Kiran Athar
High-achieving women are truly a force to be reckoned with.
They possess a unique combination of determination, focus, and drive that allows them to achieve great things in their personal and professional lives.
However, they don’t just rely on their talents and hard work alone to reach their goals, they also recognize (and avoid) activities that can hinder their progress.
In this article, we’ll explore 12 things that high-achieving women don’t waste their time on, and how you can apply these same principles to your own life to achieve greater success!
1) Gossip and drama
If there’s one thing high-achieving women don’t waste a second on is gossip and drama.
These successful, driven women simply don’t have the time or the interest in keeping up with everyone’s business.
Here’s the thing – when you’re focussed on your own life, you have very little time to be concerned over what other people are up to.
And high-achieving women tend to want the best for other women. They like seeing others succeed.
So don’t be surprised if they ignore you or even walk away when you try to engage them in a little “harmless” gossip!
2) Procrastination
Just as high-achieving women don’t pay much attention to gossip and drama, they equally abhor procrastination.
Look, we’re all tempted to procrastinate from time to time. A notification pops up on your phone and before you know it, you’re three years deep into a friend of a friend’s timeline, completely neglecting the task you had originally started!
But for ambitious, high-achievers, this is something they stay well away from.
Why?
Because they have the self-disciple and motivation to get their sh*t done! Put simply, it’s this drive that makes them high achievers in the first place!
3) Negative self-talk or self-doubt
“I could never do that!”
“I’ve never tried it, but I just know I’d be rubbish at it…”
These are examples of sentences that you will NEVER hear high-achieving women say.
The truth is, to be so motivated and driven, you have to have a strong sense of self-confidence and self-esteem.
Successful women believe in themselves. They also recognize the importance of words…
You see, if you tell yourself something enough times, it almost becomes true, right?
So, if you constantly tell yourself you’ll fail at something, chances are you will! But if you fill your mind with positive thoughts, you’ll have much more of an opportunity to succeed.
4) Comparing themselves to others
Another thing high-achieving women don’t waste their time on is comparison.
Just like negative self-talk, these women know that it’s completely futile to constantly look at and compare yourself to the progress of others.
We’re all on our own paths, and everyone has their own perception of what success looks like.
High-achieving women use their self-belief and confidence to stay focussed on their own lane rather than what the woman in the next lane over is doing!
And this is also why they don’t bother with the next point:
5) Social media attention
Ah, where to start with social media? I could list all the negatives, but chances are you’re already aware of how toxic the online world can be!
Not to mention, it’s a MAJOR distraction – a distraction that high-achieving women simply don’t have time for!
They prefer to live in the real world. They don’t need to seek approval in the way of “likes” or “DM’s”. Their success is private because, quite simply, they don’t care what other people think!
This leads me nicely to my next point:
6) Constantly seeking approval or validation from others
Whether it’s online or in the workplace, or seeking validation from a partner or parents, high-achieving women don’t engage in this type of behavior for several reasons:
- They have enough self-belief to not need anyone else’s opinion
- They are secure and confident in their decisions and opinions
- They live for themselves, not to impress others
- They’re usually extremely independent and self-reliant
The truth is…
When you seek the approval or validation of others, it can often interfere with your goals.
People who are easily swayed may even give up on something that could have been a success, just because they’ve listened to someone who doesn’t share their vision.
That’s why high-achieving women rely mainly on themselves, and couldn’t give two hoots if the rest of the world supports them or not!
7) People who disrespect their boundaries
Whilst we’re on the subject of not caring much about people’s unsolicited opinions, another thing high-achieving women don’t waste their time on is people who can’t respect their boundaries.
Boundaries are what we put in place that dictates how people treat us. It’s the ability to walk away from someone when they’re being rude or abusive because they’ve crossed the line and refuse to calm down.
Equally, a boundary can look like saying “no” to your boss when she asks you to do overtime for the 3rd night that week.
It all comes down to having self-respect, and that’s one thing high-achieving women have plenty of!
And that’s usually why they don’t waste their time on this next point…
8) Toxic relationships
Want an example of a toxic relationship? Netflix docuseries are full of them!
The truth is, anyone can find themselves in a toxic situation. And whilst the same applies to high-achieving women, the difference is that they’ll quickly remove themselves from the relationship.
If a man doesn’t hold his own and can’t contribute equally to a relationship, a woman who knows her worth and is determined to succeed in life will have no problem showing him the door!
And this isn’t because she sees herself as superior.
No, it’s because she’s looking for a PARTNERSHIP. She doesn’t want a child to look after, she wants a man to build with!
9) Being afraid to take risks or try new things
So, if a high-achieving woman finds herself in a relationship that doesn’t fulfill her, she has no problem moving on and starting a new chapter in her life.
Quite simply:
She’s not ruled by fear.
These types of women tend to enjoy challenges. They love learning new things and exploring the heights at which they can push themselves.
You’ll probably have noticed that the high achievers in your life tend to be quite dynamic; they have plenty of hobbies and interests to occupy their time when they’re not working hard at their careers!
10) Focusing on things they cannot control
Another thing high-achieving women don’t waste their time on are things that are out of their control.
How often have you sat late at night worrying about something that “could” happen in the future?
How many times have you worried about an event that you literally have no control over?
The truth is, most of us are prone to doing this. It’s human nature!
But high-achieving women learn how to put these worries aside and focus on the things they CAN control.
Let’s be honest, worrying takes a lot of energy, thought, and effort.
All of this could be directed into something much more productive, and that’s why these driven women don’t bother trying to change what they can’t!
11) Being held back by fear of failure or rejection
I touched upon not being held back by fear earlier on, but another thing that high-achieving women don’t waste their time on is being upset over rejection or failure.
Just like any successful person, they’ll have failed numerous times in the past.
But what makes them stand out from the average Jo is that every time they fall down, they dust themselves off, stand back up, and continue the fight!
In the words of Aliyah – “If at first you don’t succeed, dust yourself off and try again!”
The same applies to rejection.
Meryl Streep (who I think we can all agree has earned her high achiever badge) talks openly about how she was rejected for roles early in her career, but it never stopped her from going to more auditions.
High-achieving women accept that failure and rejection are all part of life. That’s why they don’t pay them too much importance, if anything, they see them as experiences to learn from!
12) Playing the victim
Finally, playing the victim (or the blame game for that matter) is something you’ll never see high-achieving women do.
These women take responsibility for themselves.
If they don’t reach their goals, it’s on them. They know they’ve gotta reflect, understand where they went wrong, and then try again.
Because the bottom line is, when you palm off the responsibility onto others, you remove the ability to learn and progress as a person.
That’s why taking accountability is crucial for succeeding in life.
And as this article has made clear, high-achieving women are aiming high! The points above are things all of us should avoid wasting our time on, especially if we want to be successful, happy individuals!
