Do you often feel overwhelmed? Do you wonder if the pressure inside shouldn’t be there, that there’s more to life than jumping from one task to another and stressing over daily problems?

Truth is, you can easily live without all these negative emotions. What’s more, you can be freer than ever and even make room for contentment and peace. What you need to do is let go.

Letting go is all about removing anything unnecessary in your life – from worries and fears, to doubts and overthinking – so that you can practice mindfulness and live life to the fullest right here, in this moment.

Let’s start with identifying what exactly is causing the stress, unhappiness and pressure you live in, and see what you can do about it today.

Here are 4 such things you need to get rid of for a happier and simpler life:

1. Expectations

We expect way too much from life, other people and ourselves.

We create a vision in our mind of how things should be, be it events, our future, things that don’t depend on us, and other people’s reactions and behavior in general.

Then, when things turn out differently (which is inevitable because life is full of surprises and we can never really be sure about anything), we’re disappointed and feel so bad that we start blaming, being negative, ruining our whole day because of a small situation from daily life, etc.

Stop doing that to yourself. Let go of expectations, turn to acceptance instead. It’s the peaceful and definitely more logical approach to life.

Simply work on your goals, keep doing what you do but don’t focus on the future that much, don’t expect things to be in a certain way.

This way you’ll enjoy life much more, will be present and see progress.

2. Judgment.

Another thing to let go of is judging.

Comparing your life to the life of others is something people do unconsciously, but which leads to discontent with their current situation.

To stop doing that, look at things from another point of view. Realize that you’re an individual and your experiences, way of thinking, ideals and dreams can’t be compared to those of any other person.

It’s better if you stop being interested in what others are doing – as this way you eventually start judging them, become jealous, and focus too much on them although they may not actually be happy at all. Instead, take a closer look at who you are, where you’re headed and how to get there.

3. Regrets

Living in the past is an awful habit we share, which prevents us from being in the present moment and working on the things we believe in.

The past is part of you but it doesn’t need to define you. You are what you decide to do today and that shapes your future.

Let go of overthinking past situations, trying to figure out what went wrong, or feeling bad about them again. No need to go back to yesterday. The best you can do is learn from it, no matter what happened, and make sure you don’t let it happen again.

The past can be a great teacher, it gives you priceless experience and prepares you for the success that lies in store if you stay consistent.

Every time you fail, for instance, you learn what doesn’t work. That leaves you with less options as to what does, and you can move forward and try something new. Eventually, you’ll accomplish anything you want.

4. Comfort.

If you feel safe, do the same things every day, don’t track progress or analyze how you spend your time, if you just let things happen and have lazy habits, you’re living in the prison of your comfort zone.

It’s what feels familiar, what you know how to do and a way to feel like you’re in control and are doing something about your life.

Unfortunately, that’s an illusion.

You’re not productive, you’re just being busy. You don’t make a difference, you probably work a regular job and do what others are doing. You don’t feel content because you haven’t defined what you really want in life and aren’t working on specific goals.

But you can change that. It’s comfort that kills productivity, creativity and success. It doesn’t let you try new things and challenge yourself, it makes you fear failure and avoid change.

To let go of comfort and leave your comfort zone, just do what feels uncomfortable.

That may be a drastic thing like leaving your job and starting one in a new field, moving to another country and living like a local, doing things you’re afraid of, or else.

Seek discomfort and you’ll learn and grow all the time.

Start by learning how to let go of these 4 things, and they will lead to other beautiful transformations in different areas of your life.