15 surefire signs you’re on the path to success

Are you trying hard to be successful but you feel like you’re not quite there yet?

On the road to success, it can be difficult to figure out if you’re on the right path.

But it’s important that you do. Success doesn’t happen overnight. It takes hard work, and small gains made every single day over a long period of time.

So even if you feel like you’re not successful yet, it doesn’t mean that you won’t be in the future.

So, what are the traits that indicate you’ll be highly successful in the future?

Let’s go over the signs that you’re showing some of these positive signs of potential future success (even if you don’t realize it yet).

1. You’re taking action every day

Time is our most precious resource. It was Annie Dillard that wrote, “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives”.

If we aren’t allocating the time and energy needed to achieve a certain goal, it will never be fulfilled.

The benefit of having an organized system is that it allows all the focus to be placed on the work itself.

According to James Clear, author of Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones, all big things come from small beginnings, and it’s really your habits every day that determines where you’re going:

“All big things come from small beginnings. The seed of every habit is a single, tiny decision. But as that decision is repeated, a habit sprouts and grows stronger. Roots entrench themselves and branches grow. The task of breaking a bad habit is like uprooting a powerful oak within us. And the task of building a good habit is like cultivating a delicate flower one day at a time.”

So if you’re implemented good habits in your life that get you closer to your goals, you’re definitely on the path to success. You just need time.

2. You know what you stand for

If we don’t know what you stand for, we’ll fall for anything.

Understanding our own personal values allows us to know what’s worth spending time on and what isn’t.

We each have our own set of personal values.

These can range from family and friendships to honesty and humility.

The key point here is that if you’re clear on what’s important to you, then you’re likely to be successful in those areas. Being clear is a powerful skill that makes achieving success a lot easier.

Successful people channel their resources towards a small number of tasks to engender a better outcome.

In Morten T. Hansen’s, From Great at Work: How Top Performers Do Less, Work Better, and Achieve More, he described how top performers focus on a small number of tasks to produce high-quality work:

“Once they had focused on a few priorities, they obsessed over those tasks to produce quality work. That extreme dedication to their priorities created extraordinary results. Top performers did less and more: less volume of activities, more concentrated effort.”

So if you’re clear on your priorities and values, you’re likely on the right path to success.

3. You’re getting better at communicating your feelings and ideas

Communication is one of the most important social skills that someone can have.

Articulating our ideas clearly can make or break a pitch to a potential client.

Marriages have been saved by the spouses simply talking it out.

When someone isn’t able to articulate their thoughts well, or at all, it can cause fractures in a relationship.

If you’re getting better at communicating your true feelings and thoughts, then you know that you’re becoming more successful in life.

Being a good communicator is a great quality to have.

4. You’ve stopped caring what others think of you

When we’re growing up, we’re often concerned if other people like us. That’s natural, of course.

Deep down, we all have a basic want to be welcomed in the group. We don’t want to be left out to eat lunch by ourselves in the cafeteria.

We change how we dress and how we talk to please others. But that gets tiring.

The fact is that no one thinks about you as much as you think about yourself; why would they?

They’ve got their own lives to worry about!

If you don’t waste your time caring about what others think of you, then you’ve got a wide available use of energy that many people don’t have.

You stick to focusing on what you can control: giving your best and taking responsibility for your own actions.

5. You learn from your mistakes and experiences

We all make mistakes. That’s normal. But if you learn from your mistakes and you don’t repeat them, then you’re probably doing better than most people.

After all, learning from mistakes and failures is how you become successful in the first place.

We all know people who are too afraid of making mistakes because it makes them feel bad about themselves.

But the truth is, making mistakes is the only way to progress. Any successful person will tell you that without mistakes they made on their journey, they wouldn’t be where they are today.

So if you’re comfortable making mistakes, and you see mistakes as an opportunity to learn, then you’re likely well on your way to success.

6. You don’t try to be like everyone else

Trying to fit in and be like everyone else is a recipe for living an inauthentic life.

