Here are some ideas to cultivate habits of excellence:

• Acknowledge that you have the power to change your actions and, in so doing, you begin to change your life. "Impossible!" you say. Actually, it's not impossible. Human beings are not genetically programmed to do things just one way. You can change if your desire to do so is strong enough.
• Get rid of self-defeating thoughts and excuses that justify a bad situation. Change your way of thinking and work toward not being controlled by limiting beliefs. Concentrate your intellectual energies on a way of thinking and on efforts that help you reach your goals. To master your habits, first master your thoughts.
• Enthusiasm is the power of success. It will help you triumph over obstacles and through difficult times. The successes you experience from changing your habits will make you want to keep going and obtain better results every time.
• When selecting the habits you want to develop, write them down in order of priority. This will help you be specific and definite. If you are having trouble coming up with a list of habits that need changing, be brave and seek input from a trusted colleague or friend, or from a spouse. Listen to what they say without becoming defensive. Your habits should be the building blocks of a successful and fulfilling life. As you develop these habits you will expand your likelihood of success in the endeavors you value most.
• Select the habit to change and start changing it immediately. Seek to break bonds with bad habits that hold you back mentally and/or emotionally and inhibit your rise to the top.
• While eliminating negative habits, seek to replace them with good ones. Learn to cultivate patterns of thought and behavior that lead to a life of integrity and success.
• Be persistent. Breaking bad habits can be difficult at first, so look at this change as a process. Initially, your habits started out like spiderwebs, but ended up like steel cables. Be persistent and stay focused on the reasons you seek to change.