Are You Comfortable with Your Bad Habits?
We all have areas of our lives where we can improve. If you are worried that your bad habits are sabotaging your personal life or professional performance, fear not: many leaders and entrepreneurs have struggled with and overcome habits just like yours.
While we each form our habits for a reason, once they no longer serve us, we owe it to ourselves to shed our old ways and adapt to our new goals. Common habits that seem beneficial but often become more harmful than helpful include:
Giving into That Doubting Voice: Self-doubt is one of the most common barriers to success. While fear is normal, it can prevent you from taking necessary leaps. When you begin to hear doubt creep into your mind, don’t let it take the wheel. Think about your past accomplishments. With practice, you can learn to identify when your doubts are valid and when you should kick your fears to the curb. If you are someone who struggles with doubt, surround yourself with positive people. A supportive mentor can help you learn how to identify and work past them in the future.
Our Belief We Should Multitask: Your brain is not wired to do more than one task at a time well. No matter how quick or experienced you are, you should give each task your full, undivided attention. Multitasking can increase the risk of mistakes, forgetfulness, inefficiency, headaches, and more stress overall.
A Fear of Challenges: If a task seems overwhelming or stressful for you, try to break it into smaller, more doable steps. If these smaller steps still seem painful or impossible, you may want to reach out to someone with a different set of expertise who can assist you. Teamwork enables us to tackle our problems from new ways and helps us learn how to face these issues in the future.
Our Busy Social Schedules: While it is important to give and receive love from our friends and family, it is also important to set time for our personal and professional goals. If your social obligations feel emotionally or financially stressful, it is okay to re-assess how often you dine out or indulge in expensive experiences. This does not mean, of course, you will have to drastically reduce time with your friends! Consider adjusting your hangouts to smaller group gatherings and sharing homemade food in familiar settings instead. Thankfully, today’s digital technologies make keeping in touch with our loved ones easier than ever!
The Desire for Instant Gratification: While it can feel gratifying to solve problems quickly, enjoy immediate success, or cross the finish line first, remember: most things in life will take time . . . and perseverance! The best solutions are rarely found on the first try. When we rush, we make mistakes and miss the opportunity to find better solutions. We also set ourselves up to be disappointed when we establish unrealistic timelines for ourselves. Set a goal to approach your tasks, one step at a time.
Never stop improving. Learn more about the value of continual growth at the Syncis Money Blog.
