If you want to test a person’s character, then give him power.
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Editor’s note: There are always some of the same qualities that good entrepreneurs have, and these qualities have contributed considerable power to their success. From these entrepreneurs, you may be able to learn some ways to deal with uncertainty, anxiety and fear, and lay a solid foundation for your success. This article is translated from medium, article author Benjamin Hardy, PhD, original titleFour Mental Traits of Highly Successful Entrepreneurs.
Image source: Anna Popović on Unsplash
Every entrepreneur faces a variety of challenges, but only a few have succeeded in overcoming these challenges and stand out from the crowd, standing in the spotlight and familiar with the public. Some experts point out that this has nothing to do with their tough quality, but the theory that explains the success of these entrepreneurs can be said to be numerous. No matter how you choose to classify, the psychological traits of successful entrepreneurs always seem to make them look different.
Here are the most basic psychological qualities of four outstanding entrepreneurs.
1. Believe in the power of internal factors
One concept that psychologists often refer to is “external causes,” and you choose to believe that factors beyond your control affect your life. What is certain is that there are indeed many factors that affect your life that cannot be controlled. But the real question is how much effort you put on the factors that you think you can control.
When you always feel that external factors are the leading factor, your focus is on daily competition, the economy, the unfairness of life, and many other things you can’t do. Often, this habit of thinking makes you feel like you are a victim of the environment.
Instead, persistent entrepreneurs value “internal factors”, which means they believe they have personal responsibility for the results of their lives. It is they—not others, or anything else—that hold control.
When you think the internal cause is dominantWhen it comes to action, you are more likely to see obstacles as challenges to overcome. You are more likely to feel that you have the ability and ambition to influence and change the situation of yourself and others. You have full responsibility for everything in life—whether good, bad, beautiful, or ugly—and you tend to see failure as a kind of feedback. You don’t compete with others, you are good at shielding external noise so you can concentrate on creating what you want.
Dr. Eric McKibben tells us that people who believe that internal factors play a leading role can often achieve greater economic success and gain better health, not to mention higher happiness.
2. High tolerance for uncertainty
Many people really don’t like highly uncertain states. They need a clear set of rules and expectations about how things should evolve. Leaving certainty, they tend to struggle or stagnate.
Of course, this is not necessarily a sign of failure. To some extent, preference certainty is the natural tendency of most adults. Interestingly, however, the researchers found that children are generally more tolerant of uncertainty than adults. They are more willing to accept uncertain situations – or win or lose situations where the likelihood is unknown.
In fact, this makes sense: as we mature, we become more adept at assessing risk. Any parent knows that children are happily indulging in dangerous behaviors all the time – because they are always testing and exploring their limits.
Some of the most successful entrepreneurs have the same characteristics as children. They tend to have a high degree of tolerance for uncertainty, which makes them more likely to take risks based on limited information. In fact, entrepreneurship is the courage to face one by one unknown.
A high degree of tolerance for uncertainty will make you less anxious in new situations or in the face of your own doubts and hesitation. You can quickly enter the state of thinking and see the problem from a different perspective. Entering an unfamiliar environment gives you an opportunity to adapt because you know that there are no definite guidelines to help you.
3. They use fear and anxiety as the driving force for progress
When we feel anxious, many of us will try to calm ourselves down. Research by Dr. Alison Wood Brooks of Harvard Business School shows that:
Anxiety is actually a very common emotion. People have a very strong intuition that it is the best way to cope with anxiety, but it can be very difficult and can’t achieve the desired effect.
In fact, Wood Brooks found that the thoughts and actions that try to calm yourself down actually make your performance worse. Conversely, turning your anxiety into motivation can significantly improve your performance. This is why professional athletesAnd successful entrepreneurs will see their anxiety as a manifestation of high emotions, and then continue to work with those normal tensions.
4. They are concerned with the reasons for self-confidence and success, not the results
Many people don’t handle failure or success very well. They behave like a roller coaster and will rise and fall as the environment changes. When things don’t go well, they will be overwhelmed or frustrated. When things are going well, they are too confident and lazy.
In fact, success can mean greater adversity than failure. This has been widely accepted before the rise of modern psychology. Abraham Lincoln once said:
Almost everyone can stand the adversity, but if you want to test a person’s character, give him power.
Once we have achieved success, we should have been more inclined to focus on the reasons for our success. I believe that we have always been confident that we are the right decision. But our attention will soon turn to a successful outcome. Commendations, opportunities, flowers, applause and other rewards that accompany success will distract us from our original goals and may undermine our future performance.
Successful entrepreneurs have a calm mind to resist this shift in attention. No matter how successful or failed they have experienced, the behavior is very consistent. They know that the confidence they feel and the achievements they have made are the product of a constant internal motivation. After all, these external influences are beyond their control. Instead, they are more focused on their behavior, because these behaviors are the root cause of all these outcomes—good, bad, or commonplace.
In fact, the ability to accurately predict the performance of your performance is an assessment of your ability compared to the expectations of a particular outcome.
Successful entrepreneurs see themselves as the ultimate source of personal and professional experience, regardless of success or failure. This is the trait that allows them – not someone else or anything – to control the development of the situation.
Translator: Xi Tang