Bad Habits
We humans have more bad habits than I could list, but there
are a few that really can get in our way. Of course it helps
to have good habits, and I'll cover that in other issues, but
if we could just eliminate most of our bad habits, think how
much better life would be. Well, we can do a lot to change our
habits, and the first thing is to be aware of them. With that
in mind, here are some to watch for.
Bad Habits that Sabotage Our Lives
1. Blaming others. If a friend tempts you to eat that cake,
it may be fair to say it's their fault you fell off your diet.
Pointing at them sure doesn't motivate you to get back on the
diet, though. It's also very difficult to look for what you can
do differently when you are busy blaming others for the setbacks
in your life.
2. Short-term thinking. When parents give their children candy
to quiet them, they're teaching their kids to whine and cry for
rewards, and they suffer the consequences of their short-term
thinking. We do the same with ourselves when we take our "candy,"
without looking at the whole picture. I'm sure you can see how
debt problems, wrecked relationships, unhealthy bodies, and more
result from this.
3. Letting fear make decisions. Acting from fear is a sure
way to sabotage your self-growth. Johnny Carson had stage-fright
every night before he went on the air, but stepped out there
anyhow, and enjoyed doing the Tonight Show for decades. Fear
is just a feeling. Choosing not to act in the face of fear -
that is one of our worst bad habits.
4. Procrastination. Maybe you should keep this habit. Just
stop applying it to things you need to do, and apply it to picking
up that cigarette, eating that cake, or getting into that argument.
5. Waiting for opportunity to knock. This is one of the saddest
forms of procrastination. Don't we all know people who are "waiting
for their ship to come in," while others are out there building
ships? Work invites opportunities - waiting doesn't. See the
last issue for more on this.
6. Laziness. It's easy to see the consequences of this bad
habit anywhere it shows up in life, but tough to say where it
comes from. Of course it's true that some have more natural energy
than others, but then making excuses - even good ones - is another
of our bad habits.
7. Acting on impulse. I met a guy at the bus stop this week
who within five minutes mentioned that he had bought a $200 hat
and that he was hoping they would approve his welfare application.
Do you think he might have a problem with impulse control?
I'll have tips on how to correct bad habits in future issues.
If you are one of the lucky ones without bad habits, congratulations!
Oh, and number 8 is self-deception.
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