Not all bad habits are visible. Some of the most destructive bad habits are invisible to everyone else. You are the only person who knows about these. You might have great health habits, manage your time well, and even practice good relationship behaviors. But if you are struggling with internal bad habits, it could still be holding you back from your full potential. Let’s take a look at two invisible bad habits that you need to get rid of.
Negative Self-Talk
Negative self-talk can affect anyone. On the outside, a person may look stunningly attractive, but on the inside, constantly be criticizing their own looks. The successful person at work who just got a promotion and a raise, might not even be able to enjoy their success because their negative self-talk is always turned on telling them how they won’t be able to live up to everyone’s expectations now. Perhaps you are the one who can never really relax and enjoy what is presently happening because negative self-talk ruins everything.
Most people will never see the struggle that goes on inside when negative self-talk runs the show. It is important to remember though that negative self-talk is just a habit like anything else. It can be broken. You drive out negative self-talk with positive self-talk. Don’t think this works overnight, though. Training your brain to think and speak positively can take time.
One powerful way to accomplish this is by setting aside 15 minutes every morning to meditate. Even if you have never been into meditation, starting this practice can have a huge impact on the way your brain works. If you are consistent, you can re-train your brain. Get alone somewhere quiet. Simply repeat to yourself positive things about your life and yourself. Get comfortable with saying positive things to yourself. After practicing this for a few days and weeks you will find yourself saying more positive things throughout the day. Soon, you will find that your brain will do this naturally.
Scarcity Mentality
Just like negative self-talk, scarcity mentality can have a huge impact on your success. Scarcity mentality is a programmed way of thinking which constantly says to you that there is not enough. There are not enough good jobs for you to really find a good one. There are not enough good people for you to find a great relationship with. There is not enough money in your budget to live comfortably. There are not enough hours in the day to accomplish what you want to accomplish. You don’t have enough patience to improve your relationships with your children, spouse, family, or friends. And on and on it goes. Scarcity mentality can reach its fingers into literally every aspect of your life.
The negative impact of a scarcity mentality is that it greatly affects the decisions we make. If you believe that there are not enough good jobs out there, you will probably decide to just stay in the current job you have no matter how much you hate it or how much it negatively affects your life. If you think there are no good people out there to start a relationship with, you might simply quit trying to date and find someone. If you believe that you do not have enough patience to improve your current relationships, then you will not put forth the effort required to improve those relationships. Do you see how scarcity mentality can quite literally paralyze a person?
When scarcity mentality influences our decisions negatively, it can quickly lead to depression. We feel stuck, unsatisfied, unfulfilled, and helpless to try to change anything.
We can kick the bad habit of scarcity mentality with meditation also. Remember, this is not religious meditation. This is simply carving out 15 minutes each morning to focus on something you want to change. Get alone, get quiet and focus on the reality that there is enough. You can start by just saying those words to yourself, “There is enough.” Then you can build on that by being specific. There is enough money. There is enough time. There is enough patience. The reality is there really is enough. Enough is simply a matter of perspective. So, if you change your perspective you can get a true picture of reality.
Understanding how to break bad habits, even invisible ones, can go a long way to improving your happiness in life as well as your productivity. DrJud.com can help you find solutions to breaking bad habits and starting better ones.