Did you know? According to the World Health Organization, mental disorders affect 1 out of four people. Even though we have all the comforts and facilities which our forefathers could not even dream of, we are an unhappy bunch. Can you see the irony in that? While we, as a race, became more materialistic and started filling our lives with distractions and all the busyness, we gave up our sanity in exchange.
Sometimes if you observe yourself, you can understand that most of the challenges that crop up in our lives are brought upon by us. We have imbibed wrong habits that run our lives, sometimes even without our awareness. These habits cause havoc and most of the times, we become aware of them a tad bit late.
This article will introduce you to 10 such habits, that when not observed, will steal us our happiness.
Consuming News Relentlessly
Our parents or grandparents used to wait for the morning newspaper dropped at their doorstep to find out the latest happenings around the world. The news was consumed by them either via newspaper or regularly scheduled tv programs. But now, we all are exposed to news 24/7 via our smartphones, social media, and search engines.
If you ask me, I will say that news consumption has become an addiction to most of us and it has become a part of our daily routine, if not hourly routine. There is no harm with this habit but the challenge here is the extreme focus on negativity by news channels and the looming threats of fake news. We have all bombarded with negativity in the form of the latest news by all the outlets.
The best thing to practice is reducing your news consumption and a proactive approach to staying away from negative ones particularly. I do not have a newspaper subscription and I stay away from news channels during my television time. The only news I consume is via Google News which I have customized based on my interests. So please make it a habit to reduce your news consumption to the minimum.
Spending Too Much On Social Media
Oh boy, I can write several articles on this topic for sure. It is observed that we all spend around 3 hours on social media on average. We are addicted to these social media channels for our entertainment, staying top of news and current events, and researching for ideas and products. As famous writer Joseph Conrad had said “One must not make too much of anything in life, good or bad, we should not get addicted to social media.
Social media, even though the platforms are trying hard, are filled with all kinds of content. What we consume on these platforms determines how we think and feel afterward. If you glance at Twitter trends in India any day or any time, you will see loads of hatred and negativity being spewed around. My advice will be to reduce your social media time and set a specific time when you will allow yourself to indulge in these networks. Also, make sure that you use these platforms for your and others’ good, for spreading positivity, and help one another.
Hanging Out With Negative & Toxic People
Famous speaker Jim Rohn once said: “We are the average of the five people we spend time with”. How true is that? Our personal and professional network has a much larger impact on us more than anything else. Our network can either lift ur or put us down based on the kind of individuals who are a part of the same.
It is a common tendency for individuals to gossip, talk down, and ridicule other people. If you hang out with such personnel, I will recommend you to maintain your distance from them. Always strive to be in the company of high-spirited individuals who always have something positive to add to your interactions. There is no lack of negativity in our environments nowadays and you will be better off without these negative folks in your network.
P.S: Clean up your network (phone book and social media networks) regularly. Life is too precious to hang out with the wrong crowd.
Watching Too Much Television
Research has shown that an average adult in the US spends around 3:35 minutes watching TV daily. Add the OTT platforms with rich content repertoire like Amazon Prime, Netflix, etc. to this, we have the perfect potion for creating a lazy human being. Spending too much in front of your television is not going to do you any good.
Also, these OTT platforms have a mix of content that can add unnecessary entropy to your mental construct. The more you expose yourself to negative content like violence, abuse, etc, the more it will impact you in the long run. So my advice here will be the minimize your television time and plan scheduled periods for the same.
Judging People, Events, & Things
Most of us tend to judge people whom we interact with, events that are happening around, and the things we possess, etc. The habit of judging things and people has a recipe for disaster hidden in it. When we judge people, we are jeopardizing an opportunity to have a real connection with that them. Same with events and things as when we judge, we are making it difficult or impossible to have a real experience with them.
I used to judge everyone and everything around and it made me a bitter person with no appreciation for this beautiful life. Then it took me a conscious effort from my end to develop an open attitude towards people, events, and things. Once we develop a non-judgemental attitude, we are opening up ourselves to endless opportunities to appreciate our life better. And I cannot reiterate it enough that it will bring you real happiness and peace of mind.
Taking Things & People For Granted
There is no habit more destructive than taking important people and things for granted. I am the guiltiest one for this negative habit and I have learned my lesson the hard way. We should never take the important people in our lives for granted ever; be it our spouses, parents, colleagues, or even friends. It is vital to note that it is a bad feeling to realize what we had and we lost the same due to this worst habit.
Always realize the importance of important people and things in your life. You must understand the fact that your life will not be the same without them being part of it. So, acknowledge that fact and pay due attention and nurture the relationships. This habit can bring immense peace for you after all when everyone around feels your love and everything that makes your life easier is taken care of.
Ignoring Your Health For Too Long
I understand life can be tough some times and with the pandemic around, we all are going through our share of misery every day. Times like these can make us ignore our health and focus on the trivial matters in hand. The person who said “Health is Wealth” was not kidding when they said that. We must realize that without good health, there is no point in living our lives.
I will say make your health your topmost priority – be it physical or mental. Always tend to your concerns in these areas and take the necessary measures to ensure vibrant health. Especially during current times, make sure you are getting some physical activity like walking or jogging and engaging in mental workouts like meditation.
Never take your health for granted and end up suffering due to this one habit. You have this beautiful life to cherish and enjoy well.
Postponing Your Happiness
Aren’t we all guilty of this worst habit? How many times have you used the term “I will be happy when I get, earn, complete, be with….. something or someone? I know we all have indulged in this many times in our lives. What you are doing here is you are postponing your happiness based on some future event, thing, or person. Do you understand how absurd is that?
You do not need anything or anyone or any event to be happy at this very moment. You can just be happy because you are still breathing. Never postpone your happiness and make it a practice to be grateful every moment. This is a real gamechanger for every one of us who are faced with numerous challenges in our daily lives.
Staying Away From Learning
Henry Ford had said, “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty.” How true is that? One should never be complacent with what they know and always keep an attitude for learning alive. Learning helps us in making ourselves better in our personal and professional front. One should never nurture the habit of staying away from learning. This halts our personal and professional growth.
The best way one can nurture the spirit of learning within themselves is by always be on a lookout for avenues for learning. Be it via reading, interacting with the right individuals, or undergoing training, etc.
Over Nurturing Of Ego
Over nurturing your ego or self-esteem can prove quite detrimental to your personal growth. While we all boost our ego in our regular interactions and events daily, we end up with a fair possibility of hurting other people or missing out on important things in our life. This harmful habit tends to ruin our personal and professional relationships to a certain extent.
Over nurturing of ego can make us all inflexible and always seeking out other’s approval and validation. As that is an endless pit, it is better to understand whenever our ego is in play and handle the scenarios differently. If you work on this constantly, the outcome will be a peaceful and happy life.
Final Thoughts
While these are just 10 negative habits that can affect your life, there will be more of these which you need to tend to. Identify these negative habits and eliminate them before they take a toll on your life. It is by sheer persistence we all can eliminate destructive habits and replace them with empowering ones.
Stay Safe; Stay Healthy!!!