Have you ever been in a situation where you ask yourself questions like, "What's going on?" "Why is everything not working out as planned?" "Why am I not getting the results when I've done all that is expected?"
You begin to wonder why proven strategies, even after you have implemented them to the letter, aren't quite working as expected.
It may not be what you are doing, but what you are not doing.
You see, success means different things to different people, but one goes across board in all definitions of success. It is the fact that success is the completion of a set goal, accompanied by the expected result(s).
You want to succeed? Stop doing these 10 things:
1. Stop Trying to Do Everything
Let's face it, there is no such thing as being a "Jack of all trades and master of all." We all have our specific (and special) capabilities, and trying to do what you do not fit into will only compound your woes.
Choose a path and follow it. The power of focus yields success faster than exerting more energy.
This also means stop trying to pack your to-do list full of activities. Activity is not the same as productivity, doing something does not mean you are getting results and motion is not the same as progress.
2.Stop Trying to Please Everyone
You have to be true to yourself and make sure you do not lose your unique identity while trying to ensure "peaceful co-existence."
There's no point trying to please everyone. You won't succeed. Be you, do you. It's good to sacrifice for others, but you should love your neighbor as yourself, not more than you love yourself.
You sure do not want them to experience the depressing feeling of trying to please everyone (and never succeeding).
3.Stop the Distractions
No matter what it takes, take drastic measures to shut out all forms of distractions and focus on what you have to do.
You have to be able to decide to set your mind to do something, and do it. It helps to reinforce the fact that you can do what you set out to do, in your brain. It helps your brain prepare for success.
4.Stop Fear
Courage is not the absence of fear, but the conquering of it. Fear is an integral, though negative energy in life. Courage has helped man to victories in battles, and to the summit of mountains never climbed. But once fear begins to control you, it kills your dare and then you will not achieve much from there on in.
You have to learn to act despite your fears, because they will never go away. Note that I did not say "Remove Fear," I said "Stop Fear."
5.Stop the Excuses
The truth is, you will do what you want to do, and will not do what you do not want to do. No Excuses. No middle ground. When you are not doing something, something else is taking your time, and that is because you have allowed it to.
So when you say, "I have not been able to hand over this project because I was working on another project", you just told me that the other project was more important. This is not a bad thing, but you should not give it as an excuse.
6.Stop Being Selfish
Giving, Sharing, and Investing in people makes a truly successful life. It does not have to be money or material possessions. It can be as simple as a smile, a "helping hand," a compliment, etc. It may seem inconsequential, but you are depositing into your "trust account" with those people. In the short or long run, you will see the reward. It could even come in hard currency!
7.Stop Procrastination
Procrastination does not steal your time, it helps you waste it. How can one achieve a goal when 90 percent of the time he/she is pushing the "antecedent" to achieving that goal to a later date?
8.Stop Waiting for the Perfect Time
There is no perfect time for anything. As a matter of fact, you'll search a lifetime to get the perfect time to do anything. You just can't get it. Not in this world of ours.
According to Johan Styren, the CEO of Leo Vegas, "There must be resistance to anything you want to do. Resistance is a force of life. It is integral. Motion is impossible without it. You have to be able to overcome the resistance to succeed."
While the above is true, what is equally true is the fact that it is not wrong to put a plan at a later date after thorough deliberation and brainstorming. Just be true to yourself.
9.Stop Lying to Yourself
Do you know how much (money and others things) it costs to keep a lie being a lie? It saps your (physical and mental) strength as well. You will be more concerned about covering up the truth than actually being productive. Be true.
10.Stop Overworking
Hard work is a precedent to success. Overworking on the other hand, will make you break down, unless you know what to do to work hard without breaking down.
How about preparing for an examination so hard that you slept at 4 a.m. on the day of the exam, only to wake up at 11 a.m. for a two-hour paper scheduled to start at 8 a.m.? Though you were prepared -- you had all you needed and had done all -- you still "failed" (learnt).
In the end, success is a state of the mind, set it up and let it fly.