Quit These Habits for a Happier, More Successful Life

More and more people realize how their daily routines are a critical factor for their long-term success.

At the latest books like Atomic Habits by James Clear or Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod taught many people about the relevance of habits.

And I totally agree with all of these books and teachings:

Habits are incredibly important.

However, sometimes, it’s not about the new habits we work on, but rather about those which hold us back.

Too often, we don’t even realize how many tiny, harmful routines we repeat every day.

Even if you build tons of success-habits, not getting rid of your bad routines will hold you back from unleashing your full potential and living your best life.

Sometimes, those nasty habits kill our productivity, and sometimes, they harm our daily happiness.

Here are seven common bad habits to quit and how to do it:

 

1. Trying to please everyone

Focusing on pleasing others is the surest way to end up being unsatisfied and feeling miserable.

Sure, doing a favor is beautiful, and we all want to make our beloved ones happy, yet, that’s not the point.

If you always try to please other people, you will sooner or later have to give up on your own priorities.

The more you do for others, the more they will rely on you and come back whenever they need support.

If helping people is what you want to do in the first place, that might be amazing.

If you, however, pursue big dreams and goals, pleasing others all the time will surely hold you back from making tremendous progress.

Every time someone asks you for a favor, reflect for a minute:

Do you really want to do it?

What’s in it for you?

Is that person extraordinary for you?

What do you have to resign from if you say yes to that favor?

Most of the time, we instantly know if a project makes sense or not, we just need to be honest with ourselves and learn how to say no from time to time.

“Care about what other people think and you will forever be their prisoner.”

— Lao Tzu

2. Fearing change

During my work as a mindset coach, I see so many people fearing change, and holding themselves back from living their dream life.

I already had clients who got served incredible opportunities for which they were waiting for years on a silver platter, but they hesitated to say yes to these opportunities.

Change happens anyway, no matter if you embrace it or not.

We can’t avoid developments and innovation, so the smartest way is to accept them and go with the flow.

“The only constant in life is change.”

— Heraclitus

Being comfortable with changes will improve the quality of your life hugely, and there is no easier way to get used to changes than to create some on your own.

For instance, you could put yourself into a challenging situation each week of your life. Or you could just make one little change every week: on your workplace, regarding your diet, regarding your daily patterns…

Even small improvements can add up and prepare you to be strong and confident once you are faced with more significant challenges.

3. Being afraid to be different

This is also one of the fears many of my coaching clients have in common:

Fearing to be different because others might not accept you.

Well, here’s the thing:

You are different than anybody else on this planet.

There is no second you. You are unique.

We all have our strengths and weaknesses, and we are all fantastic in our own way. Trying to be like someone else makes absolutely no sense, it just kills your uniqueness.

Once you realize every human being is unique, embracing that uniqueness comes easier. Being different than others means being you, being honest, and being authentic. All of these characteristics are strong and valuable.

Instead of chasing trends, practice self-reflection, get to know yourself better, and build a solid foundation of self-awareness.

“Your need for acceptance can make you invisible in this world. Don’t let anything stand in the way of the light that shines through this form. Risk being seen in all of your glory.”

― Jim Carrey

4. Thinking you are not good enough

Hardly anybody is aware of your weaknesses as much as you are.

You are, for sure, the person who is criticizing yourself the most. Most other people don’t even realize the majority of your mistakes because they are busy focusing on themselves.

Way too often, we are selfish, thinking everyone would be interested in ourselves and all that we do.

The reality, however, is different. Hardly anyone is interested in you.

And that’s brilliant as it means you can do whatever you want, make mistakes, start all over and live your life on your own terms.

“There are people less qualified than you, doing the things you want to do, simply because they decide to believe in themselves.”

I know there are some limitations, and every time I write or say the following, I face some pessimists telling me how it’s not true, but I believe in it:

You can be, have and become anything you want.

Seriously: why not?!

You can learn, grow, evolve, and reach tremendous goals.

Yes, there are some limitations, but I don’t say you need to run a marathon in less than two hours or that you need to lose 30 pounds in two days, that’s obviously not what I am talking about.

But let’s take any other big yet, achievable goal: you can make anything possible.

We have so much power and information in our pockets, hardly anything is impossible.

You might suck at some things, but there is no excuse for not improving yourself every day.

5. Thinking you need a huge purpose

It might sound silly, but this is a real struggle: So many people feel worthless because they can’t define their life-purpose.

All those life coaches and gurus tell us how having a strong why, a true purpose and mission in life is the only way to be fulfilled and happy.

However, what they miss out is explaining that this vision and mission doesn’t need to be tremendous.

I’ve already had so many coaching clients who thought they are worthless because they couldn’t find their calling, their exact reason for being.

Yet, all of these people are amazing, talented, and full of motivation.

Here’s the thing:

You don’t need to save the world.

In the best case, we all contribute to a better planet in some way.

But there’s absolutely no reason to feel bad just because you don’t know how to make a significant change in the world.

Here’s a great piece of Thomas Oppong, explaining why we don’t need to be good at anything:

“Focus your energy on exploring the one thing that brings you the most satisfaction in life and if you can, make it your career.”

I’m sure it’s cool to find a cure for cancer or to figure out how we can clean our oceans with the least effort, but that’s no reason to feel bad about whatever you are doing.

You will most contribute to a happier planet if you focus your time and energy on things that give you energy.

Stop worrying about a vast purpose and instead start enjoying your passion because the world needs more people who love what they do.