly can’t DO the impossible.

So make it easy for yourself.

Reduce any unnecessary friction.

Take the next small step.