When we think about how to achieve success, we often focus on the skills and habits we should add to our lives.  But sometimes the key to success actually lies in our ability to give up certain habits and behaviors.  So starting today…

Give up Trying to Be too Clever

Be different and innovate, but not for the sake of being different, but out of a quest to make things better.  Overcome your reluctance to make use of proven methods and good advice.

Don’t try to be clever in order to earn other people’s approval and enhance your self-worth. Act out of a desire for improvement and service and you will end up being clever in the process.

Give up the habit of waiting

The way you spend your time defines who you are.  You don’t get to choose how you are going to die, or when; you can only decide how you are going to live right now.  Trust me, a year from now you will wish you had started today.

Give Up Your Belief In The Future

Yes, your future holds your hopes, your dreams and desires – but your future depends on the choices you make today.
Believe in the presence.  You only ever have this moment – because the past moments are gone and the future will eventually show up as another moment of now.

Success starts at this very moment, with the choices you make right now. Practice presence.
Notice what’s around you, what you see, hear, taste and smell. Notice what you experience and interact with it.

Give up the excuses

 Sooner or later you will come to realize that it’s not what you lose along the way that counts; it’s what you do with what you still have.  When you let go, forgive, and move on, you in no way change the past, you change the future. 

Give up trying to be perfect

Sometimes we try to show the world that we are flawless in hopes that we will be liked and accepted by everyone.  But we can’t please everyone, and we shouldn’t try.  The beauty of us lies in our vulnerability, our love, our complex emotions – our authentic imperfections.  When we embrace who we are and decide to be authentic, instead of perfect, we open ourselves up to real relationships, real happiness, and real success.  There is no need to put on a mask.  There is no need to pretend to be someone you’re not.  You are perfectly imperfect just the way you are. 

Give up doing things you know are wrong

Nothing is more damaging to you than doing something that you believe is wrong.  Your beliefs alone don’t help you grow and thrive, your behavior and actions do.  So always do what you know in your heart is right, for you. 

Give up feelings of entitlement

Nobody owes you anything.  When you approach life with the false sense that you are owed things, you will naturally become less productive and constantly find yourself disappointed by reality.  When you are grateful for what you have, and see positive things as bonuses, versus owed entitlements, you will earn great successes gradually as you grow.

Give up relationships that want you to be someone else

The best kind of relationship is the one that makes you a better person without changing you into someone other than yourself. 

Give up letting others decide what you can and can’t do

In order to live your own authentic life, you have to follow YOUR inner GPS, not someone else’s.  When others say, “You can’t do it!” or “That’s impossible,” don’t lose hope.  Just because they couldn’t doesn’t mean you can’t.

Give Up Your Mask

In order to avoid getting hurt and rejected, we hide who we really are behind a mask of who we think we should be.
Have the courage to be you, to show your true emotions and stand behind them – even at the risk of disapproval.

Embrace not only the “good” side of you, but also the vulnerable side. Because vulnerability is authentic and real.
It’s the source of creativity and innovation. It creates opportunity.

“Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage. Truth and courage aren’t always comfortable, but they’re never weakness.”  ~Brené Brown,