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Success often seems like a great mystery — some people are destined for it while others aren’t.

But that’s probably not the case. While luck and genetics may play a role, there are certain learnable behaviors which make success more likely.

So just what are those behaviors?

Over on Quora, there’s a thread dedicated to sharing the most important habits of highly accomplished individuals. We rounded up 11 intriguing ones below.

You’ll notice that none of these habits require major life overhauls. Instead, it’s about making small tweaks to your daily routines that could potentially result in huge payoffs.

Read on to find out what makes successful people tick:

SEE ALSO: 9 habits everyone should master before turning 30

1. They talk to themselves

Quora user and author Michal Stawicki says that, during research for his books on success, he discovered:

At the highest level of professional sports they consider skills and techniques a given. You can’t reach that level without them. What allows them to beat their opponents is not more time spent honing their skills, but more focus on perfecting their internal dialogue.

Meanwhile, research suggests that talking to yourself like you’d talk to someone else in the same situation can help you deal with stressful experiences. Specifically, use the pronoun “you” or your first name instead of “I.” For example, “You can do it, John.”

2. They keep a journal

Stawicki points out that several historical figures who kept journals, including Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius and French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte.

But you don’t have to aspire to world domination to benefit from keeping a diary. One recent study found that journaling about thoughts and emotions helped college students deal with stressful events.

3. They meditate

Two Quora users cited meditation as a primary habit of successful people.

Indeed, research has found that meditation has a number of mental and physical health benefits, from improving memory to increasing compassion to boosting the immune system.

And bigwigs from Jack Dorsey to Oprah Winfrey say that they practice meditation daily.

Launch your own practice with this guide to mindfulness meditation.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider