On High Achievers
Achieving Amazing Things
Just when the caterpillar thought the world was ending, he turned into a butterfly.
- Chuang Tzu
Most of us think about doing great things. The difference between the average person and the high achiever is a commitment to belief—because possessing the belief that you are capable of doing something is the first step to achieving it. Actor, Will Smith put it this way: “There’s a redemptive power that making a choice has. Decide what you’re going to be, who you are going to be and then how you are going to do it. From that point on, the universe is going to get out of your way.”
In his article, How Do High Achievers Really Think? Carl Beuke breaks down the psychology of the high achieving human. Beuke suggests that high achievers are driven (unsurprisingly) by a strong push for success, whereas less accomplished individuals are more concerned about embarrassment and avoiding failure. The former are driven to try and try again while the latter are more likely to give up if success is not readily forthcoming.
Beuke has a few suggestions though for those who want to adapt a high achieving mindset:
• Failure-avoiding individuals perceive striving towards a goal as stressful, whereas achievement motivated individuals associate it with enjoyment. Try to find the pleasure when chasing a goal.
• Similarly, high achievers perceive demanding tasks as opportunities where failure-avoiding types view them as threats or obstacles.
• High achievers aren't afraid of their goals. In fact, they write them down to make them concrete and speak them aloud to further ground them in reality.
• The high achieving mind celebrates incremental progress. This group understands that small improvements now can turn into tremendous improvements down the road.
• And lastly, the high achiever believes in persistence. They understand that those who keep at a task will usually achieve it.
To dig a little deeper into the psychology of the achiever's mindset click below: