How much are you ready to give up to reach the next level?

In order to move forth, something must be left behind! Isn't this a thought that crosses your worried mind more often than not?

There’s one thing you need to know if you want to be successful – your skills, knowledge, passion and desire are not enough to achieve your goals. If you really want to be successful, you must learn to give up, and this is not something that comes naturally to us. It might take years of practice, self-doubt, failure and heartbreak for you to learn the art of giving up so you can add something new to your life. And, the only person who can determine whether or not it’s worthwhile is YOU.

Success is not easy

As long as anyone of us can remember, we have been taught to work hard to be successful. From our teachers to our parents and even our first mentor, everyone that we can recall of convinced us that success is not a piece of cake. It is not easy. It demands sacrifice and discipline. You can find a plethora of biographies and stories of successful people that validate this teaching.

One thing about success is that it is never convenient. If you want to earn a luxurious life, you might have to sacrifice the time spent with your family. If you want to travel places, you might have to sacrifice being close to your friends and relatives. Likewise, if you want to get a ripped body, you will have to sacrifice indulging in your favourite foods. There is always something that you lose, regardless of your goal. The bottom line is that if you are willing to sacrifice your comfort, convenience and need to achieve your goal, consider it half the battle won! Ask the right questions, make the hard decisions and take the leap when you think the time is right.

What, and how much, are you willing to give up?

One half of knowing what you want is knowing what you must give up before you get it. – Sidney Howard, American playwright

Do you think spending some time with your family on a festive night is more important than a meeting that can turn the tables for you overnight? You may have to give up on the quality time spent with family, on your favourite television shows, and you might never get this time back. Some moments are hard to recreate. Some life instances never happen twice. Do you think you are willing to sacrifice it all? Apart from these, some goals might even demand you to sacrifice your sleep, fitness and peace of mind. Do you think you can live without having your peaceful sleep?

It’s all about determining your abilities and making yourself comfortable with being uncomfortable. If you want to achieve success, you have to learn the fact that life begins when you start being comfortable about stepping out of your comfort zone. You might even have to change your morals, principles and adopt new ones to be able to achieve what you are working for. Believing in yourself and your capabilities is the mantra to be successful, but preparing yourself for the changes that may follow is the root to maintain the success.

Chances are that you’ve already become comfortable with your business and life. Comfort is an easy thing to slip into without realising it. The more comfortable you feel, the less open you become to changes. A closed mind is a recipe for failure. So, if you really want to maintain the success you have achieved, you have to push yourself to any extent possible.

Many times, people say that they can’t give up or live without X or Y. They say that it’s simply unreasonable to do so. This is a real life situation and that’s why it makes you unreasonable. Were you born with the things you can’t give up now? Will those things or people matter 10 years from now? May be or maybe not. But one thing that will matter is how successful you are.

It is worth remembering that success had never ever favoured those who were reasonable. Living a convenient and comfortable life creates resistance to success. You have to get out of your comfort zone, build mental strength, give up a thing or two and pursue what you truly feel for.

It’s against human nature to give something up. We fight hard every day to keep from losing something or someone. That’s the cycle of life, and now is the right time to break that pattern. So, what are you willing to give up or commit to accomplish your dreams?