7 toxic habits to quit today

These bad habits impact yourself and others more than you realize

7 toxic habits to quit today

“You’ll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.” — John C. Maxwell, an American author, speaker, and pastor

Most of us are not aware of our bad and good habits.

We live on autopilot. Our habits become automatic. We don’t think before we act.

If you want to succeed in life, your good habits must outweigh your bad habits.

If you think you have some toxic habits in your life, the good news is that you can unlearn them and change your negative tendencies.

We all have the power to change. All we need is the courage to change our bad habits. We can grow into the person we were meant to be.

Here are 7 of the top toxic habits that you must quit today. Let’s dive in.

1. Stop Comparing Yourself to Others

The only person you should compare yourself to is yourself. Please don’t compare yourself to others because they may be on chapter 30 while you are on chapter 3. When we compare, we feel inferior and less secure.

There’s only one you in the world. Your experiences, skills, and perspective are different than others. You can’t compare your success to other people’s success because everyone’s definition of success is different.

Concentrate on your strengths and focus on yourself.

What are you good at?
Where do you need to be challenged?
What do you need to do to become a better version of yourself?
The only comparison you should make is to compare yourself to yesterday. Are you 1% better and stronger than yesterday?

2. Letting Your Past Impact Your Present and Future

Many of us think we can’t escape from our past and are prisoners of what happened. Don’t let your past dictate your present and future. Your past is your past.

We all have had some bad past relationships. Don’t let your past influence what you do today and impact your future. Just because something terrible happened in the past doesn’t mean it will happen again.

Don’t let your past dominate your present and future.

Memories are powerful but don’t let them taint you. The past is done, and you must let it go. Forgive yourself or others. We all have regrets in life.

“Why let go of yesterday? Because yesterday has already let go of you.” — Steve Maraboli, a military veteran and philanthropist

When you replay your mistakes or can’t process the past, you can’t let your history go. Journal, talk with a therapist, or meditate. Find ways to let go so you can be happy.

You can’t change the past; you can only change the present. Live in the moment. Life is about the little moments, details, and conversations.

3. Not Taking Your Own Advice

Do you walk the walk after talking the talk? Do you follow through on what you say? Do you practice what you preach?

It can be easy not to follow your own advice. If you don’t follow up on what you said you would do, you are a “crying wolf.” You don’t want your words to be meaningless to others. Please stick to your promises and successfully deliver on them.

Don’t be a hypocrite.

Some people like to tell others how they should live their lives and don’t look at themselves in their mirror and see if they are following their own advice.

4. Expecting the Worst

Do you think about the things you don’t want to happen? Do you hope you won’t get stuck in traffic or miss a critical moment in life?

It can be common to think about the worst and what you don’t want. Instead of thinking about the worst, think about the good. Don’t think about what can go wrong but what can go right.

Imagining the worst-case scenario instead of the best-case scenario is all too common. We like to plan for the worst and don’t want to get our hopes up. We like to psych ourselves out and make mistakes.

Visualize what you want and tell yourself short, positive lines that train your brain to think about the positive instead of the negative. If thoughts manifest reality, you want to have positive outcomes, not bad ones.

5. Not Taking Chances

It can be easy to fall into your comfort zone. Life is not about the comfort zone. It’s about the highs and lows.

Life can sometimes get too routine. It can be easy to play it safe. Occasionally, we must create opportunities using good judgment.

The biggest risk in life is not to take one.

Don’t let the fear of the unknown hold you back from experiences. Start a new project at work, strike up a new conversation with someone you don’t know, and start a new business or side hustle from scratch.

You must get comfortable being uncomfortable.

Don’t let uncertainty stop you from living each day to the fullest. Don’t let life pass you by and regret that you didn’t do something later in life. Life is about the awe-inspiring moments of wonder that take your breath away.

It’s all about looking fear in the face and being ready to tackle each day, knowing that life is about the high and lows.

6. Not Sharpening Your Saw

Don’t ignore self-care because it is essential to your success. Don’t have a crazy lifestyle or get too busy that you forget to take care of your body, mind, and spirit.

To ensure you are taking care of yourself, focus on your diet, get a good night’s sleep, drink enough water, and exercise. Make sure you get fresh air and sunlight. Find effective stress management techniques, do stuff you enjoy, and build deep relationships with your family, friends, and colleagues.

Make sure you concentrate on yourself and don’t let things in your life get in the way of taking care of yourself. Your happiness matters, and don’t work yourself so hard that you get to the point where you are burned out at work.

7. Being Too Hard on Yourself

It can be easy to be hard on ourselves. We like to focus on our weaknesses over our strengths. We want to identify and obsess with our flaws and mistakes.

Don’t think about your shortcomings but see the positive in every experience. Don’t take things in your life for granted. Celebrate your wins and find ways to laugh.

Give yourself a little love, and don’t think about your flaws. Let go of your perfection and accept yourself for who you are. It’s okay to mess up occasionally, so it’s time to give yourself a break and be nicer to yourself.

Bringing It All Together

There are seven toxic habits that you should quit today. Stop comparing yourself to others, letting your past impact your present and future, not taking your own advice, expecting the worst, not taking chances, not sharpening your saw, and being too hard on yourself.

Bad habits impact yourself and others more than you realize. If you think you have some toxic habits in your life, don’t feel bad because no one is perfect but make sure you avoid them.

Don’t ignore your toxic habits; change them.

Make sure you focus on realizing your toxic habits because they impact yourself, your relationships, and your successes in your personal and professional life more than you think. You can’t change who you are today, but you can change who you are tomorrow.

“We are our own potters; for our habits make us, and we make our habits.” — Frederick Langbridge, an author

CONTRIBUTED BY Matthew Royse

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