Here is a list of 12 things which, if we give up on them, would make our life a lot more productive and happier. We hold onto so many things that cause us a great deal of pain, stress and suffering. Instead of letting them all go and allow ourselves to be stress free and happy, we cling onto them. Therefore, we should give up on all those things that no longer serve us, and we would embrace change.

1. Give up our need to always be right

There are so many of us who can’t stand the idea of being wrong, wanting to be right at all times, even at the risk of ending great relationships or causing a great deal of stress and pain, for us and for others. It’s just not worth it. Whenever we feel the ‘urgent’ need to jump into a fight over who is right and who is wrong, we should ask ourselves this question: “Would I rather be right, or would I rather be kind?” We should let our ego down and see the difference that it can make.

2. Give up our need for control

Be willing to give up our need to always control everything that happens to us and around us, situations, events, people, etc. Whether they are loved ones, colleagues, or just strangers we met on the street, just allow them to be. Allow everything and everyone to be just as they are and we will realize how much better that will make us feel.

“By letting it go, it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try in vain, the world is beyond winning.” – Lao Tzu

3. Give up our self-defeating, self-talk

How many people are hurting themselves because of their negative, polluted and repetitive self-defeating mindset? Don’t believe everything that our mind is telling us, especially if it’s negative and self-defeating. We are much better than that.

“The mind is a superb instrument if used rightly. Used wrongly, however, it becomes very destructive.” – Eckhart Tolle

4. Give up our limiting beliefs

Give up our limiting beliefs about what we can or cannot do, about what is possible or impossible. Henceforth, we should not allow our limiting beliefs to keep us stuck in the wrong place. We should spread our wings and fly.

“A belief is not an idea held by the mind, it is an idea that holds the mind” – Elly Roselle

5. Give up complaining

Give up our constant need to complain about people, situations and events that make us unhappy, sad and depressed. Nobody can make us unhappy; no situation can make us sad or miserable unless we allow it to. It’s not the situation that triggers those feelings in us, but how we choose to look at it. We should never underestimate the power of positive thinking.

6. Give up our need to impress others 

Stop trying so hard to be something that we are not just to make others like us. It doesn’t work this way. The moment we stop trying so hard to be something that we’re not, the moment we take off all our masks, the moment we accept and embrace the real us, we will find that people will be drawn to us effortlessly.

7. Give up our resistance to change

Change is good. Change will help us move from A to B. Change will help us make improvements in our lives and also the lives of those around us. The only thing that is constant is change. So, we should not resist, but to embrace change.

“Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls” – Joseph Campbell

8. Give up labels

Stop labeling those things, people or events that we don’t understand as being weird or different and try opening our minds, little by little. Minds only work when they are open.

“The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don’t know anything about.” – Wayne Dyer

9. Give up on your fears

Fear is just an illusion, it doesn’t exist. It is created by us. It’s all in our minds. Therefore, we should correct the inside and the outside will fall into place.

“The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt

10. Give up our excuses

Send them packing and tell them they’re fired. We no longer need them. Many times, we limit ourselves because of the many excuses we give. Instead of growing and working on improving ourselves and our lives, we get stuck, lying to ourselves and giving all kind of excuses which are not real most of the time.

11. Give up the past

This may appear hard, especially when the past looks so much better than the present and the future looks so frightening. But we have to take into consideration the fact that the present moment is all that we have and all that we will ever have. The past that we are now longing for – the past that we are now dreaming about – was ignored by us when it was present. We should stop deluding ourselves and be present in everything we do and enjoy life. After all, life is a journey, not the destination. Have a clear vision for the future, prepare ourselves and always be present in the now.

12. Give up living your life to other people’s expectations

Many people are living a life that is not theirs to live. They live their lives according to what others think is best for them, they live their lives according to what their parents think is best for them, to what their friends, their enemies and their teachers, their government and the media think is best for them. They ignore their inner voice, that inner calling. They are so busy with pleasing everybody, with living up to other people’s expectations, that they lose control over their lives. They forget what makes them happy, what they want, what they need, and eventually they forget about themselves. We all have one life, that is the one right now. We must live it, own it and especially don’t let other people’s opinions distract us from our path.