Embracing girl boss habits can be a game-changer and a way to unleash your own inner leader!
What exactly is a Girl Boss? A girl who is also a boss? Well, yes. But to me a girl boss has always been more about mindset and attitude than actually running your own business, or being the one in charge.
A Girl Boss is someone who dreams big, stays curious and pursues progress, not perfection. She is ambitious, confident and accepts responsibility for her own life.
A Girl Boss still makes mistakes – but her comeback is always stronger than her setback.
Girl boss habits are the daily practices that can help fuel your confidence, and growth in many aspects of your life. Now let’s get into how to embody these habits yourself.
Quick Access
Set S.M.A.R.T. goals
This is a tried and true system for setting goals. They need to be these 5 things: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timed.
Setting not SMART goals generally results in goals that are too vague and unfocused.
An example would setting the goals to “create more” or “lose weight”
Both of these seem like perfectly good ideas, but.. how do you even measure what “more” is? How much weight do you want to lose?
If you set SMART goals, they might sound something more like:
Sketch one illustration in your sketch book every day this week.
Exercise on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
Those are all Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and have a Time limit.
The practice of setting SMART goals is a central girl boss habit that can help empower you to turn your visions into achievements.
Break Down Big Goals
Girl bosses know that the journey to achieving those monumental goals begins with breaking them down into more manageable pieces.
The key is to be honest and realistic with yourself about your goals.
You’re constructing your very own empire here. Just as Rome wasn’t built in a day, your successes won’t just happen over night. Each small goal you attain is another brick in your foundation.
By adopting the essential girl boss habit of breaking down your goals, you’re slowly helping to make your dreams a reality.
Break down your big goals down into little and break those down even smaller. Embracing girl boss habits means understanding that the path those huge achievements is paved with countless tiny ones.
The principle of breaking down your goals applies to everything. Just like the choices you make daily may not seem significant, repeated those choices compound to shape your reality over time.
Let’s say your big goal is to write a book. That’s a very ambitious goal, but it’s much more manageable when you break it down into smaller goals.
Start with finishing a chapter each month, or break it down further into weekly word count targets. Lots of small things add up to big things.
Lots of small things add up to big things.
Eating one bowl of ice cream or one bowl of salad won’t really make a difference. But, if you eat one bowl of either every single day… given enough time you will be able to see the things that you do daily add up.
It works the same with your goals.
Get 1% Better Daily
In the world of a girl boss, every single day counts. It’s important to work towards your goals every day, even if it’s just the tiniest step forward.
Let’s talk about why it’s so important. It’s called compounding interest, and it’s not just for money.
If you get 1% better every single day for a year that’s 37 times better. 37 times!
If you get 1% better every other day for a year that’s only 6 times better.
6 times better sounds alright until you look at the other number. You can be 6 times better for only twice the effort!
You don’t have to just take my word for it, you can also read this article here by James Clear, who wrote the book that introduced me to this concept.
Ok, now how can you harness this girl boss habit of achieving 1% improvement daily? Well, you can help set yourself up for success by tweaking your environment to help you out.
Want to eat healthier? Set out healthy snacks where they’ll be easy to grab.
Exercise more? Set out your workout clothes the night before.
Read more books? Put your book on top of your TV remote.
Save money? Take only cash and leave your credit or debits cards at home.
Want to practice more positive self talk? Leave nice sticky notes for yourself where you’ll see them.
Actually, sticky note are great for a lot of things. Use them to remind yourself what you’re working towards! Write inspirational quotes and stick them on your mirror to keep you motivated.
Track Your Progress
Getting 1% better is very difficult to see on a daily basis. It’s not until we look back that we realize just how far we’ve come.
By tracking your girl boss habits, you have a visual representation of your progress to keep you motivated!
You can keep a habit tracker in your journal or planner, but you can also easily use an app on your phone.
Using an app can be particularly beneficial because you tend to always have your phone within hand’s reach. Your phone also probably has better memory than any of us do.
There are habit tracking apps you can find that make it a game, I prefer to just keep it nice and simple, but it’s up to your own personal preferences!
An app is also good if you want to see statistics, but there’s nothing quite like filling out a physical habit tracker every day.
An app is good if you want to see statistics of course, but there’s nothing like filling out a physical habit tracker every day.
Tracking Motivation
Famously, Jerry Seinfeld had a simple system to keep himself consistent: he hung a large calendar on the wall and every day that he wrote a joke, he crossed off the day with a large red x. Then he tried to not break the chain by writing something every single day.
Even if the joke wasn’t good it was more so about continuing to work that comedy muscle.
Not breaking the chain can be great motivation – but be careful not to expect perfection from yourself.
Some days you will slip. Some days you will forget. Other days you might just not feel up to it. Life just happens sometimes! If you miss a day, that’s ok.
But you should try not to miss 2 days in a row, even if you have to put in just minimal effort. Once you’ve missed 2 days – that 3rd becomes so much easier to skip.
Write one line. Do one push-up. Show up for your goals.
Have The Right Mindset
Being a true Girl Boss starts first and foremost in your mind. Before you can do it, you have to believe that you can do it.
We all doubt ourselves sometimes, confidence is not the absence of doubt. Confidence is the decision to move forward despite it.
Consistency is also key to self-confidence, so you have to show up for yourself. Follow through on what you say you’re going to do.
Believe in your own abilities and stand firm in your convictions. Don’t ask if you can, announce that you will!
Another element you can add to create a girl boss mindset is visualization. Visualize yourself being successful and achieving your goals.
Imagine experiencing the triumph of the outcome before it physically manifests. This practice can be a powerful tool to motivate yourself and prepare mentally for where you want to be.
Invest In Yourself
There is no better investment than in yourself. This concept goes beyond financial – you could be investing your time, energy, and efforts as well.
When you invest in yourself your are acknowledging your own value and potential. Each small investment is a step towards becoming the best version of yourself.
One of those most important places to invest is in your health. Your physical and mental wellbeing are your greatest assets. What’s the point of achieving success if you’re not well enough to enjoy it?
You may also choose invest in yourself through building a supportive network of peers and friends who can help you along your journey. We are all influenced by the people around us. Make sure that they’re all good influences as much as you can.
Another essential way to invest in yourself is to look for opportunities to learn new things. A girl boss knows that learning doesn’t stop after school; it’s a continual journey.
You can choose to invest in your knowledge through formal education, books, or online courses. There is always something new to learn.
Of all of the girl boss habits, investing in yourself is one of the most rewarding. It signals to yourself, and to the world, that you believe in yourself and know that you are worth the effort.
TL;DR
No time to read it all now? Be sure to pin or bookmark this page to come back to later for all the details! Save this handy image I made too if you think it’ll help.
I think those are really the best girl boss habits when it comes to making your dreams a reality! I also truly believe that being a Girl Boss starts first and foremost in your mind.
But, like I said before, knowing something and actually putting it into practice are two very different things.
Before you can do it, you have to believe that you can do it – and then you have to follow through. Consistency is key, so show up for yourself!!
If you have any other Girl Boss tips, please leave them in the comment box below, I’d love to hear from you!
Want to keep in touch and be notified when I release a new post? I would love it if you signed up for my mailing list; you’ll also be given access to the freebies vault!
Just enter your e-mail address below ↴
originally posted 1/2020; updated 2/2024
1 Comment
Greetings! Very helpful advice within this article!
It’s the little changes that produce the biggest changes.
Thanks a lot for sharing!