People With High Success Potential Often Exhibit These 9 Habits, According To Research
If these habits are present in your life, your potential for success is high.
Venrick Azcueta | Unsplash Ultra-successful people delight themselves by exceeding their personal goals. They succeed in many different dimensions of life, including their friendships, physical and mental health, families, and careers.
People with high success potential cultivate specific habits to enhance their potential for success. Remember, these qualities are not innate but can be developed through conscious effort and practice.
People with high success potential often exhibit these habits:
1. They travel by themselves
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Travel to a foreign city alone and spend a couple of days trying out the local foods and cafe hopping like a local. If you’re like me, you can just continue your remote work from there. So it’s not a ‘vacation’ but rather a work trip. I take these all the time.
Beyond seeing somewhere new and alien, many people are straight-up scared of going anywhere alone. If you can master the skill of being okay walking into a restaurant and ordering by yourself, you can do many things.
2. They have a side-hustle
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I don’t often advocate allowing yourself to be distracted from your main project. It’s too easy to find excuses to continually chase shiny objects and rarely get anything done.
But if you’re on top of your main focus, it may serve to explore something different, whether it’s a new writing project, selling t-shirts online, starting a podcast or sharing your thoughts on video, just because.
There are few cases where a side-project won’t benefit the other things you’re doing through a kind of osmosis and vice versa.
Starting a side hustle can provide significant advantages, such as boosting self-efficacy, enhancing creativity and problem-solving skills, fostering a sense of control and independence, increasing resilience, expanding social networks, and improving overall well-being by providing a sense of purpose and accomplishment.
According to a study published in the Academy of Management Journal, this is especially true when individuals can leverage their passions and interests in their side venture.
3. They push themselves out of their comfort zone
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A few weeks ago I booked myself into a mountaineering course in Poland. I joined a group for five days to learn how to climb mountains and ice waterfalls.
It was hard, and I felt stupid through most of it, but that’s now down as a significant, and highly rewarding life memory that I’ll never regret.
4. They do the thing most people avoid doing
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You know the thing: something that brings you fear that you’ve been avoiding. We all have that thing or two.
We avoid it because we’ve built it up in our heads like a frightening, distant, and dark mountain. You will make a move today in the direction of this tall peak.
You will find what it is that is a small step, and you will move in the direction of your fears. Actively facing and completing tasks you've been avoiding can have several benefits, including reduced stress, increased self-esteem, improved control, enhanced problem-solving abilities, and a greater sense of accomplishment.
This approach challenges the initial negative feelings of avoidance and promotes personal growth. However, 2022 research explained that it's essential to approach these tasks with a mindful and self-compassionate attitude to avoid overwhelming anxiety.
5. They put themselves out there
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It’s easy to fall into the trap — in these online days — of staying isolated and hidden. I could spend all my time writing, but I find I need a sense of more face-to-face leadership in my work.
So I occasionally run workshops and approach people I think are out of my league for coaching. The Internet affords all kinds of curious ways to interact and lead people.
If this makes you nervous, try it. It will be great for confidence, and good for business.
6. They engage with nature
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Not much of a camper? Mark a fat C on your calendar, rent a tent, and book the train to your nearest wilderness area.
Make it real in advance. Get out there and breathe in the untouched air. Sift through the earth with your soft, keyboard fingers. Do something that connects you with your tribal, ancestral path, with or without friends.
Engaging in outdoor activities can significantly benefit mental health by boosting mood, reducing stress, improving focus and attention, enhancing creativity, and even aiding in managing conditions like anxiety and depression. This is primarily due to the positive effects of connecting with nature and exposure to natural light.
Research from Rutgers University highlighted the importance of readily accessible green spaces for maximizing the mental health benefits of outdoor spending.
7. They take calculated risks
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In the general day-to-day, we can end up doing ‘just enough,’ so that life feels like we’re running on a hamster wheel. Snap yourself out of it and reflect on the idea of bringing some danger into your business life. By this, I mean doing what few are doing.
What could you do that would elevate your successes above the seething masses? What challenge could you set for yourself over the next 90 days that were you to share it, you may get laughed at? What’s an idea that sounds a little ridiculous, makes you nervous, but may just work if you could pull it off?
8. They hit the open road
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I’m a fan of travel that doesn’t necessarily have an end in sight. Rather, the trip is the traveling part.
Something is soul-stirring about getting yourself in motion over large expanses and seeing the land change and the weather roll through in various forms.
You needn’t drive. I went on a three-hour train last week to Western Poland and I was struck by how creative looking out over wheat fields made me. Adventure isn’t that dangerous, but it should feel like it’s out of your comfort zone.
A 2018 study explains that road trips can provide significant mental health benefits, including stress reduction, boosted creativity, improved mood, and a sense of renewal. They expose individuals to new environments, promote a break from routine, and allow for a connection with nature, all of which can contribute to overall well-being.
9. They pursue their most ridiculous dreams
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Most of us have that thing we once daydreamed about, whether writing a novel, kissing a cheerleader, or acting on a stage. As we got older and got knocked by losses, we lost touch with those hair-raising fantasies.
You are unlikely to get another chance in the afterlife, so make a step today. Those things you think are important today will be regrets on your deathbed.
Why? Because you denied yourself that one thing that once made your heart jump and your eyes sparkle.
Alex Mathers is a writer and coach who helps you build a money-making personal brand with your knowledge and skills while staying mentally resilient. He's the author of the Mastery Den newsletter, which helps people triple their productivity.