The One Trait All High Achievers Have That Average People Haven’t Mastered Yet, According To Psychology
Whether or not you identify as a high achiever, this trait can still be adopted by anyone.
PeopleImages | Shutterstock Everyone is always striving to be successful, and we're constantly looking at those who seem to have their lives perfectly figured out for inspiration and tips. The opposite is true for high achievers, who consistently exhibit skills and habits that enable them to achieve great success. While most people would think it's because these individuals are highly intelligent, motivated, and have some kind of special talent, that's not actually the case.
During an interview with author and podcast host Mel Robbins, psychologist Dr. Angela Duckworth broke down exactly what high achievers have that allows them to be as successful as they are. Duckworth explained that this one trait is easy enough that it can be something that the average person can also adopt into their lifestyle.
All high achievers share grit, something the average person hasn't mastered yet.
While talking to Robbins, Duckworth, who has spent much of her research examining the traits of high achievers, explained that the common denominator among high achievers is grit, a special combination of passion and perseverance for their long-term goals.
The good news is that anyone, not just high achievers, can learn grit.
When asked to define grit by Robbins, Duckworth explained, "It's exactly that. It's these two parts, right? Passion for long-term goals, like loving something and staying in love with it and not wandering off and doing, you know, something else, and then something else, and then something else again."
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Duckworth admitted that it's about having a "North Star," or devotion over the years, for something that you're passionate about. While that's the passion part, the perseverance part is much harder work, as Duckworth pointed out. She explained that it's about being able to practice what you can't exactly do perfectly, yet, but it's also about having resilience.
"So part of perseverance is, you know, on really bad days, do you get up again?" she questioned. "So, if you marry passion for long-term goals with perseverance for long-term goals, well then, you have this quality that I find to be the common denominator of elite achievers in every field I've studied."
High achiever behavior is a learned trait.
Despite what many other people might think, having a combination of passion and perseverance isn't something that you're just born with. You can cultivate this trait and follow it during your own daily routines, even if you're not considered a high or elite achiever. Duckworth insisted that these aren't genes at play here. You can mirror the behavior to become the high achiever you want to be.
Duckworth told the Center for Healthy Minds, "Human skill is a combination of talent and effort. Achievement, on the other hand, is a combination of skill and effort. So, as I like to tell my teenage daughters, effort counts twice." Talent is great, but without effort, it won't go anywhere.
There's so much power in realizing that success doesn't have to depend just on talent alone. Rarely do people with actual talent rely on just that; they usually have a level of grit to them as well. It means being able to show up even when the excitement dies down or things may even feel uncertain. It means knowing that things won't happen overnight, but simply putting in that effort and hard work to make it happen.
Being the one who refuses to give up is about showing up over and over again because you care enough to keep going. Whether you classify yourself as a high achiever or not, those are skills that anyone who is willing to practice can master.
Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor's degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.
