Little things in life make big difference. Quit harming yourself with these bad habits.
Small decisions we make and actions we perform every day are defines as habits. According to researchers at Duke University, habits account for about 40 percent of our behaviors on any given day.
We and our life are shaped by our habits. So, what shape are you in? Our happiness, how successful or unsuccessful we are, is a result of our habits. Warren Buffett said: “Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.” If we want to transform our life, we should learn to transform our bad habits into good ones, or simply stop doing them. Breaking bad habits requires strong self-control. Research indicates that it’s worth the effort, as self-control has huge implications for success.
Angela Duckworth and Martin Seligman, psychologists of the University of Pennsylvania, conducted a study where they measured college students’ IQ scores and levels of self-control upon entering university. Four years later, they compared the students’ grade point averages (GPA) and found that self-control was twice as important as IQ in earning a high GPA.
Self-control also serves as the foundation for a strong work ethic and high productivity. It’s like a muscle – to build it up you need to exercise it. Don’t wait any longer. Start practicing breaking the following bad habits:
1. Using your phone, tablet or computer in bed.
Short-wavelength blue light plays an important role in our mood, energy level, and sleep quality. In the morning, sunlight contains high concentrations of this “blue” light, so when our eyes are exposed to it directly (not through a window or sunglasses), the blue light halts production of the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin and makes us feel more alert. Exposure to sunlight can improve our mood and energy levels. In the afternoon, the sun’s rays lose their blue light, which allows your body to produce melatonin and start making you sleepy.
As we mentioned before, a poor night’s sleep has disastrous effects. And our favorite evening devices — laptops, tablets and mobile phones — emit short-wavelength blue light brightly and right in our face. This exposure interferes with your ability to fall asleep as well as with the quality of your sleep, so the best thing for you is to avoid these devices while in bed.
2. Surfing the internet while working.
Studies’ results show that a person needs about 15 consecutive minutes to focus before he/she starts working and is fully engaged in a task. The state of increased productivity is called flow. Research state that people in a flow state are five times more productive than they otherwise would be. If you stop this flow because you wanted to check what’s on the Internet, your Facebook profile, Twitter or whatsoever, you will have to go through another 15 minutes of continuous focus to reenter the flow state. If you continue doing this, you can go through an entire day without experiencing flow.
3. Stop checking your phone during a conversation.
Have you ever been interrupt in a conversation by a text message? Or you keep checking on your phone while talking to somebody? Stop doing this. Commit to a conversation and focus. You will find it more enjoyable and effective when you immerse yourself in them.
4. Using multiple notifications.
Multiple notifications are a productivity nightmare. Studies have shown that checking on your phone and e-mail every time you get a notification dramatically decreases your productivity. Create s sort of a schedule, for instance you may check and respond to e-mails, every hour, or in the evenings.
5. Learn to say ‘no’
A research that was conducted at the University of California in San Francisco shows that the more difficulty you have saying no, the more likely you are to experience stress, burnout and even depression. ‘No’ is a very powerful word and saying it requires great self-control. That is why it is a challenge for many people. When you are actually saying ‘no’ to a new commitment, it gives you an opportunity to successfully fulfill your previous and already started obligations and tasks. Remind yourself saying that it will increase your future self-control and will prevent the negative effects of over commitment.
6. Thinking about negative people.
You cannot make negative people disaster, but you can avoid them. Toxic people have always been around us, and we cannot change that fact. Why would you bother yourself and feel stress because of people who make your blood boil, when instead, you can pay attention to people who need and care about it.
7. Multitasking
You should never give anything half of your attention, especially meetings. If you consider the meeting isn’t worth your full attention, don’t attend it at all; and if the meeting is worth your full attention, then you need to get everything you can out of it.
8. Gossiping.
The list of reasons why gossiping is bad is infinite, but it still happens on a regular basis. Gossipers seem to derive pleasure from other people’s misfortunes. No matter how bad the results are we still can’t keep from gossiping. It’s a vicious cycle and it needs to stop. It might be fun sometimes to peer into somebody else’s personal or professional life, but it gets tiring, makes you feel gross and hurts other people. Drop it! There so many positive things out to learn from interesting people instead of wasting time talking about the misfortune of others.
“Great minds discuss ideas, average ones discuss events and small minds discuss people.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
9. Stop waiting while thing become perfect
Author Jodi Picoult summarized the importance of avoiding perfectionism perfectly: “You can edit a bad page, but you can’t edit a blank page.” Don’t be afraid that what you produce won’t be perfect. The most important thing is to get started. Later you can do changes, corrections and improve your work. Writers know it best. They know that ideas need some time to develop and evolve. You’ll find them spend countless hours brainstorming their characters and plots, and even writing pages that they know they’ll never include in the books.
10. Stop comparing yourself to other people.
Whenever you do something that makes you feel god, satisfied and successful – enjoy it. Never compare yourself to other people nor let other people do that. It’s OK for other people to express their personal opinion about you, but you don’t have to take everything for granted. Regardless of what people think of you at any particular moment, one thing is certain — you’re never as good or bad as they say you are.
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