13 Things Truly Successful People Don’t Do

Without a doubt, successful people lead their lives differently than unsuccessful people.

Although everyone has a unique definition of what success means to them, we can generally agree that people we deem “successful” are typically financially well-off, are well-respected in their chosen field, have meaningful relationships, and live life in a way that fulfills them.

When people are truly successful, they are thriving as opposed to simply surviving. Successful people have achieved self-actualization per the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

It’s also very important to note that success means so much more than just money. Money is only a small part of what could potentially put someone in the category of “successful”.

Successful people are able to achieve their full potential based on however they choose to define success.

For some people, success means becoming the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. For others, it means having a big loving family.

Regardless of how you choose to define success, let’s take a look at the 13 things that successful people don’t do.

1.They don’t put others down. 

Successful people are too busy working on their own lives to put others down. They typically encourage other people to pursue their own passions and interests without any negative judgment towards others.

 They recognize that saying bad things to and about other people won’t make them any more successful. In fact, it will do the opposite. Tearing other people down automatically makes you unsuccessful and eventually it will catch up to you.

I’ve personally never met a truly successful person who belittles and puts others down. All the successful people I know either raise others up or are working on their own things.

If you want to be more successful, focus on your own goals and life. Put your energy towards building or creating something awesome in your life as opposed to belittling others. You will get more done that way.

2.They don’t skip their workouts.

Working out is good for your physical and mental health. Therefore, it’s very important to make time for exercise. If you are not healthy, then the amount of money you have is completely irrelevant because you won’t be able to enjoy it.

You don’t want to sacrifice your health to earn money because, in the end, you will be forced to spend money to try to regain your health. Unfortunately, in many cases, once your health is bad, it may not be possible to regain it.

You must prioritize your health. A one — hour workout is only 4% of your day so you should be able to fit it in. Schedule your workouts ahead of time and make a plan to fit them in. Make them non — negotiable.

Find a physical activity that you enjoy doing and do it consistently. If you like hiking, then hike. If you like to run, then run. If you want to go to the gym, then do that. There are so many activities to choose from.

3.They don’t spend more than they make.

Successful people know that in order to get ahead financially, they have to spend less than they make and live within their means.

If you continue to spend more per month than you make, you will get deeper and deeper into debt. As the debt levels grow, the interest payments alone can become unmanageable, making it even harder to crawl back out of the hole.

Therefore, it’s very important for you to take a close look at your monthly income and expenses to see if you are, in fact, spending more than you make. Then, you will need to either find a way to cut some expenses or make more money.

4.They don’t allow past failures to stop them from trying again.

A lot of unsuccessful people give up after the first failure. Many people don’t handle failure very well because failure can be difficult to overcome.

Without a doubt, failure can make you feel defeated and gun shy on your next attempt ,especially if you lost a lot of time and money. It’s even worse when other people watched you fail and you may be fearing that they are judging you.

Failure can either destroy you emotionally or help you learn some valuable lessons that will enable your next attempt.

Successful people learn from their failures. They use their failures as building blocks towards their next attempt. If you want to be more successful, learn from your failures rather than dwelling on them.

Don’t use failure as an excuse not to try again. You must try again but do so in a different way based on what you learned from your failure.

5.They don’t let other people’s opinions influence their life decisions.

No matter what you do, there will always be someone with an opinion about it. While it’s ok to get advise from people that you respect, you must ultimately take ownership of your own decisions.

Being afraid of what other people think about what you do is not a good way to live your life. You have to make your life decisions based on what’s best for you.

If there is something that you really want to do, you do not need to seek other people’s approval to do it. If you know in your heart and your mind that it will make your life better, then you don’t need permission to do it.

The truth is, other people’s opinions about what you do will not pay your bills.

If you really feel like you need that permission and you’re reading this, you now have it. Go and do your thing!

6.They don’t engage in gossip.

Gossip is a toxic behavior and there is nothing to be gained from spreading negativity about other people. Gossiping makes you untrustworthy.

It’s very unprofessional. If you gossip about the wrong person at work, you will eventually face consequences. If you’re known for spreading rumors about other people, you will not be trusted (and frankly you don’t deserve to be).

Without a doubt, it can be tempting to join in on the gossip, especially if you think it may help you fit in with a certain group at your work. However, it will do you more harm than good.

Gossiping about other people will not help you move ahead in your career, regardless of what you may think.

7.They don’t complain.

