Common traits of highly successful people. Are they achievable?
My noobie insights into how personality traits of successful people shape success and drive success.
Who doesn’t want to achieve success? Right? In previous days, I took up a personality trait just to gauge if I fall into the personality type of highly successful people. Turns out, the persona that I gathered through years, is just a combination of four letters. ENTP. Period. Well, the thing to gloat about was, it is just 2% of other people who are this personality type, but at the same time, it did make me feel shitty as I am not that much of a debater, as it projected (at least, that’s what I think). But, let’s not deviate. My query was whether I share my personality, or do I have a personality to become successful (I browse LinkedIn a lot, and I just want to be there, no particular reason, I JUST WANT TO BE THERE). Turns out yes and no. But I have always been a believer that traits and habits can be cultivated, and so is the case with the habits of successful people. On the face of it, most of them are business leaders, they define success, they take risks, they value personal growth, they have strong work ethics, and they have resilience and perseverance. But that’s just the jist that you can get while sitting on a toilet seat and seeing those YouTube shorts. Since I am in a place where I get to meet relatively successful people on a daily basis, I thought why not pen down, mind-map, and bullet point some common, hidden-in-plain-sight traits of every successful person I have met? And here’s what I found.
Exploring Personality and its Impact on Success
Sorry for the clickbait pic, but I found this fun to put here. Anyways, while navigating the correlation between personality traits and success, I think it was evident that our inborn characteristics hold significant sway over our achievements. The way we navigate challenges, interact with others, and approach tasks is heavily influenced by our unique blend of traits. But what happens when certain personas clash or when unexpected combinations lead to unanticipated outcomes? Exploring these complexities sheds light on the intricate dance between personality and success. For eg, an ENTP collaborating with an INFJ. Can the two personalities carve successful outcomes? Turns out yes. The important thing to note here is, that successful humans are malleable. Let’s say they have 90% ENTP inbuilt, the rest 10% is still that introvert (even the personality test shows you this. What sets them apart the successful people is that they can switch to this 10% and mold to Clark Kent mode from Superman effortlessly, whereas normal people often struggle.
Correlation Between Happiness and Extroversion
Even generally, feeling joyful and outgoing often go hand in hand, as happiness and extroversion are two positively linked personality dimensions. Personally, I’ve noticed that when I’m in a good mood, I tend to be more sociable and open to new experiences. This apparent state of well-being correlation between happiness and extroversion is intriguing, showing how our emotions can influence our social behaviors. However, societal expectations sometimes pressure us to be outgoing even when we’re not feeling particularly happy.
It’s essential to remember that it’s okay to have moments of introversion or lower moods; these are natural parts of life. Embracing our true feelings and understanding the link between happiness and extroversion can lead to a more authentic and fulfilling life. So again, although being joyful and extrovert hold their individual importance, juggling the right balance of the two is what successful people often cruise through effortlessly. Again, being an extrovert is inherent (joyfulness can be practiced), and inculcating extrovertness may be hard, but a willing-to-learn attitude never hurts anybody, right?
Gender Variation in Agreeableness Traits
The next one which drives success, and which has a bit of sex predilection is the trait of agreeableness. Gender differences consistently demonstrate that women score higher on this personality dimension than men across various cultures. Cultural influences play a significant role in shaping these differences, with societal expectations often reinforcing these tendencies.
From an evolutionary perspective, women’s nurturing roles historically required higher levels of agreeableness, fostering traits such as compassion and cooperation. Reflecting on this, I can see how these gender variations in agreeableness might stem from deep-rooted biological and social factors.
It’s intriguing to see how these personality differences have persisted even in modern, egalitarian societies. Exploring these nitty-grits sheds light on the complex interplay between gender, culture, and personality traits, offering insights into the diverse ways successful people understand and navigate the high-achieving world.
Conscientiousness and Academic Achievement
The next in line are things that I have personally experimented with, and that’s why I say, they are easy to play with. Being conscientious. Conscientious individuals exhibit a strong correlation between their personality traits and academic achievement. Work ethic plays an essential role in this connection; in my case, my will fuelling my determination to excel forwards my academic pursuits.
Setting goals has been a game-changer even for me; breaking down tasks into manageable steps keeps me focused and on track. I’ve found that being conscientious isn’t just about hard work; it’s about working smart too. The mantra is to organize, prioritize, and optimize. It’s like having a personal roadmap to success.
Orderliness and Time Management Skills
Maintaining orderliness in daily routine is essential for honing time management skills and maximizing productivity. Cleanliness benefits not only one’s physical space but also smoothens mental clarity. This one is an extension of conscientiousness, yet requires adaptability at every step.
I personally have found that when my surroundings are tidy, my mind feels less cluttered, allowing me to tackle tasks efficiently. By prioritizing orderliness, I create a conducive environment for effective time management. Another small thing to inculcate is changing your immediate environment regularly. By this, I mean your immediate workspace. it can be anything, changing your bedsheet with different patterns, changing that flower pot on your desk, re-aligning your desk to the other wall. These small trivial things just keep the equation dynamic.
Time truly becomes an ally when you embrace the power of organization.
Challenges in Studying Industriousness
You imagine any successful being, at the core of each lies industriousness. Elon Musk, Zuckerberg, your head of department, all of them. As simple as it sounds, the complexities of studying industriousness pose significant challenges in research and understanding its human-specific nature.
As for myself while I investigate the field of industriousness, I find myself grappling with the lack of concrete measures in the laboratory setting. Unlike other traits, industriousness seems to be uniquely human, making it apparent, yet elusive to capture accurately.
The concept of sacrificing the present for future gains is at the core of industriousness, a trait that requires a deep understanding of human behavior and motivation. Planning, scheduling, and becoming highly disciplined become paramount, highlighting the intricate balance between current satisfaction and future aspirations. And believe me, some people are inherent in these qualities, but if you microdissect your time, it’s somewhat achievable. Start with 15 minutes and think about how are you going to get 30 minutes of work in those 15 minutes. Believe me, you will not; in the first thirty to forty goes. But surviving till the forty-first is what will lead your path towards brushing your path with successful leaders.
My Conclusion
Reflecting on the impact of personality traits on success, I’ve come to appreciate how just learning about these skills has brought me joy and connected me with others.
While I may struggle with time management at times, my conscientiousness drives me to aim for academic excellence.
Understanding and leveraging these traits has been crucial in overcoming challenges and achieving my goals, bit by bit
In the process, embracing my unique personality, one which is not defined by what seems to be letters on a Scrabble board, but a continuum, has allowed me, and possibly will allow you, to grow and succeed in bits yet in ways that are never thought possible. Remember, the key to success is that there is no key, it’s just discovering yourself.
