11 Habits Successful People Practice

I recently read an article by Adam Grant, an organizational psychologist and professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. His words form the foundation of what follows, along with my own embellishments and expansions.

I read extensively about organizational psychology and success as it has long been one of my core areas of interest. A lot of what's out there frankly isn't worth repeating. This is. It's in line with my own practice and with what countless mentors and successful people have told me over the past 30 plus years.

My additions and reflections are in italics throughout.

A note on how I'm defining "success" here: For the purposes of this piece, success means individual growth (a genuine growth mindset), meritorious achievement in your work, and a general sense of peace and wellbeing, all while being respectful in how you communicate and carry yourself. And if these 11 habits resonate with you, remember: incremental positive change beats no change at all. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

I study highly successful people. Here are 11 habits they practice every day.

We often celebrate gifted kids in school, natural athletes in sports, and child prodigies in music. But you don't have to be a wunderkind to achieve success. As an organizational psychologist, Adam Grant has spent much of his career studying the forces that fuel human progress. His central finding: the learning process isn't finished when we acquire knowledge. It's complete when we consistently apply it.

1. They seek discomfort.

Instead of just striving to learn, aim to feel uncomfortable. Pursuing discomfort sets you on a faster path to growth. If you want to get it right, it has to feel wrong first.

These words are foreign to most people today. Being uncomfortable is not only okay, it's necessary. There has not been a single promotion I've been given or significant step I've taken in my career where I didn't feel at least somewhat ill-equipped. That feeling is a signal you're moving in the right direction.

Three books I'd recommend on this topic:

• Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations by Alex & Brett Harris (2016)
• Do Hard Things: Why We Get Resilience Wrong and the Surprising Science of Real Toughness by Steve Magness (2022)
• The Jewish Phenomenon: Seven Keys to the Enduring Wealth of a People by Stephen Silbiger (2009). The concepts of hard work and delayed gratification run throughout, particularly in the fifth key: be selectively extravagant and prudently frugal.

2. They set a mistake budget.

To encourage trial and error, set a goal for the minimum number of mistakes you want to make per day or per week. When you expect to stumble, you ruminate about it less, and improve more.

I've said this for years: I would rather make 20 decisions and get five wrong than make five decisions and get them all right. If you want to grow, you have to throw yourself into the fire. You have to be willing to step out without a perfect playbook and take a reasoned chance. Grab, move, grow, repeat. In business strategy and leadership, perfection is the enemy, and that's a hard thing for high-achievers to internalize.

3. They ask for advice, not feedback.

Feedback is backward-looking. It leads people to criticize or cheer. Advice is forward-looking. It leads people to coach. You can turn critics and cheerleaders into coaches by asking one simple question: "What's one thing I can do better next time?"

The underlying concept is confidence in your own best effort. Do your best always, strive to be better, and ask the capable people around you where you can grow. Search for strength, not accolades or criticism. A hallmark of good leadership is genuine gratitude, expressed freely and often. Just don't solicit praise for yourself. That makes it hollow.

4. They figure out which sources to trust.

Decide what information is worth absorbing and what should be filtered out. Listen to the coaches who have relevant expertise, know you well, and genuinely want what's best for you.

Simple and straightforward, and one of the cornerstones of wisdom.

5. They strive for excellence, not perfection.

Progress comes from maintaining high standards, not eliminating every flaw. Identify shortcomings you can accept. Consider where you truly need the best and where good enough is fine. At the end of each day, ask yourself two questions: Did you make yourself better? Did you make someone else better?

Perfection is the enemy. A culture obsessed with perfection kills morale and productivity, and eventually, the business itself.

6. They are their own last judge.

It's better to disappoint others than to disappoint yourself. Before you release something into the world, assess whether it represents you well. If this were the only work people ever saw from you, would you be proud of it?

This connects directly to the 5% Rule, a piece I originally wrote in 2018 on why the last five percent of effort is where 90% of real success lives. Worth a read if this habit resonates with you.

7. They turn the daily grind into a source of daily joy.

To maintain harmonious passion, design practice around deliberate play. Set up fun skill-building challenges, like Steph Curry trying to score 21 points in a minute, or medical residents honing their nonverbal communication skills through improv comedy games.

A playful mindset is a genuine asset. It clarifies your thinking and keeps the work meaningful.

8. When they're stuck, they back up to move forward.

When you hit a dead end, it might be time to turn around and find a new path. It feels like regressing, but it's often the only route to real progress.

The most experienced leaders I've worked with have all learned this lesson the hard way. Ask a colleague to tell you about a time they had to abandon a path and start fresh. The stories are almost always instructive.

9. They teach what they want to learn.

The best way to learn something is to teach it. You understand it better after you explain it, and you remember it better after you take the time to recall it. You can do this in groups, with each member teaching a distinct skill or slice of knowledge.

That's part of why I'm writing this. You don't have to walk every path to know a particular one is the right way to go, and just because a path is right doesn't mean you won't stumble along the way. It's okay to stumble.

10. They open doors for people who are underrated and overlooked.

Create systems that invest in and create opportunities for everyone, not just gifted students or high-potential employees. A good system gives underdogs and late bloomers the chance to show how far they've come.

I love underdogs. I love second chances. I've needed both more than once in my life and career. Put in the work, learn from your mistakes, and prove the naysayers wrong. Repeat.

11. They engage in mental time travel.

When you're struggling to appreciate your progress, consider how your past self would view your current achievements. If you had known five years ago what you'd accomplished today, how proud would you have been?

This is the one I personally struggle with the most. But I'm convinced that most people would walk around with a much bigger smile if they truly grasped this perspective. Give yourself some credit. You've come further than you think, and the best is still ahead.

A Final Thought

None of us practice all 11 of these every day. That's not the point. The point is awareness, and incremental, intentional movement in the right direction.

Which of these resonates most with you right now? I'd genuinely like to know.