Five Qualities Of Winners

To be a winner in any aspect of life, you need a combination of natural ability and mental ability. Both skills need to be developed and perfected.

We can learn a lot about winning from athletes. All elite athletes have natural physical abilities, but they also share mental qualities that give them the strength and drive to be winners in the arena. These traits are also relevant in other areas,  such as at work, for your artistic development and even for personal relationships.

Here are the top five mental traits of winners – athletes and others. Anyone who wants to make a difference and be successful needs to work on developing these skills.

Five qualities of winners

1. Positive Attitude

Staying positive is the key to success. This means that you believe in yourself. To quote Henry Ford’s famous quote: “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you will always be right.” It all depends on your own beliefs, because it depends on the results you will see.

In this way, self-efficacy, which is basically the confidence you have in your own ability to achieve your goal, is key when it comes to organizing and completing tasks. People with a greater sense of their own effectiveness are more committed to their goals and less likely to give up.

That’s why you should do everything possible to develop confidence in yourself and stay positive. The challenge is not necessarily important. What’s important is that you have a positive approach to facing the challenge.

2. High, but achievable goals

A positive attitude and a strong sense of effectiveness leads you to believe that you can achieve goals that seem beyond your reach. These goals should be outside your comfort zone and should force you to reach beyond what you’ve achieved so far, but they shouldn’t be so difficult as to be unattainable.

The key is to set goals that are achievable so that you can cherish the victory and enjoy success in a reasonable amount of time. This ensures that you stay motivated to go one step further. Setting goals is the key to achieving them.

3. Motivation

Motivation is what helps you achieve your goals. Motivation is the driving force behind determination.

There are two types of motivation: intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation means that you want to achieve a goal for personal reasons,  regardless of the reward. Extrinsic motivation means that the external reward is the reason you want to achieve the goal. High levels of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation are necessary to win.

There are many techniques that will help you maintain motivation, such as rewarding yourself for small achievements, remembering the reasons that helped you move towards your goal, and keeping the final result in mind.

4. Emotional Upper Hand

Winners know how to keep their focus sharp and not let emotions take over. They are aware of themselves and this is the key. If we are aware of our emotions, they do no harm. An important mental skill is the ability to remain calm, even under pressure.

5. Perseverance

Napoleon Hill, in his famous book Think and Grow Rich, writes a  lot about the importance of perseverance, especially if you are heading for loss. And as the author says,  loss is an unavoidable part of success.

In the words of Truman Capote, “ Every failure is the seasoning of success.” Winners don’t give up  and their persistence and tenacity are some of the most important qualities.

The power of the winner

Winning is not just about earning a medal or title, getting the best job or being the most popular man or woman of the moment. Winning is an attitude and we are our own rivals. You will be a winner if you surpass yourself, find your goals and know your place in the world.

There will be times when you have to bring out the champion in you and prove to yourself, metaphorically (or not), that no one can knock you off the track. You may not get first place, but even if you finish last, you’re one step closer to success. Above all, you have won the battle against fear, laziness, and anything else that brings you down.

Needless to say, practicing a sport is an excellent way to learn how to win, improve yourself and learn to constructively make mistakes, at any age.