Becoming a High Achiever takes a lot of dedication. This quest is not at all for the faint of heart. A journey such as this will likely take an extended amount of time, especially if you have deep written goals and want to meet or exceed them. Yet through this process comes strength. You’ll gain strength in the areas of clarity, courage, focus, grit and many other traits that will serve you well in life. Also, if you don’t already have these skills, you will learn how to cultivate a growth mindset and how to manage your priorities over time.
I assure you, accomplishing this will enable you to become highly ambitious and successful beyond what you currently know is possible. The outcome of this pursuit is priceless!
The following are 10 steps to consider on your journey:
1. Own your success.
One of the most common characteristics of a High Achiever is the personal responsibility he or she takes for their own success or failure.
2. Seize opportunities through a growth mindset.
Instead of avoiding failure, High Achievers understand failures to be part of the process. They see them as mere stepping stones closer to where they’re headed.
3. Love what you do.
No matter what you do, it’s important that you learn to enjoy working with demanding tasks. This is much more engaging than seeing work as stressful. Try learning to see work as an exercise in concentration and commitment.
Life’s not what happens to you.
It’s what you design, create and build!
4. Conquer perfectionism.
To become a High Achiever, it’s imperative that you step outside your comfort to grow and learn successfully. However, beware of becoming a perfectionist. Perfectionists tend to set unrealistically high standards and often end up feeling defeated.
5. Continuously improve.
A High Achiever is consistently searching for ways to improve the quality of his or her work. They utilize the power of the “Compound Effect” and the “Pareto Principal”. Rather than thinking of skills as innate, they’re aware that skills have plasticity and even more aware that it’s important to lean into deliberate practice and improvement. This will take you to higher levels of accomplishment.
6. Be persistent and patient.
High Achievers know that success takes dedication and it also takes time, it’s an investment in YOU. It will also take a great deal of patience. Even if you experience setbacks or flat-out failures, it’s important to remember that these are mere obstacles on the path to success.
7. Live to collaborate.
Being a High Achiever requires a great deal of personal motivation and a strong work ethic. But it also requires the ability to work with others. Learning, leverage and leadership hinge on a person’s ability to unify other people around a vision or goal and this is the path to High Achievement.
8. Be SMART about goals.
High Achievers tend to work backwards from desired outcomes. They focus on inputs toward day-to-day goals that will help them accomplish bigger, longer-term goals.
9. Be agile.
If you find yourself feeling a sense of anxiety or high degrees of stress while working toward your goals, it may be time to step back and rethink the approach. If this happens, try asking a friend to look with you. Strategy sessions can be invigorating.
10. Become an explorer.
Begin by stepping outside your comfort zone in low-stakes situations. You can try a new hobby, join a mastermind of like-minded people or take a webinar course. Anything productive will do. As you become comfortable reaching outside your zone, you can then apply that practice to wider areas of your life.
One extra step as I always aim (maybe it the “High Achiever” in me) to over-deliver:
11. Live by the extra mile.
Many High Achievers are successful because they push themselves more than the competition. This doesn’t equate to becoming a workaholic but it does mean be willing to put yourself out there no matter the odds and to give your all at everything you do.
If you’ve read this far, congratulations! Go YOU for being so committed! This puts you in the top 2% of the population. YOU are well on your way to becoming a High Achiever!
This has only scratched the surface of the impact you can make in your life. For interest or deeper reading, please feel free to send me a personal message. I’d be delighted to send you a free copy of my eBook of same title or provide additional details on how to enhance learning and growing in this area. Please also let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or on any of my social media.
Brad A. Milford
Build Brilliance LLC
Building Depth of Character into Life and Leadership
Let me know how I can serve you in your efforts by posting a comment below or reaching out confidentially via my page below:
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