30 Little Ways You’re Actually Self-Sabotaging Your Own Success

I remember when I was growing up, I was told that the world was my oyster. I was drilled down with the saying, “You can achieve anything you put your mind into,” and when I was younger, I believed it. All of it. I know I’m not the first to say this, but growing up puts every lesson we’ve been taught into question.

Suddenly life seems scarier than it is of an adventure.

Like most other people in society, you go back and forth between the “should I”s or the “shouldn’t I”s so much so that you waste months and even years stuck in the same place.

It doesn’t have to be like this.

Life does not have to be a game of beating around the bush and thinking that this is it – this is life. Truth be told, there’s more that you can do in this world, but you’re too nervous to come to terms with it. Here are 30 simple signs that you’re purposefully hitting the brakes instead of hitting the gas.

1. You settle for good not great.

2. You accept the conditions that you are in far too easily.

3. You barely make an effort to turn what is average into extraordinary.

4. You fear too much of everything.

5. You allow paranoia to get in the way.

6. You use your dislike of unfamiliar settings as your go-to card when attempting something new.

7. You’re scared of failing at anything in life.

8. You feel that you’re not good enough for yourself, let alone others.

9. You put too much thought into your public image and what people think of you.

10. You don’t want to look like a fool.

11. You prefer coasting by through life in your own comfort zone.

12. You refuse to take flight no matter how exciting the horizon can be.

13. You value perfectionism a bit too much. A lot, actually.

14. You come up with 20 excuses as soon as somebody asks you to try doing something outside of your comfort zone.

15. You’re afraid of change because new things are far too intimidating for you to face head-on.

16. You are an avid listener to your own self-doubting thoughts.

17. You’re too eager to receive acknowledgements from others.

18. You don’t ask enough questions in fear of looking silly.

19. You have yet to truly believe that you’re capable of achieving incredible feats.

20. You make plans, but don’t act on realizing it.

21. You feel incredibly inferior when you see someone more successful than you and rather than taking action, you hide in your little shell.

22. You view adulthood more as a black hole than an open field.

23. You make minimum effort in trying to find your purpose in life.

24. You procrastinate most of the time in life that your intentions are often put in the back-burner.

25. You have developed an expertise in running away from the responsibilities of the real world and adulthood.

26. You surround yourself with people who don’t encourage you to push harder and aim higher.

27. You overthink and overanalyze everything and I do mean E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G.

28. You don’t see the value of seeking guidance even if you find yourself lost and confused in this world.

29. You don’t find motivation in what you’re doing on a daily basis.

30. You have become your own frenemy.