While many people believe they are doomed to their destiny or their behavior, I choose to believe that I can control them.

The reason is very simple: I used to believe I was slave to my destiny, my feelings, thoughts and emotions like many others. However, one day I decided to take control of my life. I study why certain people are so successful and others simply are not. I found out that successful people have characteristics they have developed throughout their lives. They are not born with them. They develop them. Remember that success has been defined as the ability to overcome any challenge. And we find challenges every day in life.

We all face challenges that are out of our control, and many of us believe that we are incapable of overcoming such challenges because we have been taught that way. Nevertheless, I believe that you have the ability to overcome any challenge. Therefore, I have made a summary of some characteristics you can work on to help you feel more confident and successful at any task:

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1. The brave face challenges even if the challenges look intimidating.

2. The strong have integrity in difficult moments in life.

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3. The diligent practice over and over again to defeat negative habits.

4. The seeker wants to learn more. Seekers ask questions and research issues that concern themselves.

5. The responsible know their results are of their own decisions.

6. The spiritual like to meditate or build a reflective time in their lives.

7. The active exercise and avoid being lazy and other destructive behaviors.

8. The assertive resist negative habits and temptations. They make their own decisions and don’t let others decide for them.

9. The optimistic see the positive side to things. They trust themselves and are happy.

10. The adaptable are resilient and cheerfully deal with unexpected situations. They are flexible.

Now if you think about it, the antonyms are coward, weak, lazy, loser, irresponsible, material, inert, nervous, pessimistic and unadaptable.

I believe you are smart, and you choose to work on becoming better and developing good qualities like I do. They set you apart from the masses, people take you and your actions into consideration more often, you have more opportunities and you can succeed at any difficult task.

Don’t wait until destiny makes it easy for you, because it’s not going to happen, and if it happens, you will lose the spot because you have not developed the characteristic needed to overcome challenges and maintain. Be better than that: Work on your success every day and make things happen because you decide you want them to happen. If you do, your success is inevitable.

Work on each one of these positive characteristics every day, and take control of your life. Be the owner of your destiny. Create your own path to success, and become the leader that you always wanted to become.

Your life will become easy not because it got easier but because you got stronger.

Sandro Torres is owner of Custom Body Fitness in Carbondale and Glenwood Springs and author of the book “Lose Weight Permanently.” His column appears on the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month in Body & More.