Some of us have knew exactly what we wanted to be when we grew up at an early age. Others not so much. You might have dreamed of the cookie cutter career path like becoming a doctor or lawyer. You might have been heavily influenced by your parents and decided that their dreams were not your own. You may have decided that you’ll figure it out when the time came. Whatever you decide, make sure you don’t waste any time in the process. Time is of the essence and you can never get it back.
To help you determine if your life may be out of wack or not, here are 15 signs that examine if you might be wasting precious time in your life and you might be in denial about it. This will hopefully get you on the right track in the long run and you can watch your life make a complete turn around for the better.
1. You spend way too much time doing things you shouldn’t be doing.
Social media use, playing video games, watching reality TV, using the internet in non-productive ways, eating way too much, doing drugs, getting drunk all the time, the list goes on and on. Take a breathe. Now take a serious look at your life choices. What do you spend most of your time doing? Analyze the time you spend doing these activities and ask yourself, is this helping me in a positive way? Is this capable of taking me to the next level personally and professionally? Does this have a positive effect on my relationships with others? If you answer no to any of these questions, you may be at risk of not going very far in life. Might be time to hit that reset button in your life.
No offense if you do any of those things, but some of those habits don’t necessarily forge a path to success. Does it actually serve you well? Is it helping you get to a better life? Is your future really looking bright with the time spent doing these things? Or are you just running away from deeper issues? Some people can answer yes because of their strong mental capacity, knowing their limits and never letting it affect them. But that is not as common as you think.
Not saying that you are wasting your life if you do these things, but it’s been scientifically proven your quality of life can be affected drastically. Which leads to not getting the most out of life even when you think you are. Without realizing it you may begin to not care about important things, which can be related to depression, anxiety or other psychological disorders. Be honest with yourself for once. You might need to re-evaluate your daily routines or activities and make changes on what exactly will help you build a better future for you and the ones you care about.
Now is the time to start to build a better life and vibrate higher!
2. You might be a complainer.
“Life is a b**ch, and I’m just playing in the sand.” something the great American Rapper/Poet Lil’ Wayne once referenced in a song. Only difference is you’ve got to learn to play in the sand. There are many people out there overwhelmed with life and they put on the biggest front like they are not going through anything. Are you complaining about work? Your parents? Your significant other? Relatives?
If so, you are just carrying around negative energy. You will likely bring it into your relationships which you probably should avoid.
Negativity keeps you stuck in one place whether you realize it or not. Change your thoughts to positive ones and appreciate your life. Don’t give what you don’t like center stage in this performance we call “LIFE.”
3. You’re not learning anything.
You have to constantly grow and learn in life as a person. If you don’t make these efforts you’ll become stagnant. You will quickly become some stuck in place, even a snail or tortoise could beat you in a race. Keep your mind active and always learn. Like they say, “you learn something new everyday.”
Keep your mind positive at all times so you don’t get back into a negative abyss of thoughts. Take a class, read a book, read news, get new hobbies or focus more on your current ones.
4. You constantly find yourself engaging in negative self-talk.
Self-talk can influence you in many ways. It can make your life or break it. If you constantly tell yourself you’re not smart enough to do certain things or not good enough then you might be doing yourself a serious disservice. You start giving up on things and what you tell yourself becomes your reality.
Be careful what you say to yourself and you will notice how your life matches your thoughts.
5. You aren’t inspired.
What is your true passion? Jot it down. Now think about having passion. Do you want to chase your passions? Everyone enjoys something. Rediscover that thing and do a hell of a lot more of it as much as possible. You can’t go wrong.
6. You don’t think about or plan your future.
While it’s always great to live in the moment and in the now, you also need to think about your future. If you have no goals or plans, you are just riding around with no direction. You need to create your own step-by-step guide like your own personal GPS to get you to where you wanna go. This GPS might save your life.
7. You spend too much time with people who don’t help with your personal growth.
It’s very common to get stuck in situations where you hang out with people who aren’t contributing to your well being. But you can’t keep doing that cause then you become stagnant and get pulled down. These people can feed off your negative energy whether it be jealousy, bullying etc. Instead, hang with people who are growth-oriented and have big goals and aspirations.
8. You’re too addicted to your phone.
Let’s face it, technology rules the world. Smartphones, tablets, laptops, the internet all help the world connect. It is the norm to have these gadgets and interact especially with this social media age in full effect. With that said don’t make it your life. It might be fun to be snoop on your ex’s profile or an ex-best friend or post about yourself all the time but think about all the time you are wasting. Think about how much you need these apps to make you feel better about yourself. Most people are just trying to portray themselves in manner that isn’t real.
Besides that think of all of the relationships that are failing because of it. You could be missing out on special time you can spend with your loved ones. You can also take that time to plan your future with those people. You could be drawn to the DM’s and it can lead to infidelity. They do say “It goes down in the DM.”
