Success isn’t about luck or talent—it’s about breaking free from the habits that hold you back. Many people spend years wondering why they haven’t achieved their goals, but the truth is they’re unknowingly sabotaging their own progress.
Whether it’s ignoring bad habits, playing the victim, or recycling the same mistakes, these roadblocks can quietly destroy your chances of success. If you want to rise above the rest and create a life you’re proud of, it’s time to identify and quit these self-destructive patterns. Ready to take the first step? Let’s dive into 6 things you must quit to become successful.
Table of Contents
1. Destructive Ignorance
Everyone has bad habits. We all have things that we would like to change about ourselves. Maybe you don’t try as hard as you could. Or you might watch too much TV.
Having bad habits doesn’t keep you from being successful. But ignoring them does. Successful people work every day to lessen the effect their bad habits have on their lives. They’ve reflected on the way they work, behave, and function.
They know where and how they can improve, not just in their daily life but as a person. Very few people take the time to identify the underlying emotions and habits that are holding them back.
You might focus all your energy on small things like spending too much time on social media. You blame this time-waster for your lack of productivity, but something much bigger is hiding underneath.
In reality, you might care too much about what other people think. Or social media might distract you from your dissatisfaction with your own life. Of course, these deeper habits are much harder to change.
You can easily take a break from social media, but can you suddenly stop caring what people think of you?
It takes a lifetime of discipline and dedication to rid yourself of these deeper habits. If you want to be successful, you can’t ignore them any longer.
2. Forever the Victim
Do you often feel like everything is going wrong for no reason? That you would be successful if the world wasn’t out to get you? This all too common line of reasoning is known as “playing the victim.” Instead of taking responsibility for your mistakes, you pretend like nothing is your fault.
You blame anyone and everyone but yourself because it’s easier that way. You get to protect your image. Your ego stays intact. But the truth is you’ll never find success if you spend your whole life thinking you’re innocent. This bad habit puts you in the passenger seat of your own life.
When you position yourself as the victim, you’re saying that someone else has more control over your life than you do. You stop taking active responsibility for the choices you make.
You sit back and let things happen to you, then get angry when it doesn’t go your way. But why would it? People who play the victim card expect good things to just happen. Whether you’re chasing money or influence, success only comes to people who are willing to fight for it.
You need to struggle, change, and grow. You need to make hard decisions and face your fears. You should always be in the driver’s seat, no matter how good or bad your life is turning out. Some people also use the victim role as an excuse to be lazy.
Imagine you’re doing a presentation for class. You barely put any effort into your part of the project. Unsurprisingly, you get a low grade. Most people would correlate their laziness with their bad performance, but you don’t think you did anything wrong.
Instead, you blame another group member who forgot some of their lines during the presentation. As the victim, you’re constantly looking for ways to justify your own bad decisions.
Deep down, you might even know they’re bad, but you keep trying to maintain a flawless image anyway. You create this fake version of yourself that never does anything wrong.
Even the most ambitious, hardworking people make mistakes on a daily basis. Everyone fails all the time, so why are you any different? To make matters worse, playing the victim actively pushes people away.
No matter what field you’re in, you will need others to collaborate, support, and believe in you.
Why would anyone stick around when you’re constantly blaming them for your failures? Why would they support you when you aren’t willing to put in the hard work? In their eyes, you’d rather make yourself look good than do what it takes to improve.
It’s common for people who play the victim to cycle through multiple jobs and friendships. Though you might not think any of them were your fault. You may have spent so much time avoiding your flaws that you didn’t notice the real problem: you.
So, rather than destroying another batch of friendships, why not consider if you’re the one that needs to change? Because, in life, you can always change for the better. But before that can happen, you need to take responsibility for your own choices. Don’t waste your time passing the blame. Don’t make excuses.
If your life comes crumbling down, there will be two things you know for sure. One, you let it fall apart, and two, you are the only one who can build it back up again.
3. Berating Yourself
When you’re pursuing success, it’s good to feel competitive. You want to put pressure on yourself to achieve. You’re investing all this time and energy into one thing.
It’s natural to be frustrated when it doesn’t work out. But you’ll never find success if you beat yourself up after every missed opportunity. I’m not saying you should let yourself off the hook.