Successful people don’t complain, especially about first world problems. They understand that other successful people don’t want to be around complainers. Complaining only spreads negative energy and truly successful people don’t want to be around that.

They recognize that complaining about a problem they have won’t make it go away. Instead, they focus on solutions.

Therefore, in order to be more successful, you must be solution-oriented. Next time you come across a problem, instead of complaining about it, think of three possible solutions and write them down. After that, you can decide which solution is the best or even ask people with more knowledge and experience than you for advice.

8.They don’t overconsume alcohol and junk food.

Successful people understand that it’s important to fuel their bodies properly. In order to be able to perform their best in their chosen field, they must optimize their nutrition and hydration.

They limit their consumption of alcohol, sugar and junk food. They know that excessive consumption of alcohol can lead to a number of health problems, which are both costly and take all the joys out of life. Excessive drinking can also impair your judgment and have a significantly negative impact on your performance (at work, in business and in social settings).

Excessive consumption of sugar and junk food can also lead to health problems, such as high blood pressure, weight gain, diabetes and fatigue. When you don’t nourish your body properly, you will not be able to get the most out of it.

Therefore, it’s important to reduce your consumption of alcohol, sugar and processed foods. You should increase your consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables, water, lean proteins and complex carbohydrates.

You can still treat yourself, but you must master the art of moderation.

9.They don’t hang out with people who bring them down.

Successful people guard their time carefully, which means that they are much more selective about who they give their time to. They definitely don’t hang out with people who laugh at their dreams or who shoot down ideas.

They hang out with other successful people who share big dreams and visions. Successful people do not have time for people who bring them down or who complain too much.

They spend time with people who have similar goals and who are working towards improving their lives daily. They share ideas with each other and inspire each other. They bring out the best in each other.

Therefore, to become more successful, you must hang out with people who support and encourage you, as well as have similar goals as you. Don’t waste time with people who only know how to complain, put others down and who have habits that do not align with yours.

After all, you become like the five people you surround yourself with. So, make sure you surround yourself with good people. Choose your friends wisely.

10.They don’t stop learning and improving themselves.

Successful people always strive to learn more, improve and to do better. They do not ever feel like they “know everything” and are “finished learning”.

They read books to gain new knowledge. Additionally, they seek out mentorship from people who achieved what they are looking to achieve.

The continue to invest both time and even money into their education. They listen to inspiring podcasts, watch informational YouTube videos, and continuously connect with people that they can learn from.

The good news is that with the Internet, you can learn almost anything that will make you more successful. You just have to learn how to find the information and validate the sources. Quite often, you can learn for free.

Also, books are not that expensive and you can always borrow them from the library or buy them used.

11.They don’t say “yes” to everything.

Successful people are typically busy and they know how to prioritize. They also know how to assess certain opportunities to determine if those opportunities are worth pursuing.

You may be tempted to say “yes” to everything thinking that that’s how you can get ahead. However, if you overcommit to everything, you will end up accomplishing nothing.

Therefore, you must pick your priorities and not be afraid to say “no” to certain things that don’t align with your goals and visions.

Say “yes” to the things that will ultimately benefit you in the long run.

The truth is, if you have more than three priorities at a time, you will end up spreading yourself too thin and you will get nothing done.

12.They don’t try to please everyone.

You can’t be everything to everyone. You also cannot possibly please everyone, so don’t even try. You can be the nicest, kindest, most generous and most helpful person in the world and there will still be people who will have a problem with you.

Successful people understand that no matter what they do, there will be people who won’t be happy with whatever it is that they do.

Therefore, it’s important to choose carefully who you truly want to please. However, at the end of the day, you only really have to please yourself.

Sadly, when you try to please everyone, people will end up walking all over you and taking advantage of you. If you truly want to succeed, you must not put yourself in a position where you’re being taken advantage of.

You don’t want to try to please everyone at your own expense because it’s simply not worth it.

13. They don’t let fear dictate their actions.

Successful people are not afraid to reach out to someone who might be able to help them. They are not afraid of asking for the sale. They are not afraid to join new activity groups or try new things in business and in life.

They are not afraid of change and they are willing to take on challenges that may seem scary.

Even if they are afraid, they do not let their fear stop them from taking action. Successful people “feel the fear” but do it anyways.

Stop fearing rejection, people’s disapproval of your actions, taking on challenging tasks.

Do what needs to be done.

You don’t become successful by hiding and by letting fear take control of you. You become successful when you overcome your fears.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. If you found this article helpful, please share it with others.

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