15 Things You Should Give Up To Be Happy An Inspiring Guide To Discovering Effortless Joy Luminita D. Saviuc Vishen Lakhiani Tarcher Perigee 2016

To Danny and Lecsy PERIGEE An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014 Copyright © 2016 by Luminita Daniela Saviuc Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin to continue to publish books for every reader. eBook ISBN 978-0-698-18273-8 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA Saviuc, Luminita D., author. 15 things you should give up to be happy : an inspiring guide to discovering effortless joy / Luminita D. Saviuc ; foreword by Vishen Lakhiani. — First edition. pages cm ISBN 978-0-399-17282-3 (paperback) 1. Happiness. 2. Conduct of life. I. Title. II. Title: Fifteen things you should give up to be happy. BJ1481.S325 2016 152.4'2—dc23 2015032168 First edition: March 2016 Cover design by Nellys Liang While the author has made every effort to provide accurate telephone numbers and Internet addresses at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor the author assumes any responsibility for errors, or for changes that occur after publication. Further, publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content. Some names and identifying characteristics have been changed to protect the privacy of the individuals involved. Version_1 CONTENTS Title Page Dedication Copyright Foreword by Vishen Lakhiani Introduction Chapter 1: Give Up the Past Chapter 2: Give Up Your Fears Chapter 3: Give Up Your Limiting Beliefs Chapter 4: Give Up Your Excuses Chapter 5: Give Up Your Resistance to Change Chapter 6: Give Up Blaming Chapter 7: Give Up Complaining Chapter 8: Give Up the Luxury of Criticism Chapter 9: Give Up Living Your Life According to Other People’s Expectations Chapter 10: Give Up Your Self-Defeating Self-Talk Chapter 11: Give Up Control Chapter 12: Give Up the Need to Always Be Right Chapter 13: Give Up the Need to Impress Others Chapter 14: Give Up Labels Chapter 15: Give Up Attachment Final Note Acknowledgments Further Reading About the Author FOREWORD When I first met Luminita, she had just arrived in Malaysia for a career change, to begin a new role with my education company, Mindvalley. I never could have guessed just what an impact she would soon have on my learning and growth, and on the millions of lives she would later touch through her writing. I didn’t realize then that she is a powerhouse—a powerhouse who overcame painful and traumatic circumstances, yet emerged a beacon of light. Even in those early days, though, the signs were evident. It was clear to everyone how much she genuinely cared about helping people. Luminita often received amazing words of gratitude from our students for her thoughtful and comforting responses. For an organization that primarily focuses on empowering others with transformational education, this was a valuable trait. But that was only the beginning. One of the things I will always admire about Luminita is how avid a student she is. Often, on her breaks in the office, I’d see her studying the work of authors such as Wayne Dyer, Lao Tzu, and Louise Hay, just to name a few, then later sharing what she had learned with others around her, and through her blog, in deceptively simple yet powerful ways that uplifted them, and changed their lives. At one point she even started a coaching group at Mindvalley, drawing wisdom from the Tao Te C