7 Daily Habits That Separate High Achievers From Everyone Else

Have you ever wondered what it is that separates high performers from those who aren’t? I have, and I’ve studied the lives of many high achievers to figure out what their secret sauce is. The one thing I’ve found is that success doesn’t come just from working more hours. Success is ultimately the result of making small, deliberate choices every day that compound throughout time—much like the money you put away in a savings or retirement account. 

Long story short, success isn’t the result of one big splash. It’s built on daily habits that most people dismiss as too simple. Yet these habits are the bedrock of your long-term success. Here are seven. 

1. High achievers get up and move. 

You know that lethargic, spacey feeling after sitting at your desk for hours? High performers know that your body and brain are not two different systems. Exercise boosts BDNF—brain-derived neurotrophic factor—the fertilizer for your neurons, while releasing endorphins and dopamine. 

The key isn’t intensity. It’s consistency. Five pushups between meetings or a 20-minute walk before your first meeting can shift your entire mental state for the better. 

2. High achievers make healthy eating a lifestyle. 

High performers don’t view food as entertainment. They know it’s fuel. They’ve realized that the midafternoon crash is not inevitable. It’s the result of poor fueling. They plan, keep healthy snacks on hand, and treat water intake as seriously as their business strategy. 

3. High achievers practice conscious presence. 

In our hyperconnected world, paying someone full attention has become a superpower. High performers turn their phones face-down and give the other person real eye contact. This isn’t politeness—it’s essential. A warning: Multitasking isn’t what it seems. Multitasking is actually task-switching. It’s wrecking your ability to process information. 

4. High achievers get out into nature. 

The really good news is that a 15-minute walk outside will not only drop your cortisol levels (cortisol can contribute to anxiety), but also help you focus and think creatively. I get a lot of my best ideas outside. They tend to come to me during a walking meeting or when I’m thinking through a challenge while walking through a park. Sometimes getting away from your desk is the best move you can make. 

5. High achievers build their inner circle. 

If you think about it, you’ll realize that you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. High performers take this rule literally, spending time with energy-multipliers and minimizing time with energy-vampires. This isn’t snobbery. It’s a matter of managing your emotional bandwidth. 

6. High achievers practice active gratitude. 

This isn’t forced positivity. It’s retraining your brain to notice what’s working in addition to what’s not. When you’re constantly looking for problems, your brain gets wired to see threats everywhere. Gratitude practice retrains your neural pathways to also see opportunities and resources. 

7. High achievers choose their emotional state. 

While you can’t control what happens to you, you have complete control over your response. High performers pause between stimulus and response, asking, “What response will serve me best?” It’s the difference between responding and reacting. 

The extended deadline for the 2025 Inc. Best in Business Awards is this Friday, September 19, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply now.