How to get better (7 Unique Traits of Successful People)

“We’re either getting better, or we’re getting worse.” – David Goggins

Why it works

David Goggins’ journey from a depressed, overweight teenager to becoming a Navy SEAL and ultra-endurance athlete is a remarkable tale of transformation. In his early twenties, he lost over 100 pounds in three months to qualify for SEAL training. Goggins (pictured above) is often referred to as the toughest man on Earth. In 2013, he broke the Guinness World Record title for most pull-ups in 24 hours by doing 4030 (!) reps in 17 hours. He also finished the most challenging ultramarathons in the world multiple times, including the Badwater 135, a 135-mile (217 km) non-stop run starting in Death Valley.

His journey inspired his 2018 bestselling book "Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds" (2018). Part autobiography and part self-help guide, the book details Goggins' life experiences and mental strategies for overcoming adversity. It offers insights on building mental toughness and embracing discomfort, inspiring millions to push their limits and develop what Goggins calls a "calloused mind." In 2022, he released his second book "Never Finished: Unshackle Your Mind and Win the War Within”. It explores continual self-improvement, providing advanced strategies for ongoing personal growth.

As Goggins’ example shows, success isn't luck. It's a result of continuous discipline, improvement, opportunity seeking, focus, managing of emotions, self-confidence and learning. Here’s how to develop these 7 unique traits of successful people.

How to do it

1) Disciplined
Build habits, don’t just rely on motivation. Stick to a daily routine. In one of my favorite episodes of the Huberman Lab podcast, Goggins talked about willpower and tenacity. Prof. Huberman then pointed to a brain area that blew my mind: the anterior mid-cingulate cortex (aMCC). Increased aMCC sizes are linked with willpower and tenacity; decreased sizes are associated with obesity and depression. There’s a simple (but not easy) way to grow your aMCC: doing hard things. Learn more about how to train your aMCC and build healthy habits here.

2) Growth minded
Push beyond your comfort zones and aim for continuous improvement. An excellent first step is developing a growth mindset. Popularized by Stanford professor Carol Dweck in her book “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success”, this mindset views stressful events as opportunities for valuable learning and skill development. To adopt a growth mindset, start by writing a letter about how it supports your learning, skill development, and personal growth. Learn more about the growth mindset and how to write that letter here.

3) Opportunity seekers
Find solutions, not just problems. Reframe challenges as opportunities. To make stress work for you instead of against you, cultivate a good stress mindset. Apart from viewing stressful events as opportunities for valuable learning and skill development (see #2), this includes changing how you think about the stress response itself. Whenever it hits, remember that it energizes you to solve important problems, provides your brain and body with more oxygenated blood, and raises your levels of alertness. This is called a stress-can-be-enhacing mindset; learn how to adopt it here.

4) Laser-focused
Set clear, specific goals and eliminate distractions. Focusing deeply is the “killer app of the knowledge economy”, according to The Economist: “It is only by concentrating intensely that you can master a difficult discipline or solve a demanding problem”. As it turns out, there’s a way to do just that even on the busiest schedule: putting in one 60-90-minute session of deeply focused work per day. Learn more about how to pull this off in this article.

5) Emotionally intelligent
Learn to manage your emotions effectively. Successful people consistently rank high in emotional intelligence. The concept was coined by psychologists Peter Salovey and John Mayer, who defined it as the ability to monitor one's own and others' emotions, discriminate between different emotions, and use this information to guide thinking and behavior. As it turns out, emotional intelligence is a trait that you can develop with practice. Check out this post to learn about eight crucial ways to do so.

6) Self-confident
Use positive self-talk and celebrate small wins. Hands down, this has always been challenging for me. But earlier this year, I started an evening journaling practice that has made it much easier. It takes less than two minutes and works as follows. At the end of my day, I write down three daily successes, which can be professional or personal. Then, I note three things I'm grateful for, including simple or mundane things. This brief practice allows me to celebrate small wins and shift into a positive mindset, ending my days on a high note.

7) Eternal learners
Learn something new every day. The late Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett's long-time billionaire business partner, put it best: “In my whole life, I have known no wise people (over a broad subject matter area) who didn't read all the time – none, zero.” So, make some time for reading and learning each day. To get the most out of that time, nail Prof. Huberman’s three non-negotiables of learning: alertness to trigger learning, focus to engage with the material, and rest to rewire the neural circuits that underlie learning. If you want to delve deeper, check out this article.

Success isn't accidental. It's intentional. It starts with your daily choices. 

Discipline is your best ally. Let it guide you.

And please share this post with one person who might benefit from doing the same.

Until next week,
Christian

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