5 Scientifically Proven Ways to Achieve Success in Life

Success is a subjective notion, if there ever was one. But for simplicity’s sake, let’s assume the higher you are on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the better you’re doing. In case you don’t remember the levels from Psych 101, essentially, people can’t be their best possible selves (self-actualization) until lower-level needs are met first. In other words, you can’t be an ideal version of yourself if you don’t have enough food and money to pay the bills, or enough love and esteem to feel good about your value as a human being. So, what can you do to move yourself up the pyramid?

Here are 5 ways.

Increase your confidence by taking action. Low confidence results in inaction. Confidence accumulates through hard work, through success, and even through failure.

Improve your social skills. The most successful business people excel in both cognitive ability and social skills. The people who are both smart and socially adept earn more in today’s work force.

Demonstrate passion and perseverance for long-term goals. One characteristic is a significant predictor of success: grit. Grit is having stamina. Grit is sticking with your future, day in, day out, not just for the week, not just for the month, but for years, and working really hard to make that future a reality.

Embrace a “growth mindset.” How people view their personality affects their capacity for happiness and success. Those with a “fixed mindset” believe things like character, intelligence, and creativity are unchangeable, and avoiding failure is a way of proving skill and smarts. People with a “growth mindset,” however, see failure as a way to grow and therefore embrace challenges, persevere against setbacks, learn from criticism, and reach higher levels of achievement. 

Invest in your relationships. We conclude with something you probably already know. Love is the key to happiness. Even if a man succeeded in work, amassed piles of money, and experienced good health, without loving relationships he wouldn’t be happy. Happiness depends on two things, one is love. The other is finding a way of coping with life that does not push love away.

Photo via lifehacker files.