But if you try to be like everyone else, you negate your true value and lose what makes you unique.

If you’re going to simply do what everyone else does, then you’ll find it hard to stand out and achieve meaningful success.

You’re on the right path if you know that your best option is to simply be yourself.

After all, when you embrace your true values and your instincts, you’ll ignite your true inner power and you’re more likely to be at your best.

7. You have a plan and system

You won’t achieve much in life without a plan and a system.

Successful people know where they want to go, and they’ve also worked out what they need to do every day to get there.

They understand nothing good can be achieved in a day. It takes time to achieve your big goals, and that involves achieving little goals every single day.

If you’ve got a plan, and you’re focused on making small gains every day, then you’re on the right path and will be successful in no time.

8. You don’t blame others

Being a victim and blaming others gets you nowhere in life.

Being able to accept that you are responsible for everything in your life and that nobody is to blame but yourself makes you a strong individual.

It takes courage to be able to look in the mirror and accept your faults and mistakes, but if you can accept these truths, then there will be no stopping your success.

9. You have a list of goals (and you’re working toward them)

If you’ve got goals and you’re working toward them, then this is a sign you have hope.

Having goals to work toward can be energizing, exciting, and it can also lead to progress.

Maybe you’re not where you want to be now, but you’re going to get there someday. Keep the faith.

10. You have strong self-awareness

Self-awareness is often an underemphasized trait that is necessary for our overall growth and improvement.

It means having a deep understanding of yourself that goes way beyond initial impressions or face value.

You are aware of your various strengths and weaknesses. It is your mission to highlight your advantages and slowly overcome your disadvantages.

In terms of your career path, you are mindful of which fields and industries you truly enjoy working in.

You also have an idea of the overall trajectory that you’re heading towards.

In the workplace, you also know how to maximize your own productivity depending on your personal preferences.

This deep understanding of yourself is one of the most important factors in helping you to become more successful and effective in your work and your relationships.

11. When people describe you, you like what you hear

Do you ever hear people describe you in passing and think that you have good qualities? Maybe you’ve heard a coworker say something like, “Oh you’re so nice, I could never be that nice.”

Or maybe you’ve heard a friend tell you that you’re sweet and loving.

Maybe your neighbors have told you that you’re good with words.

If you listen to the adjectives that people use to describe you and can hear your values in those descriptions, then you’re in good shape.

12. You have a positive mindset and attitude

A positive mindset and an attitude will give you energy and drive that will help you achieve success in life.

Positivity helps you overcome many of life’s obstacles that you wouldn’t be able to if you would be a negative person.

It also brings positivity into other people’s lives, which is incredibly important when we’re faced with the problems we currently have in the world.

So if you’re able to have a positive attitude in the face of all the negativity in the world, then you’re probably helping other people and you’re more successful than you realize.

13. You have a growth mindset

Successful people are successful because they’ve chosen to act; to do something about their dreams.

They aren’t the type to sit around and daydream. When they want something, they’re going to go for it — even taking action through failures.

Author Angela Duckworth has said that successful people have what is called a “growth mindset”.

Successful people understand that they are not limited to the skills and knowledge that they’re born with. They can change. They can improve their performance, despite failures and mistakes.

So if you have grit, and you constantly learn from your mistakes and focus on improving, you have probably the most important trait in becoming successful.

14. You don’t wallow in self-pity

A successful person doesn’t feel sorry for themselves. They realize that it doesn’t get them anywhere and it’s just a waste of time.

If you realize that even if the odds are stacked against you, you move forward in whatever you can, then you’re definitely on the right path to success.

15. You have confidence in yourself

Confidence is a gift. It helps you form relationships.

Your life may be challenging now but your confidence in yourself will help you pull out of any challenges you might be experiencing.

Confidence can help you get a job that you love. It can help you find a spouse. It can help you develop friendships.

If you have confidence in yourself, then you know that success is only around the corner.