“Stop chasing the money and start chasing the passion.” — Tony Hsieh, an American internet entrepreneur Success means something different to every person. Everyone has their own definition of success. Success is like beauty — it’s in the eye of the beholder.
It’s your responsibility to determine what success looks like for you and how you will make it happen. There are some:
- Drawbacks that can deter you from reaching success.
- Paths you can go down that will set you back.
- Some hurdles you must jump over to reach the success “finish line.”
Here are seven things you must stop doing to be successful in your life.
1. Fear Failures
“Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” — Winston Churchill, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Life is about failure. There is no reason to fear it. It’s part of life. If you want to be successful, it would be best if you embrace it.
View failure as an opportunity to grow, not something to be feared.
Learn from your failures and improve. Some of the most famous people in the world have failed at something. Their failures in life led them down the road to success. Failure doesn’t mean you are a flawed person. It doesn’t reflect poorly on you as a person.
“Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It’s quite simple, really: Double your rate of failure. You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn’t at all. You can be discouraged by failure, or you can learn from it, so go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because remember, that’s where you will find success.” — Thomas J. Watson, an American businessman
2. Look for the Easy Way
Success is hard, and it doesn’t happen overnight. You must overcome adversity and hardship to obtain success.
Successful people don’t look for the easy way. They challenge themselves, push their limits, and get comfortable being uncomfortable. Don’t stroll through your life on autopilot. It’s not a blueprint for success.
To reach your maximum potential, you must stretch yourself and not live life on cruise control. Looking for the easy way leads to failure, not success. Hardship makes you stronger and more successful.
3. Become Distracted
“The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus.” — Bruce Lee, an American martial artist
Things come up and push you down paths that you may not expect. Don’t allow your life to take you on a different path that leads you to live the life you were not meant to live. Distractions will move you further away from obtaining success.
Stay focused, and don’t get distracted by your social media feed or the numerous emails in your inbox. Success is about working toward your goals and preventing disruptions. Maintaining focus is about taking care of yourself — mentally and physically.
“Successful people maintain a positive focus in life no matter what is happening around them.” — Jack Canfield, an American author, speaker, and entrepreneur
4. Make Excuses
“If you really want to do something, you’ll find a way. If you don’t, you’ll find an excuse.” —Jim Rohn, an American entrepreneur, author, and speaker
You were going to write a book, but you didn’t have time. You were going to launch a side hustle, but you were always too tired. You were going to travel the world, but you didn’t have enough money.
It’s easy to make excuses for not doing what you want in life.
Stop blaming others for why you didn’t get what you want in life and stop refusing to take responsibility for your actions. Don’t waste time looking for reasons why you didn’t achieve success.
5. Focus on the Negatives
“Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.” — Willie Nelson, an American musician and actor
There are many things that happen in life that you can’t control. But, there are many things that you can control. Most of us in our lives have more positive experiences than negative ones.
Positive thinking doesn’t mean you avoid life’s unpleasant situations; you approach hardship in a positive way.
Focus on the good that happens in your life. Concentrating on the negatives will prevent you from reaching success.
It would be best if you didn’t ignore the negatives in life, but you must not become obsessed with them. Think positively daily and focus on your life’s favorable (not unfavorable) conditions.
6. Be Ungrateful
“Gratitude is a powerful catalyst for happiness.” — Amy Collette, an author
To be successful in life, you must be more grateful. Gratitude breeds happiness and success. If you are grateful for your life and accomplishments, you will become successful and content.
Gratitude can be a compass for your life. It can help you improve your decision-making and lead you down the road to success. When you are ungrateful, you focus on the negatives of your life — leading you to being resentful and angry.
7. Concentrate Only on Yourself
“Success isn’t just about what you accomplish in your life; it’s about what you inspire others to do.” — Unknown
Focusing on yourself will not lead you to success. When you concentrate only on yourself, you prioritize your own needs and desires over others.
Self-focus can be productive, but there is a fine line because you can focus too much on yourself and forget the needs of important people in your life.
It’s helpful to identify what you want out of life and what success means to you, but you must not let it consume you too much. One of the best ways to succeed in life is by helping others.
Bringing It All Together
If you want to be successful, you must stop doing these things in your life. Fear failures, look for the easy way, become distracted, make excuses, focus on the negatives, be ungrateful, and concentrate only on yourself.
If you give your best effort, work hard to become the best you can be, and determine what success means for you, you will set yourself up with the right ingredients for success. To be successful, you must do the right things and stop doing the wrong things.
“You know you are on the road to success if you would do your job, and not be paid for it.” — Oprah Winfrey, an American talk show host, TV producer, actress, author, and philanthropist
