Two things you should stop doing today if you’re serious about success in 2017

At the start of a new year, many of us promise to pick up good habits, lead healthier lifestyles and kick bigger and bolder goals.

But on the road to success, it’s also important to drop certain behaviours that inhibit people with great ambition.

From removing toxic people from your life to giving up your need to control everything, entrepreneur Zdravko Cvijetic has outlined 13 things people should give up to pursue their dreams in a blog post on Medium.

Here are two habits you can give up today.

Drop your need to be liked

“Think of yourself as a market niche”, Cvijetic says.

Wanting to be liked can affect everything from securing deals to landing new opportunities and taking the leaps required to realise success.

Cvijetic says the desire to be liked over all else can make a person choose the ordinary.

“No matter what you do, you won’t make the entire market like you … The only thing you can do is to remain authentic, improve and provide value every day,” he says.

Stop saying “yes” to everything

Whether you were first inspired to do so after watching Yes Man or have a natural tendency to open your door to every one and everything, saying “yes” to every opportunity that comes your way may not be a sure-fire way of getting you to where you want to be.

In both business and personal life, Cvijetic recommends wisely choosing which tasks, activities and demands you can take on while considering what aligns with your longer term goals and purpose.

“In the short-term, you might sacrifice a bit of instant gratification, but when your goals come to fruition, it will all be worth it,” he says.

At the end of the day it will all boil down to this, says Cvijetic, referencing a quote by one anonymous author.

“Somebody once told me the definition of hell: On your last day on earth, the person you became will meet the person you could have become.”

Read the full list of negative habits here.

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