The truth about successful people has nothing to do with them waking up at 5 AM and working, but instead, it’s about the traits they have that keep showing up, time and time again.
Promise made offstage
Self-discipline is nowhere near as exciting as the movies make it look. In fact, it usually just involves someone doing the task they told themselves or other people that they’d do, no questions asked.Â
It doesn’t matter that they might not feel up to doing it. Successful people force themselves to follow through in every part of their lives. It’s not easy, don’t get us wrong, but it’s certainly important.
When the first version flops
Some people think that successful individuals never fail, but that’s not true. It’s not realistic, either. Successful people still fail sometimes, and yes, they still get upset about it, the difference is that they don’t sit in their sadness forever.
They give themselves a few hours to feel annoyed or embarrassed in private, and then move on from it. Why? Because they’re resilient. Yes, they can bounce back after failure and after making mistakes because they know it’s not the end of the world. They can continue.
The paperwork
Conscientiousness. You’ve probably heard about it before, but what does it actually mean? It basically means noticing the boring things that other people tend to ignore, like the deadline or the missing attachment, maybe the number that doesn’t quite fit.
Successful people don’t have perfectly tidy desks or anything, definitely not, it’s just that they make sure to close any loops. They keep an eye on every part of their projects and make sure there are no unpleasant surprises.
A longer table
Delayed gratification is one of the hardest traits to learn, and that’s why it’s so rewarding when you have it. Successful people know all about that. They’ve got a stronger stomach for telling themselves ‘not yet’ and continuing to do what they need to do.
They know the reward is coming, and, sure, they might not be able to see it just yet, but they know it’s definitely there. Successful people know they’re better off waiting instead of trying to chase the easy, short-term rewards.
Permission from inside
It’s easy to mistake self-belief for being loudly confident, but that’s not how successful people do things. They’re nervous, sure, and they overthink as well, absolutely. What sets them apart is their belief that their own efforts will change the result, aka self-belief.
Having self-belief often involves telling yourself that you can learn something and that you can perform well in something. That’s not to say your belief should replace your work or anything, but that sense of self-belief will get you started before you feel ready.
When the room changes
Adaptability is a trait that’s easy to admire in other people, but it’s a different story when you try to develop it yourself. You’ve got to be ready for when the plan changes and the client changes. You’ve got to accept it when yesterday’s successful idea becomes today’s failure.
What puts successful people ahead is the fact that they’re able to do all this. They adjust to new things without making a huge drama out of it, although they might still complain. They’re still human after all. They’ll just make sure to keep moving and not sit in their frustration forever.
The open drawer
You’ve got to have curiosity. That’s practically a fact because curiosity is the thing that gives successful people the extra reach and what keeps them going. A convenient first answer? That doesn’t matter to them because they keep poking around.
They want to know what else could work, and they want to know why they misunderstood something. They want to know what else is out there and how it can help them with their work today. In other words, they keep asking questions. It’s as simple as that.
Your name on the receipt
Being able to admit you’ve made a mistake sure is difficult. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it. No, accountability is one of the most important traits that successful people have because it makes them better at owning their mistakes. They just don’t make it their personality.
So what if they missed the deadline or guessed badly? Everyone makes mistakes. Successful people just choose to accept they’ve done something wrong, own it, and then try to learn from it. They’re not the kind of people to try to hide from it.
Big aims
Just because someone’s shouting about their five-year plan, that doesn’t make them ambitious. True ambition runs more deeply, and privately, than that. Successful people are ambitious in a way that involves wanting to go beyond their current limits and challenge themselves.
More responsibility, harder targets, it all works for successful people, although they also make sure their goals are achievable, too. They know there’s no point in being ambitious with something that’s just not possible. It’s only going to frustrate them.
Doing the best
Don’t mistake high standards for perfectionism because, really, that’s not going to make you successful. What will make you successful is understanding that there’s a difference between ‘fine’ and ‘actually good.’
People who are ahead in life already understand that. It’s part of the reason why, with any piece of work that they do, they try to make sure it’s the very best that it can be. It might fall short of being perfect, but that’s okay.Â
Before anyone asks
You’ll never see a successful person waiting around for instructions because the truth is, they’ve got initiative. They’ll do what needs to be done without someone telling them. It often starts by noticing the small things.
You know the kind of stuff, like one email, one test, one rough draft. Successful people see these things and decide that, actually, they’re going to try to sort them out before being told to do so.Â
Hope with a measuring tape
Pure optimism is easy. It’s also actually sort of delusional, since you’re so positive about what’s going to happen that you blind yourself to the truth of it all. But successful people aren’t like that because they mix their sense of optimism with some realism.
They believe their ideas can work, yet they also ask how much it’ll cost and whether the timing is right for them. They’ve got hope that things will happen, they just don’t let it completely cloud their judgment and make them believe in things that, sure enough, won’t come true.
The door they pick
Forget what you might’ve heard about decisiveness because, no, it’s not the same as being certain. Decisions usually feel a little off when you make them, and successful people really get that, so they distinguish between the two.
They know when it’s time to quit thinking and start choosing. They might need to do some more research on one choice, they might need to make a decision about the other one ASAP, it’s all fine.
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.
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