5 habits that can destroy your life
1. TAKING EVERYTHING LITERALLY
There is a famous concept that can be found in almost all self-help books or motivational speeches, “Your thoughts attract your reality. Therefore, If you want to get something, you need to think about them in your mind all day and night.”
Rhonda Byrne’s famous book ‘Secret’ delves into this concept very much and argues that our thoughts work like a magnet that can attract anything. Now, Some of us have the habits to take these words literally and misunderstanding them. They spend their entire days and nights only thinking about what they want or what to become in life. But, they don’t do anything to get them. This is what we called “Wishful Thinking”. It is like wanting a water bottle from the fridge next to the couch; however, not taking any step to reach there. Nothing happens unless you have a Harry Potter magical wand.
Crux — Actions are as important as Wishes/Desires. Need to understand the true meanings and contexts behind the lines.
2. BECOME COMPLACENT IN LIFE
Everyone knows that by doing exercise daily, one can keep his/her body fit, sound, and healthy. Most of us usually do it. But we often forget that our mind needs daily exercise too, don’t we?
It becomes dull, inactive, and lazy if we don’t do mental exercises. Many job-seekers learn new every day by reading books, watching the content full of knowledge, and keeping mind alert and active. However, once a person gets a job, he/she lost his appetite for learning. One reads only Instagram Posts, watches only Netflix Series, and keeps the mind in the passive mode.
Once a person gets a good job, he/she loses his vigor and curiosity for learning. Bill Gates says, “ Success is a lousy teacher, it seduces smart people thinking that they can’t lose.”
This habit of being complacent in life would make people less attentive, productive, and creative. They stop learning new things or skills and are stuck in one thing forever. Some 9 to 5 employees complain that they are stuck in their job because they aren’t lucky ones. But more than luck, it’s our ability to learn daily and move ahead.
Constant learning and forwarding open new doors and opportunities in life. Michael Jordon had missed shots almost 9000 times, but he said that because of these failures, he learned how to succeed in life.
Lin Qi says, “ If you keep going forward, there are always opportunities lying ahead.”
Crux — Constant learning and going forward are the essential keys to success.
3. DENYING EVERYTHING
I believe you must have heard this kind of sayings from others:
“IF I HAD PARTICIPATED IN THIS, I WOULD DEFINITELY WIN IT”
“IF I HAD STUDIED FOR THIS EXAM, I WOULD HAVE PASSED IT BY NOW”
“I AM MORE TALENTED THAT HIM/HER. IT’S JUST ABOUT LUCK”
“YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND MY PROBLEMS, THAT’S WHY YOU ARE SAYING THIS.”
Some of us have made a habit of denying everything — our failures and weaknesses. They wish to believe that they are innately talented and be omniscient. Therefore, it becomes very hard for them to accept their failures and weaknesses, and making excuses is much easier. The problem with denying is that you can’t improve anything.
Hence, Accepting is the beginning of improving. One realizes its weaknesses and tries to improve them by making rightful actions. This is a life-long process where one accepts and improves them. Feedbacks are crucial in the development process.
R.R Martin says, “Most men would deny a hard truth rather than face it.”
Crux — Accept who you are. It’s the beginning of every progress.
4. NEGATIVE LOOP
There are many of us who fall into this loop often in life. Let me tell you what the Negative loop is.
Suppose a person has been diagnosed with an illness that needs to be treated by medicines in the long run. Despite assurances from the doctor, the man can’t stop overthinking it. He thinks all days and nights that it will become more worse than prior. What if this disease never leaves me? These all worries make the person stressed and depressed.
Eventually, He loses his appetite and doesn’t eat healthy mind. His mind is filled only with negative thoughts. What happened next? The disease got worse because the person creates a conducive environment inadvertently. This leads to more worries and anxieties for the person; hence, he falls into what I called the ‘Negative loop’.
Beware to fall into this kind of loop. They are traps that work as a downward spiral or a slippery slope that takes one down and down. The more you fall into this, the hard it will become to rise up again.
Crux — Overthinking is a curse. Don’t let it overwhelm you.
5. PERFECT TIME
If you have watched Disney’s latest animated movie ‘Onwards’, then you remember one line of Barley about Perfect Time. Let me tell you in brief. Ian is a timid and fearful boy who wants to drive a car on a highway, lots of and speedy cars. But he has never mustered enough courage to drive the car on the highway. On one adventure, Ian and his elder brother, Barley are in a car that is driven by the former. The situation creates when Ian has to take the car on the highway. Ian is still intimidated to see the large numbers of cars in rows and says, “I can’t go. I’m not ready, brother.”
Then Barley says only one thing, “You will never be ready. Just do it”
This is really a very deep line. We delay things just because we feel we aren’t ready yet. Sometimes, these delays stretch years. We want that our creation should be perfect and immaculate, and due to this, we spend lots of hours needlessly dawdling on our stuff. We wait for a perfect time to show our creation to the world. In most cases, it never comes.
Always remember Barley’s words, You will never be ready in life. No one does actually. One will make a lot of mistakes and errors to become almost perfect in one thing. One who waits will wait forever.
Crux — Never wait for a perfect time. You will never be ready. Richard Branson says, “If someone gives you an interesting opportunity and you don’t know how to do it, then say ‘Yes’ and then learn how to do it.”
These habits are a curse for us. Try to get rid of them as soon as possible if you have even one of them.
Thanks For Reading
(Merci Pour Lire)
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