Giving up: the most underrated option to find happiness in life

Is giving up the key to happiness?
Is giving up the key to happiness?
Last updated:

We often look for new ways to fill up our lives when we want to be happier, wealthier or improve our lives in some way. Then we adopt new habits, learn new skills, or buy new clothes or books. 

The more familiar old things we surround ourselves with, it appears, the safer we feel.

Not any longer… Why not give up some of the things you already have instead of collecting and clinging to items that do nothing for your happiness?

Say farewell to what no longer serves you… Toss them in the breeze!

People say “never give up,” yet giving up is sometimes the greatest option because you know you’re wasting your time.

Don’t be surprised if the thought of giving up anything causes you to shake in your shoes. Many of us spend our lives clinging to and surrounding ourselves with useless clutter, which can take the form of old habits, mental processes, belief systems, relationships, anxieties, and so forth.

What clutter are you allowing to prevent you from living the life you deserve? Because, if you have any, it’s time to give it up for good.

Are you up for the task? Excellent… here we go!

Here are ten things you should give up starting today:

1) Give up on excuses

Excuses? Tell them where they should go! Looking back over your life, how many times do you believe excuses have been to fault for keeping you from doing what you most wanted to achieve?

Many of us are guilty of utilizing excuses on an almost daily basis; using them as a way to feel ‘secure’. Allow them to depart.

2) Need to Be Right? Give up

Yes, no one wants to be incorrect; this is an awful quality of the ‘ego,’ a trait that may cause great stress and even imperil relationships. All for the sake of being able to say, “I told you so!” It’s simply not worth it. So let it go.

The next time you feel the need for an argument, ask yourself, “Would I rather be right or do the right thing?”

The latter will amaze you with how much better it feels.

3) Giving up on the blame game

It is your life and your responsibility. It is your obligation to ensure your happiness. Give up the impulse to blame others for how you are or are not feeling, for what your life is or is not.

Doing so will allow you to reclaim your authority as the single maker of your life.

4) Give up on complaining

If you allow yourself to moan, you’ll always, always, always find something to complain about. So give up; no scenario, person, or event has the power to make you feel miserable unless you allow it to.

It’s all about perspective; the power of optimistic thought can never be underestimated.

5) Need for Control? Just give up

“If you desire true control, give up the illusion of control. Allow life to live you. It does in any case.” — Byron Katie

Choose to let go of your desire to exert control over everything that happens to you and around you. Let events, situations, people you care about, and outcomes be what they are.

Your attention is needed nowhere else than in the present moment, so simply focus on that and see how much better you feel for it.

Promise, the moment you stop trying to control everything in your life, it will all come together.

6) Give up the need to please others

You only have one life, so why not enjoy it to the fullest? Give up trying to please everyone. An real life is a happy life, so stop trying to impress others and start thinking about what you want.

7) Limiting beliefs? Give up

Who are you to decide what is and isn’t possible? You are an infinite creature; you determine the rules; make them BIG! Give go those limiting notions that have held you back for so long.

Give things up to make more place for bigger, bolder dreams.

8) Give up on labels

Do you ever classify things, people, or situations that you don’t understand as “strange” or “bad”? If so, it’s about time you stopped labeling yourself.

A closed mentality leads to a safe but sad life. Open your mind gradually, and who knows where it will lead you?

9) Give up on fear

‘The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,’ declared Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Fear is a symptom, the outcome of our upbringings, society, and the imposed experiences and belief systems of others. So let it go.

Stop allowing fear to keep you tiny when you’re capable of such incredible feats.

10) Slave of the past? Give up

It’s easier said than done, but letting go of the past can do wonders for your present and future happiness. While it may be easy to wish for happier days in the past, or even to mourn the unhappier times, doing so means you’re losing out on the only thing that matters in your life – the here and now.

So, stop allowing the past to overshadow what you have right now. Be present in the moment. Be content. Give up on the past and succumb to them today.

Now let me ask you: what are you willing to give up?

Final Words on Giving Up

The most important thing to take away from this is that giving up is not the same as failing. It is a prudent and wise choice, conserving energy for more important things. 

As you move forward in life, I hope your struggles will not discourage you. There will be times when you give up on tasks. There will be days when you will give up completely. However, when it comes to life, the grand and glorious arena of the world, you never give up. 

There you will find success by putting yourself into what you do for a living. Your many, many victories lie there.

How Do You Attract The Life You Love? Take Your 30-Second Quiz

Imagine you could say goodbye to missing out on your big dreams… And finally manifest all you always wanted in life.

Take this powerful 30-second test and learn how to rewire your mind and embrace a life of success filled with exciting possibilities (like thousands women and men have already).

If you have big dreams, you’ll love this test… Click here to Start

You may also like:

10 signs you’re talking too much (and wiser ways to share the floor with friends and partners)