Ten Qualities Of A Total Winner— Part 1
Ten Research-Based Characteristics of High Achievers
What makes a total winner? It’s been my quest to discover the qualities that make a high achiever, a peak performer, or an exceptional person. I wanted to learn for my own personal development, but also to help others to become “winners” in life.
In the early 1980s, I joined a multilevel marketing organization called Amway. In those days, it seemed that everybody and their mother was in Amway.
Unfortunately, I failed miserably with this business model! I could never build a marketing team because I couldn’t recruit team members faster than they were quitting. Ugh! Perhaps it was because I didn’t yet have the winner mindset.
Regardless, I kept at it a few years because there were other parts of the business that I enjoyed and I was learning valuable lessons.
I learned about the importance of reading positive books daily. I learned that it’s essential to fill your brain with positive information by listening to motivational and transformational tapes. It got me hooked on personal development.
I also learned that it was very necessary to attend conferences to listen to powerful speakers that might change the way you think. So, I regularly traveled to other cities and states to attend conferences.
One of the regular speakers at those conferences was Dr. Denis Waitley. He was a national authority on high-level performance and personal development. I very much enjoyed his melodic way of speaking always intertwined some very interesting anecdotes.
One of his first books I read was, The Psychology of Winning. In this book he outlined 10 qualities that make a total winner that are still valid today. Since it is my passion to share cutting-edge tips and strategies for creating exceptional men and women, I want to share them with you. . .
First however, Dr. Waitley defines ‘winners’ as those individuals who have it all together at work, at home, in the community, and in society. They set and achieve goals that benefit themselves and others.
True winning is simply one’s own personal pursuit of individual excellence. “Winning” is taking the talent or potential you were born with, and using it fully toward a goal or purpose that makes you happy.
Winning is giving yourself to others freely. Winning is never whining. Winning is treating animals like people and treating people like brothers and sisters.
Winning is picking up a piece of trash you didn’t throw on the beach. Winning is being glad you are you. Winning is about taking responsibility and being mindful of the greater world around you.
Winning is a way of thinking and a way of living. Winning is all about attitude!
There are ten attitudinal qualities that follow, that seem to be found in winning human beings without regard to sex, color, creed, or circumstance.
*This post may include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of those links, I may earn an affiliate commission at no cost to you. I assure you that if I recommend something, it is because I believe it will be of great benefit for your personal development and success. I just need wine! Thanks! 🙂
Positive Self-Awareness
Winners are eager to learn. They are open-minded and are aware of other people’s feelings and needs. Winners don’t need drugs to make life interesting.
“Positive Self-Awareness is realizing that skin color, birthplace, religious beliefs, sex, financial status, and intelligence are not measures of worth or worthiness.”
Winners are empathetic. Winners control their emotions and deal with stress through positive options such as sports, or practicing mindfulness. Winners read regularly.
The cornerstones of Self-Awareness and winning are truth, integrity, and honesty.
Positive Self-Esteem
A winning human being has positive self-esteem. It is the deep down feeling of your own worth. It comes from your positive self-talk that says, “I like myself. I really do like myself.” “I’m glad to be me.”
Winners have strong feelings and beliefs of self-worth and self-confidence. Winners understand that self-development is a lifetime process.
Winners are confident because they focus on past successes and forget past failures. They use errors and mistakes as a way of learning.
To develop more positive self-esteem you need to base more of your actions and decisions on rational thinking rather than on emotions.
Winners accept themselves as they are. Self-acceptance is the willingness to be yourself and to live your life as it is unfolding, accepting all responsibility for the outcome.
The most important key to enhancing your self-esteem is the practice of positive self-talk. What you say to yourself in your head has a very significant effect on your self-esteem.
Winners seldom put themselves down in actions or in words. Winners use constructive self-talk every day. “I can. . Next time I will get it right.”
Winners accept compliments by simply saying “thank you” and accepting value that is given to them. They don’t minimize their accomplishments.
More than any other quality, self-esteem is the door to high achievement and happiness.
Positive Self-Control
Winners “make” it happen. Losers “let” it happen. Winners take complete responsibility for their actions in their own lives.
Self-control means shaping your own destiny by choosing among many alternatives. Winners don’t believe in fate or luck.
People who know that they have control over what happens to them in life are happier and are able to choose more appropriate responses to whatever happens. The decisions we make determine whether we win or lose in life.
Most of the time it’s not the big decisions that have the most significant effect on our lives. Often, it’s the many small decisions that we make on a daily basis that determine our fate.
Winners take control and accept responsibility. It means taking responsibility for making the best use of what we have- our minds, our talents, and abilities.
“Winners get behind the wheel, firmly in the driver’s seat. Winners take control of their thoughts, their daily routines, their goals, and their live. They create their own horoscopes and astrological forecasts. They spend their time winning knowing they have not time to lose.”
Winners say, “I take the blame or the credit for my place in life.”
Positive Self-Motivation
Motivation is a force that moves us to action, and comes from inside us. Winners in life are people who have developed strong Positive Self-Motivation. When they experience discouragement due to mistakes and setbacks, their inner drive keeps them moving forward toward achievement.
“Self-motivation practiced by high achievers and effective leaders is that, since we always move in the direction of what we are thinking of most, it is imperative to concentrate our thoughts on the condition we ‘want’ to achieve rather than try to move away from what we fear or don’t want.”
Winners focus on solutions rather than problems. Winners see risk as opportunity. They don’t fear failure. In fact, they feel fear but do it anyway. They think and focus only on success.
High achievers have a high degree of self-motivation.
Positive Self-Expectancy
Winners expect to win. They have a positive self-expectation that is also called “optimism.”
Winners don’t doubt, they expect positive results. They mentally prepare to win through positive thinking and visualization.
“You become that which you fear- you get what you suspect- you are that which you expect to be.” Self-fulfilling prophesy is a powerful force of nature.”
Winners in life believe in self-fulfilling prophesy. They keep their momentum moving upward by expecting a better job, good health, financial gain, warm friendships, and success.
The Winner knows that “bad luck” is created by negative thinking. An attitude of optimistic expectancy is the surest way to attract the best of “luck” most of the time.
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Click Here For Five More Qualities Of A Total Winner-Part 2
To your success,
David C Figueroa- Success Coach
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About the Author David C Figueroa
David C Figueroa is a psychologist with over 35 years of experience teaching personal development. An awesome success coach, and internet marketer. Now retired, he has refocused his goals into helping ambitious men and women to create exceptional lives.
