Conscientiousness is the Greatest Predictor of Success: How to Develop More of It

You might think that being intelligent or hardworking is the greatest predictor of success, but you’d be wrong. Those are tremendous attributes to possess, but it’s easy to find people with those qualities who aren’t highly successful. You probably know someone that is very intelligent but isn’t doing well in life.

You also know someone that works three jobs to make ends meet but is still struggling. Many manual labor jobs require hard work, but most of the people with these jobs aren’t commonly viewed as successful.

Conscientiousness is the best character trait to possess if you want to be successful. Someone that is conscientious does what needs to be done and does it with the intention of doing it well. Think about how much easier your life would be if you could just be more conscientious.

It’s simply the trait of taking care of one’s business and doing it at a high level. Think about the conscientious people you know. They are successful beyond what you’d predict from their intelligence and skills.

Practice these tips to become more conscientious, and you’ll become more successful:

1. Understand the importance of conscientiousness. Knowing how important it is to your future will fuel your motivation to build this important trait. Understanding is a great first step to developing a higher level of conscientiousness.
   
2. Be on time. A simple way to begin building conscientiousness is to take more responsibility for your time. When you decide to be someplace at a certain time, hold yourself to that agreement with yourself. Life is a lot easier when you’re not running late. The people that might be waiting on your arrival will be happier with you, too.
3. Plan your day and follow your plan. This is the bread and butter of building conscientiousness. Have a plan for your day in place before you begin your day. You’ll waste far less time and accomplish far more. All you have to do is put your head down and follow the plan.
4. Finish what you start. Conscientious people are great at finishing what they begin. Avoid leaving any task unfinished. Push through any resistance you feel and be a finisher. For example, if you plan on spending 30 minutes on the treadmill, don’t let yourself quit at 25 minutes. Don’t stop until it’s done.
5. Set goals and create a plan to reach them. The best way to make a good plan for the day is to have goals. Plan a day that will help you to achieve your goals. When you consistently work toward a long-term objective, you’re demonstrating conscientiousness.
6. Avoid being reactive. Put some thought behind your decisions. Respond, but avoid reacting. Take your time and make thoughtful choices. You’ll avoid a lot of unnecessary challenges this way, too.
7. Remove distractions. Distractions are essentially obstacles to focus. You have to be able to focus on what you’re doing if you’re going to be conscientious. Take control of your environment and make things easier on yourself. Create the most distraction-free environment you can.
8. Do your best. If you’re going to spend your time on something, do it as well as you can. It’s an easier way to live and is a big component of conscientiousness.

You might not have been born conscientious, but you can develop conscientiousness. This is great news. There are plenty of qualities a person can have that are difficult, if not impossible to enhance, such as intelligence. Conscientiousness is well within your power to develop and utilize. Start building your conscientiousness today.