The six things you need to stop doing if you want to be successful

Success can mean different things to different people, but there are a few don’ts that all successful people follow as they walk up the path to triumphs.

We all want to be successful. We chase money, fame, big houses, and a thousand other things. But how often do we take a moment to ask ourselves what success really is? What does it stand for? What space does it occupy in our life?

To all those who don’t know, success is subjective. What might be success for some might not be success for others. People do all sort of things to be successful in their chosen field. They start doing things that made someone else successful. What they often forget is that, sometimes, we don’t need to add certain things but stop doing the ones we are doing to achieve real success.

Let’s take a look at the some things that most successful people don’t do at all:

 Chasing someone else’s version of success

Do you know what’s common between Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, Oprah Winfrey, and Sania Mirza? Each one of them knew their “success” before they actually started chasing it. Just imagine if someone told Sania to play cricket instead of tennis. Would she be that successful in cricket? You know the answer, don’t you? That is why, it’s essential to define what success means to you and then start chasing it.

 Waiting for the ‘right time’ to get started

Most of us haven’t really reached where we aspire to because we haven’t taken the first step yet. We are always waiting for the right time – the right time to start a business, learn a new language, write a book, to travel, and even to live. Don’t wait for the perfect moment as you will never be 100 percent ready. And, if you are waiting for the right time, you will end up waiting forever. Start with whatever little knowledge or experience you possess, and everything that is meant to be will fall into place automatically.

 Trying to please everyone

You can’t always please everybody out there. No matter how hard you try or how well you perform, there will always be someone who will point fingers at you for not being “good enough”. People succumb to the expectations of other people and, in the vicious circle of pleasing, end up losing what success needs the most - authenticity. Bill Cosby once said, “I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.”

 Multitasking

If you ask any successful person to name a thing that you shouldn’t do, most of them would say multitasking. Smart entrepreneurs, businessmen, and creatives refrain from working on multiple things at the same time. It might be hard to suppress the urge to attempt everything at once but studies have found that every time you multitask, you aren’t just harming your performance at the moment; you may very well be damaging an area of your brain that’s critical to your future success at work.

 Being scared to seek help

Successful people are aware that collaboration is the key to success. They are not scared to seek help as they understand that it’s not a sign of weakness; rather it takes a lot of courage to come forward and ask for help. The fear of being judged or seen in a “weak” light doesn’t bother them but losing out on opportunities just because of judgement definitely does. In fact, successful leaders are known to ask too many questions. As a Chinese saying goes, “He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.”

 Chasing money, not happiness

If money is your only motivation, then you won’t succeed because there is no end to this want. However, if what you do is making you happy, you are already successful. In fact, one of the richest men in the world, Richard Branson equates success with personal fulfillment. Last year, he wrote on his LinkedIn’s profile, “Too many people measure how successful they are by how much money they make or the people that they associate with. In my opinion, true success should be measured by how happy you are.”

Success is a heavy word that could mean different things to different people. But the right attitude – along with knowing what to do and what not to - is what will make you successful.

(Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of YourStory.)