Habits that Hinder High Achievement

There are several key habits that are guaranteed to sabotage high achievement and even success. This article will help you recognize them and identify them in your own behaviors.

This information is just for your reference. You don't need to go about actively breaking these habits before beginning your journey.

As your brain rewires itself and begins to adopt the 10 high achievement habits, the old ones will gradually be phased out and disappear.

However, it's helpful to stay alert for these achievement-hindering habits and when you catch yourself practicing them, quickly and firmly stop and do the opposite.

Procrastination

"I'll do it tomorrow… I need some time to think this over… the timing's not right… the world won’t end if I postpone this for a bit…" These thoughts are all too familiar to all of us. They're the typical excuses we make when we choose inaction over action.

As you learned from the previous chapter, procrastination doesn't exist in a high achiever's vocabulary. Likewise, it needs to be deleted from yours!


Whenever you start procrastinating, stop immediately and act on what you're procrastinating about. Even just planning what you're going to do and taking the first step on a given task will motivate you to keep going. You can even schedule a task and stick to your schedule. Just don't put it off indefinitely.

Seeking approval

Struggling to gain the approval of others can really derail you on your journey to personal greatness. When your goal is to gain approval, you become more approval-focused than outcome-focused.

Always do what satisfies you and fulfills your needs and goals first. Never compromise your personal values in exchange for anyone's approval. Your success will be bittersweet because you know you've sold yourself out.

Finally, let your successes and achievements speak for themselves. Do things on your own terms. If others are critical or not happy about it, that's their problem.

Self-doubt

Self-doubt and negative self-talk can cripple you. You become fearful of taking risks, thinking outside of the box, and seeking new opportunities.

Be alert to your negative self-talk and immediately kill it by mentally listing all your unique skills and all of the reasons why you can – and will - succeed.

Comparing yourself to others

Having role models who inspire you is a great way to go. You should seek to emulate them but within your own capacity and take from them what works for you. But comparing yourself to them or anyone else is an extremely negative practice.

Comparing yourself to people who are more successful, better looking, richer, or whatever else can breed very toxic emotions and cause your self-confidence to plummet.

Comparing yourself to those who are less successful, less popular, or less wealthy leads to feelings of superiority - an equally toxic emotion that weakens your competitiveness and ambition.

When you catch yourself making these comparisons, simply stop and give yourself a mental reprimand!

In a nutshell, you are who you are. You are shaped by myriad experiences and factors that make you unique to everyone else on the planet. Self-acceptance allows you to soar by harnessing your unique capabilities but also accept your limitations.


This is a wonderful balance that high achievers are able to maintain. They never wish to be anyone other than who they are.

Seeking perfection

If you're a chronic perfectionist, it's unlikely that you'll become a high achiever. This may come as a surprise because it seems logical to associate high achievement with perfectionism.


High achievers understand that perfection is unattainable and therefore, they don’t insist on it. That doesn't mean they don't deliver outstanding results. They give it their best and move on.

Simply note them and don't beat yourself up about them. Very soon, you're going to replace them with ones that really work.