Pearl Nash
We all want to attain success.
Some people find it easy, while the majority flounder and feel stuck in life.
What separates these people?
Unfortunately, there’s no single secret to success and there’s certainly no set path that guarantees success.
However, there are key things successful women do that have contributed to their ability to succeed when other people stall and give up.
Here are 10 important rules successful women live by to elevate her life.
1. Don’t let fear get to you
The fear of failure is a common feeling to have for people who want to achieve success in their lives.
The unsuccessful wait until that fear is gone before they start chasing their goals.
They tell themselves they aren’t ready and that they need more time.
But, as author James Clear once wrote, “successful people start before they’re ready.”
Successful people understand that “being ready” will never come.
The fear will always be there. What separates them from the rest is the successful act despite feeling afraid.
They may even use their fear to their advantage.
Author Tim Ferriss spoke about an exercise called “fear-setting.”
By defining your fears before anything happens, you can come up with ways to prevent them from happening.
This weakens the fear and increases the odds of success.
2. Adopt a growth mindset
There might be some things in life you want to do, but because of your lack of background and experience, you feel like they’re out of reach.
You’ve been incorporated, so you don’t feel like you can ever be a great artist.
You tell yourself since you have no experience in business, you could never start that company you’ve always wanted.
Successful women don’t settle.
They know the experiences they have don’t define where they want to go.
They don’t let their degrees or background tell them what they can and can’t do.
If they don’t know how to do something, then they’ll learn how to do it.
This is what psychologist Carol Dweck calls a “growth mindset.”
Successful women have it; unsuccessful women don’t.
3. Take care of your health
Health is the foundation of all activity.
Without it, no meetings can be attended, no ideas can be properly brainstormed, no dreams can be chased.
While hustle culture might glorify working late nights and early mornings, having a, “I’ll rest when I’m dead” mindset, it will lead to burnout faster than usual.
Successful women are playing the long game.
Studies have confirmed that regular physical activity can help you avoid deadly diseases and even a premature death.
Often, successful women tend to find themselves in high-stress situations.
In such cases, it’s also important for them to use mental health remedies as well.
Writing in a journal is a common activity that has been found to boost one’s mood and reduce stress.
Are you fulfilling your potential in life? (Be honest). Take our 3-minute quiz and find out exactly what you need to do to reach your full potential. << Take the Quiz >>
4. Show gratitude to others
The higher the professional ladder you climb, the easier it is to forget the people that helped you get there.
While promotions and opportunities bring in financial successes, it has the chance of ruining precious relationships.
Successful women understand that their relationships are one of the most important aspects of their lives – not just for professional growth but personal growth as well.
They seek to maintain their relationships by never forgetting to thank the people that have helped them, and even repaying their debts in one way or another.
5. Stick to your opinions and beliefs
Some women want to avoid conflicts at all costs.
They nod their head and agree with people they wouldn’t normally agree with.
They let others walk all over them if it meant peace would remain.
The problem with this is they don’t allow themselves the chance to let their opinions be shared and expressed.
Instead, they recede into the background – and no one remembers anyone from the background.
Successful women will have none of that.
Instead, they stick to their opinions and beliefs and bring it up when needed.
They aren’t afraid to call someone out for their unprofessional behavior, nor will they stand by quietly as their close friend gets harassed.
Not all conflict is bad.
It can be a catalyst for serious discussions and changes in the system.
Other women may think they’re being kind and gentle, but it may often lead them towards being too submissive instead.
6. They set goals strategically
A successful woman knows what success looks like them.
After all, they know you won’t be able to find success if you don’t define it for yourself first.
Whether that may be a swanky mansion or retiring early to travel the world, setting a personal goal gives your daily work direction and meaning. Now you have something to aim for.
While it’s important to dream big, remember to keep it realistic.
If your goal is too unattainable, you may find yourself frustrated with yourself or even burnt out.
A helpful way to set goals is by using the S.M.A.R.T. method. It means: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound.
