How to know if you’re a high-achiever

Oct 7

I talk to a lot of people who don't think they're high achievers.

I used to be surprised by this. After all, these are people who do A LOT. But they didn't see themselves as high-achievers. All they could see were all the ways they didn't measure up. Which is exactly how you know you're a high-achiever.

The high-achiever myth

People hear the term “high-achiever” and they get a certain picture in their minds. But this idea is pretty limited. And it means that a lot of people are misdiagnosing themselves as “failures,” “hot messes,” and “not good enough.”

Being a high-achiever doesn’t mean you wear a suit and go to a corporate job.

It doesn’t mean you’re a lawyer or doctor or you have a bunch of letters after your name (although, let’s be honest - those people are probably high-achievers).

Being a high-achiever isn’t defined by your accomplishments or what you do.

It’s a mindset. It’s defined by the way you think of yourself, your tasks, and your accomplishments.

And it’s probably not the mindset you imagine.

The high-achieving mindset

Being a high-achiever is 100% about your thoughts. What are your thoughts about your tasks? And what are your thoughts about yourself in relation to your tasks?

High-achievers have very high standards. But to them, these standards might seem completely reasonable.

They think, “Of course I should be able to work a full-time job, nail that presentation, be an amazing parent, recycle, clean my house, cook all organic meals, and work out for an hour every day!”

And then they feel overwhelmed by everything they have to do.

And instead of getting things done, they procrastinate by scrolling social media or watching TV. They run around doing things that aren’t important, instead of tackling the thing they need to do.

And then they judge themselves for not accomplishing what they thought they should have.

How to know if you’re a high-achiever

Maybe you’re reading this and you’re like “OMG, that’s me!” Or maybe you’re still on the fence.

Here’s a quick checklist to know:

If you have high standards for yourself, you're a high-achiever.
If you feel like your high standards aren't high, you're definitely a high-achiever.
If you always feel like you're behind, you're a high-achiever.
If you get frustrated that others aren't meeting your expectations, you're a high-achiever.
If you collapse from exhaustion at the end of the day and berate yourself for being lazy because you didn't go work out/cook an organic meal/clean your home/spend quality time with your family/work on your novel, I mean...come on. Hello High-Achiever!

I get it - After reading this, you might be thinking “I want to be a low achiever!” But you know what’s even better than settling for low achieving? Being a high achiever who loves life. Which brings us to…

How to be a high-achiever who actually achieves

I work with high-achievers who set the bar so high they can't even see their own achievements, much less how to achieve what they really want. I help them get out of their own ways so they can achieve their goals.

Let me tell you how:

Accept that you have a human brain that tells you terrible things that aren’t even true - like “you’re not good enough.” IT’S A TRAP. Nothing’s gone wrong. You can choose not to listen to it.
Understand that you are in control of how you think about yourself and your goal - Do you think your goal is “hard”? Then working for it will feel hard. How can you think about yourself and your goal to make it easy? Why do you love your goal? Why are you the perfect person to achieve it?
Decide that everything you do is helping you get closer to your goal - Stop beating yourself up for things that don’t go well. Your goals have nothing to do with your self-worth. As one of my mentors once said, “You’re either winning or learning.”
Let go of the perfectionist fantasy of “doing it all” - Our brains love to plan big plans. They love to imagine doing #allthethings. IT’S ANOTHER TRAP. You are human. You won’t do it all. And if you don’t have the right tools (cough coaching cough call me), you will get discouraged and quit.
Build momentum with small actions - Your brain will tell you that small changes aren’t worth your time. It will tell you it’s basically nothing. Your brain is a liar that’s addicted to perfectionist fantasies and look how those have turned out for you (just saying). Start small. You’ll build momentum. You’ll learn to trust yourself. And you’ll conquer the world.

This work is simple. And it works.

But it’s not easy. It takes practice.

Maybe you’re reading this and you get it intellectually. But maybe part of your brain is telling you, “I can’t do that.” or “I don’t know how to do that.” or “That sounds great but you don’t know me, Erica. I’m really not good enough and I’ve never been able to do the thing.”

If this is you - we need to talk. Because getting what you want is 100% possible. Click the button below because I want to show you how.

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