When thinking of highly successful people, words like go-getter, overachiever, ambitious and learner come to mind. There is no formula to being successful and there is certainly no shortcuts that can lead a person to a successful life overnight.
There are, however, traits not to have if you want to be successful—and you can find them below.
Hate What You Do
Successful people typically love what they do. At the very least, at some form of level, they can find passion in what they do. If you hate what you do, clock in and clock out and run your daily grind on autopilot, you probably hate what you do. While we all need to have a mental time when to clock in and out of work each day, if clocking in is the worst thing of your day, and clocking out the best, there is a problem in your work life.
Life is tough and jobs are a must, but people will have a more beneficial life if they love what they do, and loving what you do tends to lead to being more successful.
“Passion in any form of life is essential.”
Follower—Remember To Be Different
Being a follower isn’t the single worst mistake a human can make, but not taking a chance is up there. Successful people set the trends. They come up with new ideas and they are constantly creating in general. Being a leader, not a follower, can lead to success alone.
Risk Avoider
Avoiding risk can sometimes be found on the same path as a follower, but the two are different in nature. Avoiding risk is exactly what it sounds like—not taking a chance. While taking a leap of faith isn’t always the best plan of attack—well, at least not in every situation—can you imagine where the world would be today if no risks were ever taken? The thought of that likely makes many entrepreneurs cringe.
Being Afraid To Fail
Failing is a scary thing, but it is a scary thing that everyone comes face to face with at some point in life. However, failing is how we learn and how we better ourselves.
The initial point of fail can be devastating, but it can also be a disguised gift in the long run.
Tying this point and being a risk avoider together, Jim Carrey put it best in a commencement speech for Maharishi University:
“I learned many great lessons from my father, not the least of which was that you can fail at what you don’t want, so you might as well take a chance on doing what you love.”
Having A 9-To-5 Mentality
Many people have 9-to-5 jobs. When you graduate from high school or college, the infamous 9- to-5 is your destiny, or that is at least what teachers, parents and many grown-ups tell you. It is very hard to be successful, or to at least get everything you want, if you only operate off of eight hours of work a day (40 hours per week).
Think of the most successful people in the world (e.g. business owners, athletes, actors, entrepreneurs, etc.) and ask yourself this question: Do these people have a 9-to-5 mentality? More likely than not, the answer will always be no.
Making Goals And Dreams Too Realistic
If you are trying to get on your feet, or trying to get away from a nightmare lifestyle, then setting simple goals is a great way to eventually hit your dreams. However, goals should be challenging, not easily reachable. Therefore, dreams should not be too realistic.
Dreams and goals can also be ever-changing. After all, successful people are typically always hitting new heights, so their goals and dreams are likely adjusted as a result.
Being “Comfortable”
Never settle, never be comfortable. If we become comfortable, we will eventually get bored of what we do (humans, in most cases, always want something more), we will eventually stop taking risks and we will eventually stop chasing our dreams.
Never settle, never be comfortable—if you want to be successful.
