Originally written in 2011, substantial edits in 2023

Minding your own business . . . includes avoiding eavesdropping, gossiping, talking behind other people’s backs, and analyzing or trying to figure out other people.

– Richard Carlson

We stay engaged in numerous activities that on the one hand are at best not contributing to our success and at worst, detrimental to our success while on the other hand, also consume a substantial proportion of our important time. We should be aware of these activities and take a conscious step to avoid them. These activities pop into our daily schedule so often that they end up becoming our habits and no matter how hard we try, we keep getting entangled into them again and again. Why is it so? Because the majority of the people engage in such stuff, we find ourselves surrounded by them and feel that it’s the norm. And this majority is the unsuccessful majority. By definition, the majority are unsuccessful. But we don’t want to be one among the majority, the majority that is unsuccessful. We want to be better; nay, best; nay, we ought to be great. And to be great, we got to avoid certain things that consume not only our time, but also our mentality, positive thinking, and ultimately our character.

The list below is just a sample. You can expand this list as necessary. All those things that are against your basic values, your ethics, and those that take up your time, mind, and energy without providing you growth in return should appear on this list. And you have got to avoid them. I agree that avoiding them is not an easy task. And they have a tendency to creep into our actions unknowingly. So, this has to be our conscious effort. Make it a matter of rule that you consciously avoid gatherings where these things are involved, consciously avoid people who have these habits, and consciously try to replace these thoughts with some other positive thoughts if you find them creeping into your mind in your solitude.

Below is just a list of my own. You can edit and add to this list to make a list of your own. My list of things to consciously avoid include: