People with this personality are destined to achieve success

Everyone has their own theories about the secret of success. But when it comes to actually researching this issue, the answers are things most of us would never expect.

In fact, they more or less go against the conventional wisdom that success is primarily about luck, ambition or privilege. It can actually come down to much simpler, common traits.

Research shows that there are two personality traits that predict success, and they have nothing to do with ambition.

Many of us tend to think that success ultimately comes down to forces beyond our control. Of course, there’s a reason why people who grow up wealthy and well-connected tend to stay that way. Nepotism always helps; we have a stunning array of otherwise incompetent tycoons to prove it.

Things like insatiable ambition, whip-smart intelligence and a whole lot of luck tend to be on the list too – and we have just as many examples of those who have risen to the top in part because of their dogged determination to succeed.

The reality of these characteristics is undeniable; many studies have found that privilege of all kinds is not only related to success, but also predictive of success. But it turns out that while their impact is real, according to research they are not the most important determining factors. Happy or unhappy, rich or poor, highly successful people generally have two so-called “soft skills.”

1. Conscientiousness

Conscientiousness is a bit hard to define, but career expert and speaker Grace McCarrick came across a good description on this topic in a recent TikTok: an “inner compass that drives you to want to do good in your work and do the right thing.”

The University of Minnesota, which has a much cited study on how this trait influences success in 2019, defined it as a “family” of traits including “being disciplined, focused, tenacious, organized and responsible.”

In her video, McCarrick expanded on this a bit to include people who are willing to go the extra mile from time to time, not only in their tasks, but also in their own growth and career path – taking advantage of your free time in your boring office job. to plan and broaden your network instead of just scrolling on your phone, for example.

Female employee celebrates her success Thicha Satapitanon | Canva Pro

One of the authors of the University of Minnesota study, Professor Deniz Ones, would probably agree. He emphasized that conscientiousness isn’t just about making sure all the i’s are dotted and the i’s are crossed – it’s ultimately about “motivational tendencies – tendencies to setting goals (and) working towards themin a consistent, reliable manner.”

2. Self-control

McCarrick called this an “underrated” trait, but she predicted it would “come back into fashion” in the working world as leaders look for employees who understand how they “perceive work,” “the way they doing their work’ and perhaps especially their ’emotional reactions’ to their work.

In short, the research shows that it is mainly about attitude and perspective.

Of course, being in the working world is no picnic. That’s why they have to pay us to do it. But while advocating for change in the working world is essential for countless reasons, it’s all too easy for the problematic parts we want to change to become the be-all and end-all of our perspective on work and our careers. an irreparable and unfair slog.

Giving in to that narrative obviously leaves little room for growth, and this view appears to have a huge impact on what some people do. researchers in the field have mentioned “positive emotional affect” and its impact on success.

In short, attitude is everything.

A study at the University of Illinois thought that this kind of self-controlwhich has been highlighted as being closely linked to conscientiousness, is far more predictive of success than even simple willpower – the aforementioned dogged dedication.

Crucially, these are both qualities that we all have control over. We can’t go back and fix ourselves being born into nepotismand we cannot change our intelligence, but we can control our conscientiousness and self-control.

And in this dog-eat-dog world, that desk really is everything.

John Sundholm is a writer, editor and video personality with twenty years of experience in media and entertainment. He covers topics in culture, mental health and human interest.