You shouldn’t pretend your failures aren’t important. You just need to react to them in a constructive way. The first and most important part is to forgive yourself.
Try to accept that you will fail countless times in your life. This is just one of them. So don’t waste time feeling guilty or sorry for yourself. Don’t put up walls because you’re worried about failing again.
Forgiveness means giving yourself a second chance to succeed. That way, you can hold yourself accountable while continuing to move in the right direction.
4. Accepting the Present
People often fail to find success because they stop moving forward.
You might get comfortable doing the same job each day. You like your coworkers. You make enough money to get by.
Why expend all the extra effort? Before long, you’ll have to choose between comfort and your long-term goals. You can’t be successful without making progress.
You have to be constantly pushing yourself. You should be treating every project, job, or opportunity as a chance to accomplish something new. To make connections, learn a new skill, or rise up in your industry.
The unfortunate truth is that most people settle for the present. They get a decent job, and their dreams fly out the window. In that moment, you think you’re making the right decision. But, years later, you’ll look back and wonder why you gave up so easily.
You’ll feel frustrated about all the time you wasted and the opportunities you squandered. So don’t let yourself have those regrets. Stop settling for what’s closest and easiest. Take advantage of the chances you have now and push your life into uncharted territory.
Some people don’t make progress because they spend too much time waiting around. They want to be successful. They might dream about it every night, but when the time comes, they back down. Asking for a raise is one of the most common examples.
It’s a step toward success and responsibility, yet many people go their whole lives without asking for one. An even larger percentage asks for one but never bothers to push any further.
Why are people so scared of progress? Well, it’s as risky as it is rewarding. You might find all the success in the world, but you also might lose everything. That means your comfortable life could slip right out from under you.
For the majority of people, their dreams aren’t worth the risk. They aren’t motivated or ambitious enough to power through this kind of adversity, so they don’t do anything.
They accept the present as their future. Then, they spend their lives imagining what could have been. To make sure you don’t fall into this trap, never let your fears decide what kind of person you can become.
5. Strategic Recycling
Repetition can be deadly. You never want to be stuck doing the same things over and over again. Let’s say you’re trying to launch a new business, but your company keeps failing. You decide to start another with the exact same name.
You recycle the same strategies, and what do you know, the second one fails, too. When something doesn’t work the first time, you need to learn and adapt. Be willing to make adjustments, even if they’re difficult and time-consuming.
This seems like pretty obvious advice, but it’s a huge problem for a number of people. More often than not, it stems from a specific kind of fear. Unlike people who are scared of failure, these people are failing on purpose.
They know for a fact that something doesn’t work, yet they keep doing it. Chances are, they’re actually afraid of success. They’re scared of the attention, work, or responsibility that comes with it.
They may worry they wouldn’t know what to do with their success if they found it.
The truth is no successful person knew how to be successful beforehand. They learned as they went, and you will, too. So stop recycling the same old tricks.
6. Depending on the Permission
Sometimes, you need to follow the rules, but success always relies on your ability to stand out. Successful people didn’t get where they are today by doing what they were told. They had a great idea and stopped at nothing to make it a reality. We’re used to getting permission for everything we do.
We grew up following our parent’s rules. At school, we listened to our teachers. Now, you have the opportunity to carve your own path. To branch out and make an impact in a way that only you can. So don’t sit around waiting for someone to give you permission. If you want something, go out and get it.
Conclusion
Success isn’t a destination—it’s a journey of constant growth, reflection, and courage. To become the person you want to be, you must quit destructive habits like ignorance, self-doubt, and waiting for permission. It’s not always easy to confront these behaviors but remember: the power to change your life is in your hands.
Stop holding yourself back, take responsibility, and embrace progress—no matter how uncomfortable it feels. Because, in the end, success belongs to those brave enough to break free from the chains of comfort and fear. So, what’s stopping you? Let today be the day you take control and start building the success you deserve.
Founder and CEO of Lifestyleflux.com, I bring years of expertise in self-improvement, wellness, and personal development to help you lead a happier, more balanced life. Through practical insights, eBooks, and consultations, I share actionable strategies rooted in experience and a passion for empowering others to unlock their full potential.