5 Habits to Get Away with to Succeed in Life

Every person has their own set of goals and dreams. No matter how different we are from one another, it starts with certain planning and discipline.

Trying to mould our lifestyle, habits¹ and mind to achieve our goal is necessary. Nothing in the world comes easy. You have to be dedicated to your passion, work on whatever it is that you want to attain. Seekers are finders, as one seeks, they will find a way to change their dreams into reality.

It is inevitable that whatever we want to do, we have to do it alone. We have to do it on our own. We need to have a clear goal and the self-motivation² needed to get there. It is also possible that sometimes we deviate from our goals and give up.

What qualities or habits grow within us that is more powerful than our passion and affect us so much? Due to such habits, we will always be stuck in one place and not move ahead. Here are the 5 habits to escape from, to succeed in life.

5 Habits to Avoid for Success

1) Fear

Among seven deadly sins, one should be this, fear. At least then, people will stop getting scared about almost everything. Everything is fearful to us humans, from having nothing to getting into a lottery. The place where this fight against fear starts is our minds.

It is crazy when you realize the pattern of fear and grief creeping into your thoughts and mind. We have to stop fearing the results and focus on what we are doing. Rest is to be left as someone or something which is not under our control.

Fear is like a chain around the neck. You can only move as far as the chain lets you. In other words, it can also be referred to as “caged freedom³.” Fear of things will never let you take a full breath. Eliminating fear in life is impossible, but you can overcome some of your fears through courage and dedication. Only then will you realize that beyond those fears lies victory.

To be successful in life, you have to overcome a few of those fears. After that, you will realize that, between your dreams and achievements, fear was the most challenging barrier to overcome but the only barrier stopping you from being successful.

2) Mind

Our mind is our master and also our servant. It entirely depends on how we train it. We need to understand whether we want our minds to control us or if we want to control the mind. It is sometimes very troublesome to try and quieten our thoughts.

They keep wandering. They make us nervous, but our minds make our external situations way too challenging to cope with. Our minds can play these dirty tricks on us where even the most minor obstacles look like huge problems that cannot be solved.

It is not a good idea for success. Take your mind where you want to see yourself to be. Train your mind when it wanders, when you feel you are losing control, this is one of the habits that need to be changed before it’s too late.

The mind can be compared to an animal, wild and untamed. So, your actions are pretty much out of your control. Only discipline and training can take your mind and return the reins of the remote of your mind to your hands. In simpler words, if you have control over your mind, you can achieve almost anything and everything.

If you are clear about doing something and settle for it, no one and nothing can stop you. If you think you cannot do something, nothing can make you do it. That is the power of your mind. So, if you want to achieve success in something, just set your mind to it, and keep trying till you make it to the top.

3) Negativity & Nagging 

Being negative is a human tendency to give excuses to oneself, excuses that stop you from trying harder. This is one of the worst habits to develop since our thoughts have the power to make or break us. Complaining so far has fetched your unpleasantness and withdrawal of peace. The more you consume these, the more you screw up everything.

It is such a bottomless pit that you cannot come back clean once you go in.  It would help if you omitted negativity around you. Whenever you get negative thoughts⁴ or feelings, transcend immediately into a positive space so that you can find a getaway to optimism sooner or later.

Negative thoughts are like poison to the mind. It does no good; instead, it messes up the mind and ruins things. It is impossible to avoid negativity, but we should try our best to avoid such a toxic aura. Remember, negativity does not get you to places; optimism does!

Hence, if you want to achieve something in life, be optimistic but a realist. Keep your hopes high, and keep fighting for what you want. Optimism is like the fuel that drives you towards your goal. Pessimism only pulls you back from fully achieving your dreams.

4) Negligence

Negligence is one of the cruel habits that one can do on one’s path to success. People can be ignorant and adamant but not negligent. With negligence, one proves their lack of dedication towards their destination. It is alright to make mistakes, but giving up on your dreams is something you should avoid.

Negligence is like a tire puncture of a running car; it’s one of the worst habits one can develop.  It stops you in your tracks, and you cannot reach the endpoint. Negligence in your work slides you away from your goal and makes it difficult to achieve success. Due to negligence, you cannot let important things slip away from your mind. To be successful, one cannot afford to be reckless and irresponsible. One needs to be mature and responsible enough to do what has to be done.

5) Emotions

Both success and failure are in our hands. Sometimes we fall, yet we get up. If we get carried away by failure, it will lead to depression; if we get carried away by success, pride sneaks in. Have value for both; appreciate both learning and yearning.

Emotions should be kept in check when you want to achieve something. Too much emotion at work can cause problems and keep you away from success. That also does not mean that you should develop habits of working like a robot to succeed. Keeping your work life separated from the rest would be a good idea.

That is how you can keep your emotions from getting entangled with your work towards success. Failure and success should never be treated with extreme emotions as they both are poisonous to the mind. Failure comes with lessons, and that is what you should take away from it. Success comes with expectations and sets a standard. It would be best to never fly off the ground while soaring high up in the sky.

By avoiding these 5 habits, which most of us are used to, we can assure 100% success in the days to come. At least, one can see the flaws in their preparations and move closer to their dreams. Every path is challenging but not impossible; in the end, it is worth it.

Success can sometimes be easy, but it isn’t easy to be successful most of the time. Failures should be treated as stepping stones, and that is how one can walk up the staircase to success. Most things do not come easy. Life is a rollercoaster ride, and you should enjoy and learn from the ups and downs.

Do let us know below if you want to add another habit that you feel one should do away with to succeed in life. Keep working hard, and we wish you that you are successful in your future endeavors.

– Madhuri Naidu

1. Graybiel, Ann M., and Kyle S. Smith. “Good habits, bad habits.” Scientific American 310.6 (2014): 38-43. ↩︎
2. Geller, E. Scott. “The psychology of self-motivation.” Applied psychology: Actively caring for people (2016): 83-118. ↩︎
3. Dehbozorgi, Afsaneh. Caged freedom. Diss. California State University, Sacramento, 2014. ↩︎
4. Pietromonaco, Paula R., and Hazel Markus. “The nature of negative thoughts in depression.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 48.3 (1985): 799. ↩︎

Last Updated on March 13, 2024 by NamitaSoren