Limit your consumption to once daily for no more than 20 minutes, then
once weekly, then delete the app from your phone, then off it for a
month. You’ll feel the difference and slowly refocus on what’s really
important in your life.
9. You spend your money on things that don’t really matter.
Spending money on needs vs. wants are two different things. Instead of buying a pair of expensive shoes or a watch you don’t really need, invest in yourself. Educate yourself, plan for buying a home, an apartment, invest in stocks, plan your future. You need water and food to survive, but you don’t need material things. Pay close attention to what you spend daily and try to make adjustments.
Remember, I may want it, but do I need it? I really like this pair of Yeezys but will it make or break me? No. There’s kids in third world countries who don’t have shoes to go to school. Those colorful sneakers Kanye West designed that took probably $10 to make can wait.
Trust me, this mindset will payoff in the end.
10. You don’t sleep enough.
It is proven that if you don’t sleep enough then life expectancy decreases dramatically. Sleep is critical to our health in many ways. If you stay out late nights constantly when you work the next morning or pull all-nighters just to think you need to get wasted or party then you might want to re-evaluate your habits. Your life may end up being at stake in the grand scheme of things. Plenty of people think drinking, smoking and partying is fun and needed to have a good time. You can have fun in so many ways, like Club Bed, with DJ Pillow on the 1’s and 2’s.
Instead, get at least 7-8 hours of sleep each night. Let your body recover from a long day at work or a long day partying. Sleep will benefit your body and health in so many ways. Take that into real consideration.
11. You’re neglecting your body.
Food and exercise are also things you should consider focusing on. Eating a balanced diet and exercising can greatly improve your morale and increase your overall productivity in your daily life. It changes your mindset, attitude and well-being. So instead of downing those shots and staying out all night long, think about your body and the long term effects of mistreating it. Your body is your temple, if the vibes aren’t right then you won’t be.
No one said you can’t ever stay out late again. Just be mature about it and put your body first.
12. You never leave your comfort zone.
I know how easy it is to live in a comfort zone. In fact, when I go to a familiar restaurant, I always order the same thing. Not because I’m afraid to try something new, but because I like to play it safe and go with what I know I’ve already tried on the menu. But that’s not the kind of comfort zone I’m talking about. I’m talking about taking a risk that you may not know the consequences of.
Keep in mind, there is a difference between a “risk” and a “calculated risk.” Any risk has the possibility to be a failure, but a calculated risk is one in which you’ve weighed all options and thus come up with a good, sensible plan of action.
Take that risk, start that business, move to that city, apply for that job, finish that degree, date that person. Live your best life.
13. You’re living an unhappy life.
Do you wanna be happy? Are you happy? You can determine a lot about a person’s life by their level of happiness. Being content and satisfied doesn’t mean your living life to the fullest. Enjoy your life and make some changes to make yourself happier. Then your relationships and everything else will follow suit. Vibrate higher!
14. Your significant other is not ambitious or motivated to chase their own dreams.
It’s important to have the support from your friends, family and of course your significant other. Relationships prosper when people have goals and dreams. You gotta be able to give the person what they need but at the same time that person should make effort to return the favor. In all reality if you have kids and a family, stress can be caused if you are the breadwinner and your husband or wife doesn’t contribute or make enough to help out. It can strain the relationship because money and finances can always be an issue.
We are trying to bring the divorce rate down in America people, it is entirely way too high. Hence why making sure that your significant other is chasing their dreams and ambitious is quite important. Usually a college education of some sort helps guarantee that. Education opens many doors that will allow you to make more money in your lifetime than someone with only a high school education. So make sure something is in your significant other’s mind. Not just empty space. If you don’t see any goal setting or potential you might want to reconsider things.
15. You are too busy trying to please others and giving your all to people who don’t appreciate your worth. (i.e. Friends, Significant other, Family, Co-Workers, Strangers).
Never lose focus of your dignity and your goals. Don’t focus on pleasing people too much and forgetting your purpose. You have to always keep your focus. Not saying you neglect those people, just make sure you don’t lose sight of your goals. If these people don’t agree with them then they may not be looking out for your best interests.
They may just be focused on their selfish motives. Appreciate them but make sure they appreciate you in the process. These things have to be earned. The right people will always love you for you and support you make whether they agree or not. Respect is the name of the game, being ungrateful is not. Once someone doesn’t value your worth, show them the front door.
After all we all don’t have this thing called “Life” figured out anyway. Let’s respect each other’s journey.
Final Words:
If any of these 15 things sound a lot like you don’t be stressed out. You may need to just adjust the lens of your life. Don’t worry, you can still turn it around! Get past the idea that you can’t do it and then focus on how you can improve! Change your mindset and then change your lifestyle! Your life will improve drastically!