Why do others appear more successful?

Life is a journey. We have highs and we have lows. What makes life so special is that, as we travel along that way, we get to stop and enjoy the view. What makes enjoying the view tricky is that when we stop to look around we have a tendency to look at what others are doing and accomplishing. It is easy to start measuring our progression against the progression of other people. For some of us that is very motivational and inspiring. For others that is a source of distraction! The distraction arises because sometimes we see other people’s appearance of success and interpret that to mean somehow we are not good enough or that we are failing in life. That kind of situation can cause us to not pursue excellence and reach new levels of success. So I want to delve into that a little bit. In this blog I want to highlight some dynamics for why it may seem like others are succeeding and what all of us can do to enhance our ability to have similar results!

People who that tend to have success “know their why”. People who know what they want out of life are deliberate about improving themselves to make a positive impact. When you “know your why” that means you have an identity about who you are and what you represent. That is KEY because your identity dictates your activities. And your activities determine your destiny. Life is about choices and actions. If you have discovered your purpose you’ll likely make choices that center around manifesting your destiny and avoid doing things not rooted in your self-identity.

Successful people value sleep. Contrary to egotistical thinking, very successful individuals are diligent about getting rest. Getting adequate sleep allows the body to heal properly, recalibrate, and allows the mind to achieve higher levels of mental clarity. High levels of mental clarity means that your subconscious can consistently work to find innovative ideas to be successful that you can test in reality. Getting sleep also helps successful people to focus and maintain high energy levels as well as maintain a more effective immune system. Now there are times when we need to “go hard” and put in long days but operating on very little sleep for sustained periods of time is detrimental to your mind and your body and increases the likelihood of burning out. This actually puts your ability to achieve success at risk.

Having a growth mindset is also something indicative of highly successful people. A growth mindset means you operate from the perspective that you can actually grow and improve your level of intelligence. These are people who do not limit themselves by thinking their intellectual capacity only goes so far. People that have a growth mindset are always eager to learn something new, expand their working knowledge of things they already know, and they are not afraid to unlearn prior knowledge when better information is presented to them that improves their understanding of a particular subject matter. People with a growth mindset embrace challenges and find lessons and inspirations in the success of others. They do not feel threatened by the success of others or avoid challenges.

Successful people also tend to live below their means. They are not likely to get caught up in living an extremely lavish lifestyle. They utilize money and other resources to work on their behalf to accomplish goals. They use their income to acquire assets that can yield a return as opposed to using their income to buy expensive items that don’t appreciate in value. They tend to avoid spending money on things not vital to their survival just to impress others or make themselves feel important. They are deliberate about investing resources in a variety of ways to either make their business more efficient, achieve a financial goal, or to help their communities.

Lastly, highly successful people prioritize their health! They see value in making sure they optimize their ability to be active, fit, and physically available to accomplish their goals. They tend to exercise regularly and maintain a balanced diet. They tend to appreciate being proactive in dealing with any health concerns that arise and don’t seek to put off getting medical check ups. These are people that truly believe in the adage: “an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.”

The attributes of successful people is endless! I just wanted to take a little time to lift up some key elements of successful people to help us look for insights on how we all can further test our ability to be successful. I hope you find this blog helpful. As I always say: “In all that you do, seek to Be Upwright.”

– LW