Common mistakes that prevent success

Everyone has aspirations; everyone wants to achieve their goals — faster, continuously, year after year. But not everyone makes it.

For some, it remains a distant dream.

There are others who seem to get it all. Everything falls in place for them. They set goals and achieve them. Then raise the bar higher for themselves, set bigger goals, and succeed in reaching them.

Have you ever wondered who are these people and how they effortlessly accomplish everything they set their eyes on?

Who are high achievers

High achievers are highly focused people with a deep desire to accomplish their goals and reach great heights in their field or area of expertise.

They not only dream big but pursue their goals with enthusiasm and energy. They are proactive and consciously wire themselves up for success.

Read also: 3 things to stop doing if you want to succeed

Traits of high achievers

High achievers excel, accomplish and stay ahead of others. They are always raring to go and stand out in a crowd.

Here are some traits of high achievers that make them unique and help realize their dreams.

They are highly ambitious
They are self-driven
They have a positive attitude
They have a winning mindset
They know how to think right
They are committed to their goals
They are passionate about the success
They are goal-oriented
They have a Can-do-it approach
They put themselves into action mode
They get in the zone
They walk their talk
They stretch themselves
They live with intent
They make things happen
High-achievers have clarity about their greater purpose and, therefore, take ownership of their life in their hands. They are strongly committed to their goals and leave no stone unturned to get what they want.

Here are six things high achievers avoid doing which plays to their advantage and help them succeed.

1. They don’t start before they are ready

To successfully achieve any goal requires preparation. Therefore high achievers don’t jump into taking action before they know and understand what they are getting themselves into.

“Success depends upon previous preparation, and without such preparation, there is sure to be a failure.”

— Confucius

The importance of planning cannot be overemphasized if you want to fast-track your success. Having a blueprint and an action plan in front of you gives you clarity of where you are headed and how you should go about it.

Planning also helps you foresee the challenges and gives you time to mentally brace yourself to face them.

When you are well-prepared, you can march forward with confidence and are better able to handle difficulties and problems that you might come your way en route to your success journey.

2. They don’t offer excuses

No success journey is smooth. Obstacles and difficulties regularly pop up while you are chasing a worthwhile goal.

However, when things go wrong, the high achievers don’t make excuses for their inaction or inability to perform well.

“Ninety-nine percent of the failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses.”

— George Washington Carver

Instead of offering explanations, hushing things up, or passing the buck, high achievers own up to their mistakes and deficiencies, get to the root of the trouble, make every possible effort to fix things and get going again.

3. They don’t procrastinate

If you want to be productive, you must get work done. However, it’s not easy to slog continuously, day after day. When fatigue and boredom set in, most people try to push doing things to a later time or date. Instead, they engage with some light work that is neither a priority nor urgent.

But not the high achievers.

Every time high achievers urge to procrastinate, they get on the alert. They know delaying work means lagging behind their schedule, missing deadlines, and throwing away their chances of success.

“Procrastination makes easy things hard, hard things harder.”

— Mason Cooley

The high achievers know what needs to be done, and must be done, regardless of whether they are in the mood for it or not. So they push past the procrastination by taking a brief rest, reconnecting with their goals, beating distractions and focusing on the task at hand.

4. They don’t avoid taking action

Most people are good at dreaming big dreams and creating brilliant ideas. But when it comes to putting in the effort and doing the work, they take a back seat.

When it comes to achieving success, nothing can take the place of taking action. It is only when you implement your ideas and work towards their fruition that you will realize massive success.

“Taking action is the first and the most crucial step to producing lasting results. It will also enable you to sustain your success for the longest time.”

The common thread that runs through the success stories of all high achievers is taking consistent action. They work tirelessly, despite feeling tired, lazy, bored or unmotivated.

Read also: 3 things to stop doing if you want to succeed

5. They don’t chase perfection

People who seek perfection are one of the most unhappy lot. They are perpetually stretching themselves beyond limits and increasingly feel inadequate. Their goal itself becomes a limiting factor, and they fail to achieve anything substantial in life.

“The thing about perfectionism is it derails you from your path while you are hoping to secure a firm footing by ensuring to perform to the highest standards.”

High achievers avoid perfection because they know it’s an elusive goal. If you desperately try to reach perfection, you’ll put yourself under too much stress and end up overwhelming yourself. The result will be a mediocre performance, leading to average results.

Hence, the high achievers focus on pursuing excellence. This enables them to bring out the best in themselves and become their most superior version.

6. They don’t let go of the opportunities

The high achievers don’t get stuck in overthinking or decision paralysis and ruin their chances of success.

When an opportunity comes their way, they don’t hesitate to seize it. They understand the value of newer possibilities for learning and growth. Hence, they take advantage of every chance offered to them.

“The secret of success is to be ready when your opportunity comes.”

— Benjamin Disraeli

Whether it is the prospect of moving to a new city or country, changing their job, undertaking a challenging assignment, or starting their own venture, high achievers grab all opportunities that can help them move forward and make progress towards their goals.

Read also: 6 best habits to develop if you want to be successful

In Conclusion

There’s no limit to what you can achieve if you keep the fire of ambition burning brightly and stay focused on your goals.

The easy way to realize your big dreams is to avoid the mistakes that unsuccessful people make. These common errors can prove to be stumbling blocks in your path and prevent you from achieving the success that you are worthy of.

So keep the faith, keep working to the best of your ability, navigate mistakes and you’re sure to reach where you aspire to be.

“Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”

— W. Clement Stone

CONTRIBUTED BY Dr. Roopleen

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