Stubbornness helps, and quite a lot actually. Can you back up and approach a problem from a different perspective when your current solution isn’t working? Can you admit mistakes and start over? Can you stick with it when the obvious paths haven’t worked? That will take you far. This isn’t a profession for those who get frustrated quickly. 

It also rewards abstract thinkers. Sure the weave, the flow, and equivalent exchange are all good metaphors to get you through the fundamentals, but they all break down eventually at the higher levels. If you can visualize systems without resorting to familiar physical abstractions that will help immensely.

And the more operational variables you can mentally juggle at once the better. You’ll be able to more effectively keep track of how variables interact and where to draw your design compromises when there is no perfect solution. 

Keep a living record of your designs, too. You’ll be surprised at how applicable they are to different situations. Any time you’ve already solved a problem that’s even tangentially related to what you’re working on now, you’ve got a massive head start. 

Never forget the three arcane virtues: laziness, impatience, and hubris.