You’ve definitely heard the saying that you’re your own worst enemy. This saying can apply to just about every aspect of life. As human beings, we’re very good at sabotaging our own efforts to find a meaningful relationship, excel at our jobs and be successful.
Many toxic habits and behaviors could be keeping you from realizing your full potential.
Addressing all of those can be challenging but taking the process one step at a time will deliver actual, noticeable improvements.
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1. Setting the Wrong Goals
You’re not going to be productive if you are setting the wrong goals.
Many people focus on the wrong things – everyday microtasks or distractions that are keeping them from tackling the real project.
Take some time to think about what you’re focusing your efforts on. Is it meaningful? Will it help you move forward in your job, personal life or relationship? Will it have a sensible impact on your life? These are the goals you should be focusing on. Other, smaller and less important projects can be postponed or forgotten altogether.
2. Getting Distracted by Everyday Things
How much time do you spend on Facebook each day?
The latest study shows that the average user today is spending two hours and 22 minutes per day on social media.
Is this time enriching you? Is it giving you something meaningful or are you just wasting your most precious resource?
Control distractions by putting together a clean and minimal work environment. Relying on productivity tools is another great choice if you’re finding it impossible to handle the distractions on your own.
3. Being a Workaholic
You may think that spending all of your time at the office is the way to achieve your career goals. This isn’t the case.
Numerous studies have already confirmed the fact that long hours at the office don’t make you more productive.
Set a daily goal in terms of personal happiness and spending quality time with friends and loved ones. Exercise, eat the right foods, go outside and enjoy the sunshine. Balanced living is the number one way to achieve your professional (and your personal) goals.
4. Always Saying Yes
Do you find it impossible to turn down people who are asking you for a favor? Guess what, you’re only harming yourself when you can’t refuse on someone’s wish.
The inability to say no will eventually get you so burdened that you’ll find it impossible to thrive and deliver optimal performance.
Learn to set healthy boundaries. Do help others if you have the time for it. If you don’t, you will have to master the art of declining help requests politely.
5. An All or Nothing Approach
While some may think that perfectionism is a good thing, it really isn’t in the grand scheme of things.
An all or nothing approach prevents you from meeting your goals, even if the outcome isn’t up to your own requirements.
Let go of perfectionism and celebrate successes (even if you’ve envisioned something different). You’ll soon find yourself much more capable of relaxing and appreciating your own accomplishments.
6. Under-Sleeping
Chronic under-sleeping is common in this day and age but it’s a serious issue you need to address right now.
Research shows that you need to let your body rest in order to maintain a high productivity level. People who sleep at least 7.5 hours each night report feeling much happier and more productive than those who sleep less than six hours per night.
7. Allowing Negative Thoughts and Limiting Ideas in Your Life
“I can’t do it.”
“I’m not good enough to complete the project on my own.”
How often do you tell yourself you can’t do something, you don’t have the skills or the knowledge to make a change in your life happen?
Negative self-talk is something that most of us share. Regardless of this fact, it’s detrimental and it needs to be nipped in the bud.
Limiting beliefs limit your potential. Start focusing on the things you can do, the activities you’re good at. A conscious shift towards positive thinking will also impact your actions and your self-image. Once the confidence gets established, you’ll be unstoppable.
8. Drinking Too Much Coffee
While caffeine can boost your energy, excessive reliance on caffeinated beverages is a toxic little habit you need to address.
Caffeinated beverages are dehydrating. If you don’t drink enough water, you’ll feel sluggish and you’ll quickly lose focus. Getting in more H2O and bringing down the caffeine level can change that. Start with slow changes – if you drink four espressos per day, eliminate one of those. Switch one of your coffees for green tea and you’ll soon notice the difference.
9. Comparing Yourself to Others
The fact that someone has accomplished a milestone in five days (or they say so) does not mean you need to deliver in the exact same amount of time.
Comparing yourself to others makes you focus on the wrong things. All of us have specific abilities and work methods. Think about what you could do to optimize your overall process, rather than what would enable you to achieve the exact same results as a colleague or a friend.
10. Judging Others
Judging others is the final toxic habit that’s keeping you from achieving your goals.
That’s right, an outward focus on another human being is standing in the way of your success.
What are you accomplishing by judging someone rich and thinking about what they’ve done to get where they are in life? Why do you need to wonder about poor people and whether they’re lazy?
You are taking attention away from the things that matter – your abilities and your goals.
Live and let live. Everyone has their cross to bear. Focus on yourself and celebrate the accomplishments of others. Maintain a positive mindset and deal with your work-life balance. These are the biggest essentials you need to master today. If you accomplish these goals, there will be nothing holding you back.
All or nothing is the approach that really prevents me from working and possibly achieving something. But I don’t know how to overcome that thinking. Because it’s hard for me to start doing something if I know that I won’t get exactly the results I want.
I guess there are other reasons on this list that get in the way, but those are not so obvious to me.