Bad Habits

You don't have to be a raging alcoholic or chronic smoker to realize that you have bad habits. These habits, in some ways are easier to fix, only because they are easier to identify. If you smoke cigarettes, everyone around you knows it, you know it, and odds are, someone tells you to stop quite frequently. If you are a pessimist, maybe no one would tell you. Maybe you would never realize it on your own. You could go through your whole life never knowing that your outlook is distorted in a negative way. I don't think it's too much of a stretch to say that pessimism is a bad habit.

What other bad habits do we have that we may not recognize?
Pessimism is just an example but there are plenty of bad habits that we have that we don't identify and therefore, cannot fix.

One of my better qualities is that I like to think of myself as an innovator. I see things in the world and like to think of ways that they may be done better.

How can we innovate our lives?

What can we add or delete from our lives that will make us better?

I've done my best to create a list of my own bad habits. Some of these I am currently working on. Some I have identified, but have not yet begun to delete from my life.

Procrastination- This is the first thing that comes to mind when I think of bad habits. I have always been a procrastinator. I procrastinate until there is literally not enough time to complete the task at hand and fall short on many of the things that I would otherwise like to do. I find that when I get off my ass and stop procrastinating, I am generally happier and much more productive.

Justifying- While akin to procrastinating, I feel that justifying needs in own bullet, because while I constantly justify my procrastination, I also justify many other bad things in my life and am worse off because of it. I do my best to immediately identify myself as justifying as soon as I start so that I don't lead myself down any paths that I may regret. Justifying is probably one of the hardest for me to correct, because it sounds so good in your head.

Worrying- I have a terrible habit of worrying about the future. What I have to realize and teach myself is that worrying and causing myself anxiety will not help the future in any way. I need to live each day for the present and always remember to work hard and make good moral decisions and the future will be even better than the present.

Hurrying- This one mainly applies to driving. I think this one is a sure sign of me maturing, but over the last year or so, I have begun to comprehend the risk involved with driving. Although I care for my own life and treasure it dearly, I must also remember that everyone else on the road is in danger when I drive dangerously.

Staying up late- How much can I really accomplish after midnight? Unless I am intentionally staying up because I am out with friends or doing something with purpose, staying up late is extremely counter-productive. I often find myself staying up late just for the hell of it and looking at mindless things on the internet. Not only did I get nothing of value done during this time, I am robbing myself of energy for the next day and making the next day just as unproductive.

I hope these open your eyes to some of the bad habits you may have in your life but don't totally realize it. The first step to correcting any problem is to identify it.

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