10 Habits You Must Break Immediately

Across the internet, on blogs, and in videos, there are many resources expressing habits that will "change your life" or "magically improve your well-being." And I'm guilting share a few of my own.

However, what I haven't noticed is an intense focus on the habits we need to break. Those that are secretly destroying your momentum in life.

See, these habits are the very reason why you can't build those "habits that will change your life."

I hope you're ready for this because I'm not holding anything back. Here are the only habits worth breaking.

1. Making Excuses

Do you ever catch yourself constantly making excuses whenever something doesn't go your way or turn out how you expected? Have you ever witnessed yourself trying to explain why you didn't, couldn't, or would not do something?

To be completely transparent, I just did this myself the other day. So this is still a work in progress for me.

See, excuses hinder your ability to learn, adapt and grow. So the next time you go to explain why you didn't do something you should have, stop yourself and ask this instead: "What can I do better, or not at all, that will allow me to complete this ______ in the future?"

2. Negative Self-Talk

Remember this: you are who you tell yourself you are.

If every conversation you have internally is filled with negativity, then your life and action will follow.

"Change the way you talk if you want to change the way you live." -Ronald L. Banks

Watch this video for more regarding this habit.

3. Saying "Yes" When you Know Your Answer Should Be "No"

Why is this important?

"Every time you say "yes" to something, you're saying "no" to something else." 

Here's a basic example. Let's say you've developed a habit of impulse buying, and every time you leave the house, you come with bags and boxes filled with stuff you don't need.

Regardless if it was on sale, or you were bored, and you decided to pop out, or if you just felt like you had extra money to spend. Either way, you said "yes" to something you did not necessarily need.

Now, in this example, let's look at what you said "no" to:

• You said "no" to saving money.

• You said "no" to saving time or spending your available time in other areas of your life because little do you realize, every item you bring into your life requires your time to manage it.

• You also said "no" to spending more money on what matters to you.

4. Not Making Time For Yourself

See, in life and all its busyness, stress, and change. Self-care is often overlooked. I mean, it seems as though everything is about the hustle and being a boss. Which has its place, don't get me wrong. But I challenge you not to lose sight of balance and self-care.

If nothing else resonates with you in this blog post, remember to take this with you:

Taking time for yourself is not being selfish or unproductive.

The goal here is to shift your perspective and accept that taking time for yourself is critical if you truly want to live a productive, happy and successful life.

5. Comparison

Without a doubt, the quickest way to remain stuck or feeling behind in life is to compare your beginning to someone else's finish line. And to be honest with you, it's comparing your life to someone else's life in general.

See, we have to remember that our strengths, skills, talents, and potential are unique to us as individuals. And if we're constantly comparing our progress or process to someone else's, we're not focusing on our path ahead.

"Comparison is the thief of joy."

I firmly believe these words, and it's the main reason I want to encourage you to break your comparison habits.

Now, the first thing you have to do to break your addiction to comparison is to understand that it's ok to be human. Many of us forget about this and try to change things about ourselves or compare ourselves to others, that we forget to breathe and accept that we're human.

In addition to this, it's essential to focus on your strengths; count your blessings; learn to be constructive and not destructive, and build awareness.

Here's a video on my YouTube channel all about breaking your addiction to comparison.

6. Being with or around people who don't appreciate you

In life, you should always strive to surround yourself with people who appreciate you. Forcing friendships and relationships or changing who you are for others to like you is not a life you want to live.

Instead, stay true to you, and those you love and appreciate who you are will gravitate towards you and stick like glue.

7. Quitting when things get tough

Remember, if you quit, you'll never have the opportunity to learn and improve. 

Every task and challenge you face in life is not going to be easy. Some of them may feel impossible, and if so, I want to encourage you not to quit.

Instead, step back, adjust, and try again.

8. Seeking perfection

Perfection is a concept that we want to believe in but does not exist in reality.

See, here's an interesting perspective for you to take with you. As you know now, perfection does not exist. However, on the flip side, you still have two choices: Progress or Nothing.

Stop waiting for things to be perfect because while waiting, you're doing nothing. Where instead, you could be doing something and making progress.

See, progress equals action, and action leads to getting out of your own way.

9. Limiting Beliefs

Doing this is a little tricky because, to squash your limiting beliefs, you have to identify them first, requiring you to continue those beliefs until you figure out what they are. And when you do, that will give us a starting point for breaking this bad habit.

Here's what those action steps look like:

• Demolish doubt

• Create confidence

• Take action

Learn more about these action steps here.

10. Inaction

Let's go ahead and use the definition for this term as a quick and straightforward way to explain why you need to break this habit.

Inaction: a lack of action where some is expected or appropriate.

See, if you're not taking action, then you will not make any progress. And if breaking bad habits is your goal, then you have to take action towards doing that.