Mistakes are the most natural thing in the world–and successful people know that . There is no success without a string of failures in its wake–and acknowledging that makes for a successful attitude. To be crushed by a mistake for a time is one thing–but letting it throw you off your path–or keep you from taking the right chances in the future–is entirely another. This sounds like a cliche, but mistakes are opportunities because they leave you a chance to learn from them. In every mistake, there is the chance for an autopsy that leads to the cause of failure–and helps you avoid the next one.

Often, your greatest obstacle is really just yourself. You might think that sounds crazy; why on earth would you ever try to sabotage yourself when all you want is to be successful? However, you’d be surprised at how many people inadvertently cultivate behaviours that stop their progress and interrupt their productivity. A key component of self-sabotage is the grave error of setting impossibly high goals which set you up for failure and confirm your bias about not being able to achieve what you want.

he idea isn’t, however, to have low goals, but to have realistic ones; ones you know you can actually achieve with effort. An examination of yourself and your own capabilities can prove really helpful to get rid of this attitude.

Who doesn’t love to be liked? But if your whole personality is geared toward making people like you, the odds are you’ll never be able to push past people’s expectations of you to live up to your own. Wanting to make people happy is nearly synonymous with being unable to say ‘no’, and that becomes your Achilles Heel when it comes to going after what you want. It’s also crucial to establish firm boundaries for yourself, or you’ll find that people will cross them without a second thought.

Bill Gates has already warned against the rot that sets in the minute you believe you have no growing left to do. Thinking you know everything is a guaranteed recipe for you to become irrelevant and outdated because you stop striving to improve yourself and your work. Nobody is (or should be) done learning; that includes you. Reading, conversing with people, and taking every chance to upskill; all of these contribute to growth; the skill most necessary for professional success.