9 Bad Habits You Need To Break To Improve Your Life and Yourself

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If our actions define us, then we are our habits. The more bad habits we have, the harder our life is. Bad habits can make us feel like our life is out of our control. They can damage our relationship with others, our reputation, as well as our mental and physical health. They can also prevent us from using our full potential.
Here are the 9 bad habits you need to break to improve your life and yourself:

1. Flaking.

Nobody likes flakes. Flaking constantly can disappoint and piss people off, especially when your absence changes “the plan.” Make flaking a habit and your friends will start considering you as an unreliable person. Flaking on a regular basis can cause resentments in relationships as well.

2. Laziness.

Laziness keeps people from getting more out of life — whether it’s a fun experience or even a career opportunity. Drop this habit and get mentally and physically active. Stop missing out on life, and start doing something. Exercise, play a sport, attend events, learn something new and be productive. You’ll start feeling better about your life and yourself, both physically and mentally.

3. Making promises you can’t keep.

Making promises you can’t keep on a regular basis can cause disappointments and can badly damage your reputation. Just like flaking, it can cause resentments too.

Don’t make a promise if you are not one hundred percent sure that you can keep it. Think before you make a promise, because the consequences of breaking promises can be irreparable.

4. Lying.

We all lie. However, make lying a habit and you become a liar. If one day you have to prove your innocence, the majority may not believe you even when you are telling the truth simply because your habit convinced them that you are not trustworthy.

Lying regularly makes living harder. You have no peace of mind and you have to remember all the lies you’ve said to avoid getting caught. You also have to deal with the problems that come when the truth comes out. People won’t trust you and keeping friends will be a challenge.

5. Gossiping.

Gossiping can get you into trouble. It’s also just a marker of bad character. Break this bad habit; it’s not attractive in the least.

6. Complaining.

Complaining is normal; we all complain. But if you complain excessively you’ll end up sounding like a broken record. It also usually annoys those around you who have to hear your complaints all the time.

Complaining regularly means that you are always focusing on the negatives. And it’s important to remember that complaining about problems or other people does not make things better. It only makes you bitter. Life is all about how you make it and see it. Sometimes, there is nothing you can do about a situation or other people’s actions and decisions. Sometimes, the only thing you can do is accept what happened, deal with it and move on.

7. Undervaluing yourself.

Undervaluing yourself won’t get you far in life and may not even get you the job, boy or girl you want. You should act the way you want to see yourself. When you undervalue yourself, it will manifest in how you carry and present yourself.

We all have strengths, talents and skills; don’t overlook yours. You don’t need to brag about them, but you should definitely acknowledge them. Doing so can help you be more confident about yourself. Think about how you can use them to get the job you want. Think about how you can show them to impress the person you like.

And if you undervalue yourself because you are not happy with yourself, then recreate yourself. You have the power to be the person you want to be. Remember what George Bernard Shaw once said, “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.”

8. Blame shifting.

If you want to grow in a mature and happy person who feels in control, it’s necessary to start taking responsibility for you mistakes. Acknowledge your errors, fix them and think about the steps you have to take to prevent yourself from making the same errors again. Deal with the consequences of your actions, and accept the fact that “shit happens” and we all get crappy days sometimes.

If you’re constantly shifting the blame to someone else, you’ll never learn from your mistakes. You’ll never learn how to deal with life. Blame shifting will prevent you from learning and will make life more difficult for you in general. And the problems will seep into your personal relationships and your work life too.

9. Over thinking.

Stop over thinking and start doing. Most of the time, it is not life that “sucks,” it’s our way of thinking that sucks. Over thinking and not doing anything about it will only make you feel stuck — even depressed. Honestly, it’s a trap. Get up and do something about your issue; and if you can’t do anything about it, let it go. Life is how you make it and see it. Live in the present, not in the past and certainly not in your head.