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Possibly you’ve stopped paying attention. Or possibly you’ve fallen into bad habits. Or possibly you’ve grown complacent.

Here are nine things remarkably successful people never do:

1. They never let the past dictate their future.

We all have limitations. We all have challenges. We all make mistakes. The key is to not be constrained by those things but to learn from them.

2. They never gossip.

It’s hard to resist the inside scoop. Finding out the reasons behind someone’s decisions, the motivations behind someone’s actions, the skinny behind someone’s hidden agenda–much less whether Hugo is really dating Jeanette in accounting–those conversations are hard to resist.

3. They never say “yes” when they really mean “no.”

Refusing a request from colleagues, customers, or even friends is really hard. But rarely does saying no go over as badly as you expect. Most people will understand, and if they don’t, should you care too much about what they think?

4. They never interrupt.

When you interrupt someone, what you’re really saying is, “I’m not thinking about what you are saying. I’m thinking about what I want to say … and what I want to say is so important you need to hear it now.”

5. They’re never late (without an incredibly good reason).

I know. You’re overwhelmed. So you’re always running behind. It stresses you out like crazy.

And it makes other people resent you like crazy. Whenever you’re late, other people rightly assume you feel your time is more important than theirs. (Which, of course, kills your chance of building an outstanding personal or professional relationship.)

6. They never resent.

Take it from Nelson Mandela: “Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.”

7. They never decide they don’t have the time.

Everyone knows someone who just seems to get a lot more done than other people. It’s the craziest thing. How do these folks do it? They must have no life, right?

8. They never fit in (just to fit in).

Though entire industries are based on making us think otherwise, no one actually likes us for the clothes we wear, the car we drive, or the house we live in. No one likes us for our titles, either.

9. They’re never afraid to do the things that matter.

“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” is true, but in some ways a better quote might be, “The only thing we have to fear is ourselves.”

by Jeff Haden

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