Everyone wants to live well and be happy. We all want to live better, happier, more positive lives. However, what some people don’t realize is that to fulfill that goal, we sometimes need to give up on some things to thrive and achieve positive living.
Since we’re all deeply in the digital age, perhaps it’s easier to think of life in that way. Your gadgets have limited storage capacities. When you use up all the space, our gadgets will slow down, become sluggish, and less efficient. You need to delete some files and unused apps to free up space, get it running more smoothly, and store new photos or more useful apps.
Life can be like that.
If you want to grab onto new opportunities and change your life for the better, you need to let go of the things that are limiting your capabilities, holding back your potential, and filling up your life without giving you anything positive in return — even if they have been a large part of your life for a long time. These can range from emotions to habits and traits that have shaped your life and are a core part of your personality.
Give Up Jealousy and Excessive Comparison
Some say jealousy fuels their drive to succeed — however, it can also cloud their judgment. Comparing yourself with others and feeling jealous about their achievements can lead to you pursuing a path that you do not want or does not make you feel happy simply because you want to “one-up” somebody else. Excessive comparison can also lead to other toxic emotions and thoughts, such as self-doubt, low self-esteem, and hating other people’s successes.
Giving up on feelings of envy and the need to compare yourself with others allows you to follow your path more freely. It can reduce feelings of anxiety, undue stress, and displeasure with yourself — thus improving your overall mental health and well-being. All these contribute to better physical health as well. It is important to remember that everyone moves at different paces. Just because someone found happiness and success today doesn’t mean you won’t find your happiness and positive living at a later date.
Give Up Negative Thoughts and Self-Doubt
Negative thoughts will never positively serve you. It doesn’t work like negative emotions, which can still guide you towards positive actions if managed properly. The only thing negative thoughts do is fuel more negative thoughts and keep you doubting yourself, what you do, and what you want. It not only lowers your confidence and mood but also keeps you stressing over things you might not have any control over. Negative thoughts and the resulting self-doubt can also push you to constantly compare yourself to others and judge others more harshly than they deserve.
Give Up Toxic Friendships
Positive friendships bring numerous benefits to our physical, emotional, mental, and social health. Maintaining a strong circle of friends and family gives you a much-needed support system when life gets rough. A positive circle of friends helps reduce stress, develop a more positive attitude, build interpersonal skills, and practice kindness. It also helps encourage positive living habits, boost your sense of self-worth, and sharpen your cognitive skills.
On the other hand, toxic friendships can do the exact opposite. Staying friends with people who you don’t like, who lead you towards negative thoughts, cause excessive negative emotions or even risk your physical well-being will only hold you back in life. It may be hard to cut off people you’ve known for years or even decades, but it is necessary to lessen the stress and mental burden they cause you.
Give Up Perfectionism
It’s crucial to let go of always trying to be perfect in the things you do — whether it’s at work, in your relationships, or just yourself. It is important to remember that you can still be happy even if things aren’t perfect. Holding yourself to an impossible, unrealistic standard can make you think that you are never good enough. It can also cause you to apply these standards and feelings to others, which can put a strain on your relationships.
Studies have shown that perfectionism can severely affect both our mental and physical health. Constantly trying to be perfect can make you feel unhappy and unsatisfied constantly, which adversely affects your overall quality of life. Toxic perfectionism can lead to depression, anxiety, and even suicidal ideation.
Give Up Expecting Instant Gratification
Stop expecting immediate results. Technology and the internet often push people to be impatient and always expect instant gratification. This can ruin your patience and self-control. In financial situations, this can lead to unnecessary purchases, bad or high-risk investments, or even bankruptcy. The need for instant gratification may also lead to unhealthy eating habits and serious health problems, including addiction.
Most importantly, the need to see immediate results can cloud your mind and cause you to be distracted from more valuable, long-term goals. It makes it more difficult for you to focus on how you can attain future success and lower your quality of life.
Give Up Delaying Your Happiness
Just as you need to let go of the need for instant gratification, you also need to give up on delaying your happiness. Always remember that too much of anything is bad for you — this includes self-control and delayed gratification. You need to give up on excessive amounts of both and learn how to balance your patience and self-control with living in the present moment, embracing spontaneity, and indulging your inner child.
You need to give up on waiting for the “perfect day” or “perfect moment” to do something. Rewarding yourself with something you’ve wanted for so long is a great motivator, but make sure you follow through with your promises. Constantly dangling the reward but never getting the payoff can enhance feelings of unhappiness, dissatisfaction, and aggravation.
On Giving Up and Moving Forward
Many of the things you have to give up our negative thoughts and harmful habits that do not contribute to positive living goals. In many cases, these emotions, thoughts, and habits can be what prevent us from achieving a better, more positive life. If you truly want to change your life, you have to be ready to give up and let go of these things.
You will need to make some hard choices and undergo. Remember, you can’t grab better opportunities if you don’t let go of what you already have in your hands. At the same time, you can’t move forward and lead a more positive life unless you give up on what’s holding you back.