People who succeed in almost everything they pursue usually leave behind these 8 things every December

by Lachlan Brown | May 13, 2026, 10:56 am

December has always been my favorite month for reflection. A few years back, I found myself sitting in a coffee shop in Melbourne, scribbling down everything that went wrong that year.

The list was embarrassingly long. Failed projects, broken habits, relationships that drained me, goals I never touched.

But then something clicked. Instead of making another list of resolutions I’d abandon by February, what if I focused on what to leave behind? What if success wasn’t about adding more to my plate, but clearing it?

That shift changed everything. Since then, every December, I’ve made it a ritual to identify what’s weighing me down and consciously let it go. And you know what? The most successful people I know do exactly the same thing.

They understand that carrying dead weight into a new year is like trying to run a marathon with a backpack full of rocks. You might make it, but why make it harder than it needs to be?

Here are the eight things that highly successful people deliberately leave behind every December.

1. The need to please everyone

This one took me years to figure out. Back when I started Hack Spirit, I tried to write content that would resonate with literally everyone.

The result? Generic articles that connected with no one.

The truth is, trying to please everyone is a guaranteed path to mediocrity. You water down your message, compromise your values, and exhaust yourself chasing impossible standards.

Successful people know that having critics means you’re actually standing for something. They’d rather be loved by a few and disliked by some than be forgettable to all.

Going forward, give yourself permission to disappoint people. Not out of spite, but out of self-respect. Your energy is finite, and the people who truly matter will respect you more for having boundaries.

2. Toxic productivity

Here’s something nobody tells you about success: it’s not about doing more. It’s about doing what matters.

I learned this the hard way after burning out in my late twenties. I was tracking every minute, optimizing every process, turning my life into a spreadsheet. Sure, I was productive. But I was also miserable.

Successful people understand that rest is not laziness. Breaks are not weakness. They leave behind the guilt that comes with not being “on” 24/7 and embrace strategic recovery as part of their success formula.

3. Yesterday’s identity

“But I’ve always been the person who…”

How many dreams die with those six words?

At the end of every year, successful people audit their identity. They ask themselves: Am I holding onto labels that no longer serve me? Am I defining myself by who I was instead of who I’m becoming?

Maybe you’ve always been “the reliable one” who never says no. Or “the creative type” who can’t do numbers. These stories we tell ourselves become invisible prisons.

I used to think of myself as someone who wasn’t a morning person. Then I had a daughter, and suddenly 5 AM became my most productive hour. Funny how quickly “unchangeable” traits can change when we stop clinging to them.

4. The comparison game

Social media has turned comparison into a full-time job. We’re constantly measuring our behind-the-scenes against everyone else’s highlight reel.

But here’s what successful people know: comparison is a creativity killer. When you’re busy watching what others are doing, you’re not focusing on your own path.

Every minute you spend scrolling through someone else’s achievements is a minute not spent creating your own. It’s mental energy diverted from innovation to imitation.

This December, unfollow accounts that make you feel inadequate. Delete apps that fuel comparison. Your only competition should be who you were yesterday.

5. Perfectionism disguised as high standards

Let me ask you something: How many projects are sitting unfinished because they’re not “perfect” yet?

Perfectionism is procrastination wearing a three-piece suit. It looks professional, even admirable, but it’s really just fear dressed up nicely.

Successful people have high standards, sure. But they also understand that done is better than perfect. They’d rather release something at 80% and improve it based on feedback than wait forever for an impossible 100%.

Identify where perfectionism is holding you hostage. Then give yourself a deadline and ship it, flaws and all.

6. Relationships that drain your energy

You know the ones I’m talking about. The friend who only calls when they need something. The colleague who dumps their negativity on you daily. The family member who makes you feel small.

We hold onto these relationships out of obligation, history, or guilt. But successful people understand that proximity to negative people is proximity to negative outcomes.

This doesn’t mean cutting everyone off dramatically. Sometimes it just means adjusting the volume. Turn down the energy vampires and turn up the energy givers.

7. The victim mentality

Nothing kills success faster than believing you’re powerless.

Yes, unfair things happen. Yes, some people have advantages you don’t. Yes, the system often sucks. All of these can be true while also acknowledging that you have agency in your life.

Successful people leave behind the story of “things happening to them” and embrace the narrative of “things happening for them.” They look for lessons in setbacks and opportunities in obstacles.

This shift isn’t about toxic positivity or pretending problems don’t exist. It’s about focusing on what you can control rather than lamenting what you can’t.

8. The fear of starting over

Here’s the paradox: the fear of starting over keeps us stuck in situations that aren’t working.

We cling to dead-end jobs because we’ve “invested so much time.” We stay in unfulfilling relationships because “starting over is too hard.” We stick with failing strategies because admitting failure feels like defeat.

But successful people see starting over as strategic, not shameful. They understand that pivoting isn’t giving up — it’s giving yourself a chance at something better.

In their year-end reflections, they ask themselves: What am I holding onto just because I’m afraid to begin again? Then they let it go.

Final words

As I sit down to reflect on another year, I’m already thinking about what I’ll leave behind this December.

Success isn’t about accumulation. It’s about subtraction. It’s about creating space for what matters by releasing what doesn’t.

Instead of adding more goals to your list, try removing more anchors from your life. Leave behind the mental clutter, the energy drains, the outdated stories you tell yourself.

Because the truth is, you already have everything you need to succeed. You just need to stop carrying what’s weighing you down.

What will you leave behind this year?

Lachlan Brown

Lachlan Brown is an entrepreneur and co-founder of Brown Brothers Media, a digital publishing network reaching tens of millions of readers monthly. He holds a Graduate Diploma of Psychological Studies from Deakin University, though his real education came afterward: a warehouse job shifting TVs, a stretch of anxiety in his mid-twenties, and the slow discovery that studying the mind is not the same as learning how to live well. He started experimenting with Buddhist principles during breaks at the warehouse and eventually began writing about what he was learning. That writing became Hack Spirit, a widely read personal development site, and his book Hidden Secrets of Buddhism became a bestseller. His work breaks down complex ideas into frameworks people can apply immediately, whether they are navigating a career change, a difficult relationship, or the gap between knowing what to do and actually doing it. Lachlan splits his time between Singapore and Saigon. He writes about high-performance routines, decision-making under pressure, digital innovation, and the intersection of Eastern philosophy with modern life. His perspective comes from having built things from scratch, failed at some of them, and learned that clarity comes from practice, not theory.