When your goals meet all five of the criteria, it can excite you and give you the push that you need to keep going.
If you want some help with goal setting, I recommend taking this 3-minute quiz by professional life coach Jeanette Brown.
I recently took it myself and it helped me pinpoint exactly what goals were important to me, and what I needed to do to reach my full potential in life.
Check out this excellent quiz here.
7. Always be considered
Sometimes there are opportunities that seem too good to be true.
Crazy discounts, massive promos, chances to earn so much with seemingly little repercussions. Seemingly.
While other women are easily blinded by sweet deals, successful women often dig deeper.
They don’t accept things at face value.
They know there’s always a catch, and there’s always consequences to their actions.
Even when something happens that they didn’t intend to, successful women take responsibility for it.
It was them who ultimately made the decision after all.
While there is a time for following gut instincts, that doesn’t come without having experience and thinking through the different possibilities first.
8. Don’t be afraid to ask for help
There is an African proverb that goes, “If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
It can be attractive to do something all on your own.
You get all the credit, rewards, without needing to boss people around.
But you also have to bear the stresses and problems. In those times, it might be helpful to have someone to lean on.
Successful women understand that they can’t do it all.
They ask for help from others who are smarter and better than them to help achieve success together.
9. Don’t bother comparing yourself to others
Social media has made it easier than before to compare ourselves with other people’s achievements.
While we might think too much about it when we do it, it can actually lower our self-esteem, as a study writes.
The same study has also linked depressive moods with social comparisons.
Comparing ourselves not only brings us down but also distracts us from what we need to do: move forward toward our goals.
While they can congratulate their friends for jobs well done, successful women don’t let it get to them.
They focus on their own achievements and base them on their own criteria for success.
10. Take pride in yourself
Being adaptable can have consequences. In trying to fit in – adopting different personalities, changing behavior, wearing trendy clothes – your identity gets jeopardized.
When you become just like everyone else, standing out becomes much more difficult.
Successful women on the other hand take pride in themselves. Instead of doing things differently, she does things authentically.
By building her own brand, she’s able to rise above the crowd. She becomes remarkable.
11. Don’t let opportunities slip by
Opportunities for personal and professional success are more abundant than you might think.
Successful women are always on the lookout for new opportunities for them.
Maybe there’s someone close to them complaining about poor service; that’s an opportunity to build a better one.
When they stumble upon a workshop to learn how to code, that’s an opportunity to be introduced to something she has no experience with.
When there’s someone who feels down and needs someone to talk to, that’s an opportunity to deepen a relationship.
The unsuccessful let these opportunities just sail by maybe out of fear or simply being too blind to see them.
Are you fulfilling your potential in life? (Be honest). Take our 3-minute quiz and find out exactly what you need to do to reach your full potential. << Take the Quiz >>
12. Spend time with positive people
The people that you spend time with will affect your mindset.
If you surround yourself with people that complain and gossip all the time without doing anything to improve their lives, you might get sucked into their whirlpool of negativity.
But if you have a friend group that is supportive, and that motivates each other, then you’re in the right place.
Keeping good company is essential not only to one’s success but to one’s mental health too.
The successful woman chooses her friends carefully. If they don’t align with her values, then she doesn’t bother pursuing a friendship.
13. Always keep your cool
When someone is being difficult and frustrating, it can be easy to retaliate with the same negative energy.
While others might have a looser grip on their emotions, the successful woman keeps her hold firm.
She keeps her cool.
Getting angry might mean losing a client or severing an important relationship.
By maintaining her composure, she’s able to maneuver the situation to favorable outcomes.
Sometimes, knowing which situation will lead to your success is difficult.
Instead of asking yourself, “What would a successful woman do in a situation like this?”, you could ask, “What would an unsuccessful woman do?” Be harsh and offensive?
Weak and reckless? Knowing what you shouldn’t do will guide you to know the things that you should do.
