Common Habits of the Successful

​People who experience success often do because they engage in certain behaviors. While these behaviors may not be the same for everyone, they set people on a trajectory toward accomplishing their goals and objectives. While not all are listed, below are several of the activities that facilitate success for many people.

Before discussing the habits, it is important to define success. For many, the most common measure of success is how much money or status a person attains. However, success means different things to different people. Some find fulfillment in accomplishing specific goals, such as running a marathon or completing their education. The point is that the measure of success is personal to each individual.

A common habit of successful people is their thought process. Most adopt a growth mindset as opposed to a fixed mindset. A growth mindset encourages people to build on their skills and talents, while a fixed mindset is static, making talent an innate ability instead of something a person can hone. Furthermore, a growth mindset encourages people to look at their failures as learning experiences, learn new skills, and see value in hard work and effort.

The desire to learn includes reading, another habit of successful people. Many successful people read to learn about new topics or ideas to give them unique insight into the area they are trying to grow in, such as financial stewardship, lifestyle goals, or education aspirations. They also read to gain knowledge.

Another habit of successful people is that they work on their emotional intelligence. Intelligence plays a role in success, but those who can leverage understanding their emotions and those of others can make more significant progress in moving toward success. Improving one’s emotional intelligence includes paying attention to one’s emotions, managing emotions (handling feelings appropriately), and listening to others.

Those who experience success are also disciplined and exhibit willpower and perseverance. Successful people persist while dealing with obstacles. They are willing to deny themselves short-term rewards if they will benefit even more in the future. Finally, they focus every day without fail, allowing few distractions to get in the way of their goals. They gain these qualities by practicing daily, beginning with small steps, whether the goal is to remove sugar from one’s diet, work in the yard more, or save money.

Successful people also tend to be motivated to action because they enjoy the reward, find meaning in their accomplishments, or enjoy the impact of their work. They value the intrinsic rewards of accomplishing their goals. These people always want to learn more about the topic, challenge themselves to move up benchmarks, and are not afraid of competition. Finally, these people are not afraid to take control of their goals by making changes.

Successful people are also adept at setting achievable goals. The whole point of setting goals is to reach aspirations, but if the pathway by which a person gets to these goals is too complex, the likelihood of failure is high. For this reason, the person who is successful sets goals that they can reasonably accomplish by making the goals as concrete as possible, breaking them into smaller steps, and rewarding themselves for the progress they make.

While success requires hard work, people who reach their goals also relax. Relaxation can be as short as taking a deep breath before beginning work. These spurts of calm prepare the person for the work ahead.

Finally, many people who have experienced success also manage their resources and money wisely. Frugality should not be confused with stinginess, which denotes miserliness and greed. A frugal person does not waste what they have received. They do not overspend. Instead, they comparison shop, and they learn to negotiate. In doing so, their resources and money are available when needed.

Dr. Oliver Ghitea

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