What goes on in the minds of highly successful people? If you want to stay focused and persistent in the face of challenges, try adopting some of these helpful, positive mindsets.

Success comes in many different forms, and we all have our own ideas about what achievement looks like. Studies show, however, that the world’s high achievers have a similar outlook on life. If you find yourself struggling to get motivated, try out these ways of thinking and see if they get you moving again.

1 Achievement matters more than power. People can rise to management positions if their main goal is authority, but people who really carve out their own place in the world tend to be those who feel best about themselves when they are achieving something important. Some authority may be necessary to attain your goals and to make things happen, but it’s a means, not an end in itself. The goal is to feel you’ve done something that is, by your own values, meaningful.

2 It’s my responsibility. Successful people tend to have a high internal locus of control, and believe that their own efforts are what will make the difference. The focus is on doing what needs to be done and not waiting for others to encourage you or give you direction. Taking responsibility also means knowing when to ask for help.

3 It’s an opportunity, not a threat. When a challenge comes along, top performers are more excited about the chance it offers than worried about what may happen if it goes wrong. They know that nothing worth having is easy, so difficulty is just a sign that the project is worthwhile.

4 I’ll enjoy this. Perseverance brings its own satisfactions, and go-getters can get hooked on that feeling. Staying focused over the long term can be approached like a game, with every day that you stick to your goals feeling like a win. If you can feel playful about your efforts, you’re likely to be less stressed: the sense of threat goes down, and the fun increases.

5 Talent isn’t worth worrying about. The ability you’re born with can set the baseline for potential success but, without practice, natural talent won’t develop, just like a muscle that’s not used. While there’s very little we can do about the attributes we were born with, there’s a great deal we can choose to do with these attributes. Even gifted people have to work on continuing to develop their skills, so it’s more productive to focus on what you intend to do and learn than it is to worry about whether you’re naturally “good” at it.

6 Hard work is impressive. People who excel at what they do see hard work as admirable, and dedicated people as interesting. They feel good about themselves for living their values and are willing to work hard over time.

7 Failure doesn’t mean much. If something doesn’t work the first few times, successful people tend to brush this off as a learning process and carry on. It takes many more setbacks before they start to consider something to be impossible.

8 Don’t burn bridges. You may not like someone, but you might still have to work with them in the future. Even if you don’t, having adversaries is not good for your reputation. It’s a lot easier and less stressful to remain at least reasonably civil and be known as someone easy to collaborate with. You never know who might get to hear of your behavior, so it always pays to be professional.

9 No staying in a rut. Practice doesn’t improve us if we practice the same things over and over again. What works is “deliberate practice”—that is, constantly practicing at a slightly higher level than our comfort zone.

10 What’s my next step? We continually develop as we go, so your goals are likely to change as you progress. High achievers build regular feedback into their schedules and identify what to do next based on new information. Assess and update your goals as you keep learning.

engaged workers

A 2014 Gallup poll found that, while less than one third of American employees were motivated and absorbed by their work, levels of engagement were at their highest since 2000—when only 26 percent were engaged. Make it your business to identify and seek out such people—their motivation will feed into your own.