8 paradoxical features of successful people

The fact is that successful people are so complex individuals that many of their personal qualities seem incompatible, argues clinical psychologist, co-author of the book «Emotional Intelligence 2.0» Travis Bradbury. Most of us have some one of these qualities or personality traits, and they manage to combine several at once. Often this combination is the key to their success. Here are some examples.

1. They are polite but not afraid to rock the boat.

We can say that such people tend to «gracefully disrupt the existing order of things.» They are never satisfied with the status quo. They keep asking «What if?» and «Why not?» They are not afraid to challenge the «common truths», however, they do not at all seek to break the established order of things just like that, they always want to improve or improve something.

At the same time, they are polite and tactful and try not to draw attention to other people’s mistakes unnecessarily. This does not mean that they will remain silent if they see that someone is going in a completely wrong direction. They will not hesitate to say that it is time to change course.

2. They love their job passionately, but they approach their work rationally and objectively.

They are passionate about their work, but do not allow emotions to distort their thinking and behavior. They do not lose the ability to self-criticism, they know how to admit mistakes. If they fail, they admit it and direct their forces in another direction. They are able to look at the results of their work in a detached way and are always ready to listen to other people’s feedback without taking them too personally.

3. They have both divergent and convergent thinking.

Convergent thinking ability, measured by intelligence quotient (IQ) tests, is the rational thinking required to solve problems that have one correct answer. In contrast, divergent thinking is less linear. It involves generating new ideas and thinking about questions that cannot be answered with one right answer.

Both types of thinking are important in their own way. No matter how high your IQ is, you won’t be successful if you can’t think outside the box. On the other hand, rational thinking is important in order to distinguish valuable ideas from useless ones.

4. They are energetic yet calm

When it comes to the work that they are truly interested in, the energy of successful people seems to be inexhaustible, while they remain calm, do not get excited and do not fuss. They control their energy by fully focusing on the task at hand.

There are people whose energy literally overflows, they are hyperactive, they cannot focus on one thing, constantly jumping from one thing to another. Successful people know how to direct their energy in the right direction, so that it helps them move towards the intended goal, and does not interfere.

5. They know how to work and have fun

A successful person confirms with his life the correctness of the saying “Find a job you love, and you will never have to work another day.” Because they love what they do, brainstorming, solving work problems, and long and difficult projects are truly interesting, thought-provoking, and satisfying.

Therefore, despite the fact that they take work seriously, they enjoy it so much that the line between work and leisure in their lives is blurred.

6. They are ambiverts

Those who have achieved success combine the qualities of introverts and extroverts. They can sit quietly in the corner of a conference room or take the stage and address a large audience with an inspiring speech, and feel comfortable in both situations.

7. They are smart and naive at the same time.

Intelligence is critical to success, but many successful ones also retain a childlike spontaneity, as if they don’t see (or don’t respect) the limits that everyone else blindly obeys. They are not limited to what others think is possible.

8. They have both modesty and pride

Pride in their work is a necessary condition for success, but they would not have reached the top without the help of those who worked with them. They know that success is not only their merit, and since they do not worry about it, they do not feel the need to prove something to anyone. That is why they often keep themselves simple and modest in personal communication.

The result?

Why are there so many opinions about what qualities a successful person needs, and why do these qualities contradict each other? There is no easy recipe for success, and people who reach the top in life usually boast a combination of many different personalities, like mechanics who have a wide range of tools for all occasions.