Habits are intrinsical parts of our day to day life. Getting coffee and showering at night instead of the morning, watching the news before bed-time. It’s all too common and these small actions we have gotten used to incorporating to our life, through constant repetition, until we don’t even think about it before actually doing it.
But what would happen if these habits are not positive or even inconsequential, but rather harmful to our success? Then it’s time to take a look at your routine and consider if those bad habits are really worth the harm they do.
In this article, I’ll discuss the 7 most common bad habits most of us incorporate into our routine, how harmful they can prove to us achieving true success, and how to avoid them all together till they are out of our lives.
Here are 7 common bad habits that keep you from achieving success. Enjoy!
1. Keeping toxic people in your life
Number one of the most common bad habits we all have is keeping toxic people around us. At first, they don’t seem so bad. You enjoy their company, and perhaps they are family members. Perhaps they weren’t this way when you first met them. We understand, but little by little, these people are draining the positive energy out of your life and it can be highly prejudicial to you in the long run.
It can even be someone you can’t avoid, like your boss, a coworker or your mother in law. The important thing is to stop making excuses for them and try to limit the influence they have in your life if you can’t push them away altogether.
Try to surround yourself with people who are more confident and positive, and set boundaries with toxic people in your life.
2. Drinking, smoking, and overeating
Another example of common bad habits is living an unhealthy lifestyle. We don’t need to tell you engaging in heavy drinking and overeating is bad for your health, and we are all well-aware that smoking greatly harms us. These are not easy habits to let go of, but you should consider why you began engaging in them in the first place and what void you are trying to fill with them.
If it’s anxiety that pushes you to eat unhealthy foods in greater than recommended doses or to smoke, it would be better to find someone to speak to about it. Solving the root of your issues will help you move past these unhealthy habits.
It’s not about having a supermodel body, but rather feeling and being healthier. It doesn’t matter if you have a few pounds more than you’d like, but it’s important you begin taking care of your body to feel better and thus, be more productive.
3. Procrastinating
I’ll get to it tomorrow’
How many times have you heard yourself say this? But tomorrow, you’ll probably repeat that, since it’s now today and you’ll keep pushing it forward over and over until you absolutely have no choice but to get to it.
If something can be done today, don’t push it forward any further. Why start your diet on Monday when you can start it all the same that very day? It’s just a mechanism to try and avoid making an effort and wishfully hoping your future self will have the motivation you are lacking today. This article explains why you should stop procrastinating and get shit done 3x
4. Believing you already know the answer to everything
You should always be open to learning and growing. Once you lose your sense of curiosity and think you know everything, that’s when you close up to new possibilities. To be successful, you need to keep adapting to change and be open to learning new skills.
Don’t let hubris blind you! It’s wise to talk less and listen more, and don’t be afraid or embarrassed to ask questions.
In the same line, you should never quit reading. You have so much to learn from people who lived before you. Reading and opening yourself to new experiences is the cornerstone of learning and growing.
Read Similar Article: 18 destructive Habits holding you back from achieving success
5. Blaming others for your own mistakes
It’s natural to try to avoid blame: Our own pride will always turn a blind eye to our own shortcomings. However, it’s important to avoid making excuses for ourselves, and instead look back at the mistakes we made and actually learn from them.
When you stop being worried about who’s to blame and begin searching for the lesson you can take from the error, you can think more clearly and turn a bad situation into a possibility for growth and self-improvement.
6. Being afraid of criticism
It’s impossible to please everyone, as hard as you might try.
We are not saying you should ignore people’s advice or criticism, as it’s a valuable tool to grow and improve. But there’s a difference between being open to change and expecting to please everyone in your life, both personal and professional.
You can’t make everyone happy, so try to take advice into account but also focus on your inner dialogue and your convictions. In the end, make sure you are comfortable with the decisions you make, and if someone doesn’t like it, understand this is a part of life as well and you can’t change everyone’s mind.
7. Waiting for the right time, right place, right everything to arrive
Finally, there will never be the perfect time for you to make a move. You will never have enough money, enough time, enough investors, enough experience. It’s plain impossible because life is messy and there are too many factors that are in play at any given moment.
Accept that you’ll make mistakes along the way, and learn from them. Don’t be paralyzed by the need to control everything, every second of every day. If you never take a leap, you will never have the chance to actually become a success.
Wrapping up
What part of this article resonated most with you and why? What are those bad habits hindering your success that you would love to change? Share your ideas, tips, thoughts, and experience below in the comments.
Let me know what you think by sharing your thoughts in the comments below, or if you have any questions or feedback, please ask away. I’m always reading the comments. I hope you found some value in it. Also, if this article was helpful to you, by all means, please share this post with your friends and family. If it has helped you, it will do for others too. Share the positivity and greatness!
