Jelena Dincic
Do you feel like you’re stuck in a rut?
Does it feel like all your friends are doing stuff with their lives while you can’t seem to make any progress?
Well then, you’ve come to the right place!
In this article, I’m gonna tell you which habits you should kick so that you don’t get left behind.
Let’s get right to it:
1) Procrastination
Look, I know that we all fall prey to procrastination from time to time, especially when the task in question is difficult or something we’d rather not do, however, it’s a pretty nasty habit.
Now, if you’re serious about making progress, then you really need to stop putting things off.
Make a TO DO list and enjoy the satisfaction of checking off each item once you’ve done it.
Go on, give it a go.
2) Negative self-talk
This is a terrible habit!
Negative self-talk is when you’re being overly critical of yourself and constantly doubting your abilities.
For example, maybe your dream is to start your own business, but every time you think about making your dream a reality, you tell yourself, “Don’t be stupid. You’re not cut out for something like that. You should just stay where you are and be happy you have a job.”
If this sounds familiar, then I totally get why you’re not making any progress – because you’re not letting yourself, that’s why.
So what can you do?
Replace all that negative talk with positive affirmations.
Here are some examples:
- “I have the know-how and the experience to run my own business.”
- “I need to give this a shot, there’s nothing to lose and everything to gain.”
- “I’ve got this.”
3) Lack of goal-setting
If you think about it, you can’t really move forward in life if you don’t know where you’re moving forward to.
The solution is fairly straightforward – set clear and achievable objectives.
Ask yourself what’s most important to you.
- Is it to travel?
- Is it to build a career?
- Is it to find love and start a family?
- Or is it all of the above?
By figuring out what you care about the most, you’ll be able to set yourself some goals and finally start making progress.
4) Fear of failure
The truth is that I know all too well about the fear of failure.
I spent years of my life too scared to try doing anything significant lest I should fail.
And the result?
Years wasted.
Instead of allowing fear to hold you back, accept the possibility of failure and try anyway.
I wish I could tell my younger self how I feel now – that failure isn’t the end of the world and it’s actually a great learning opportunity.
Also, the only way to get what you want is to take a risk, after all, who knows? Things may just go your way.
5) Multitasking
It turns out that multitasking is actually impossible.
When people think that they’re multitasking, what they’re actually doing is dividing their focus and actually being less productive.
So, if you want to make progress, try and focus on one task at a time and give it your full attention.
6) Excessive social media usage
I’m starting to see more and more negative aspects of social media.
For example, how many hours a day do you spend on social media? I’m too scared to do the math myself.
Just think about all that time wasted on scrolling and clicking and looking at what others are doing and comparing yourself to them. Surely that time could be put to better use.
How about you limit your social media usage to an hour a day? Or how about you only do it when you’re stuck on a bus or find yourself in a situation where you have nothing better to do?
7) Lack of self-discipline
Here’s the thing: Making progress isn’t always going to be a piece of cake. Sometimes you’re going to be tempted to give up.
But you need to learn to have a bit more self-discipline.
Don’t let yourself off the hook that easily, put in the hard work and stay committed to your goals.
Trust me, it’s worth it in the end.
8) Seeking validation from others
While getting input from others is important and of course approval from your peers is something to be desired, it often gets in the way of progress.
People get caught up wondering what others think and worrying about getting their approval that they forget to trust their own judgment.
You need to stop caring so much about what others think and start listening to your gut more often. Do this and you’ll start seeing progress soon.
9) Being a perfectionist
Here’s the thing: Getting caught up in minute details and never feeling satisfied is one of the easiest ways of getting stuck.
If you want to move forward you need to accept the fact that there is no such thing as “perfection” and that when you get good results you should be happy and move on to the next challenge instead of trying to achieve the impossible.
Does that make sense to you? Can you try and let go of the idea of perfection?
10) Complaining excessively
To be honest, I can’t stand people who constantly complain without doing anything about it.
I mean, how do you expect to make progress if all you do is focus on all the problems in your life instead of trying to find a solution to make them go away?
Sure it sucks and no it’s not fair, but how is focusing on the negative useful?
You need to try to find a solution as well as to focus on the positive things in your life, otherwise, you won’t be able to get out of this rut.
11) Constantly comparing yourself to others
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – people, stop comparing yourselves to others!
We’re all different. We all have our strengths and weaknesses.
We can’t all excel at everything. Maybe you’re looking at someone you know and thinking, “Wow, they’ve got it all figured out” but trust me, they don’t.
Stop checking out other people’s social media and comparing your life to theirs because all you’re doing is wasting time and making yourself feel bad.
Focus on your life and what you can do to achieve the goals you’ve set for yourself.
12) Avoiding learning opportunities
I’m a firm believer in lifelong learning.
If you want to progress in life, you have to stop thinking you know it all because trust me, you really don’t.
Instead, be open to learning new things.
Once you embrace learning, not only will you acquire new skills and knowledge, but you will open many new doors and transform your life for the better.
Learning equals self-improvement and development and that my friend is progress.
13) Lack of gratitude
Sometimes we get stuck thinking about everything that we don’t have or everything that’s not good in our lives.
And guess what – that usually stops us from moving forward.
You see, negative thoughts can be so consuming and overwhelming that they stop a person from trying new things.
If this sounds familiar, why not try a different approach,
Focus on all the good things in your life. Think about everything that you do have and that has gone your way.
In other words, cultivate gratitude.
Once you do this, you will wake up the hope and enthusiasm that’s buried deep in you and that will give you the push you need to make progress in life.
Conclusion
And there you have it, 13 bad habits to say goodbye to if you want to move forward and make progress in life.
The ball is in your court now.
