The high-stress times often give us the most cause to think about our lives. I’m finding that to be particularly true right now, as I’m six months pregnant, moving in less than two weeks, behind in work and stuck at home. Truly, a recipe for serenity.
I’m almost 30 years old, and although I have plenty to show for it and don’t want to sound ungrateful, I consistently rediscover that my projections for the future are not as realistic as I’d like to think. I.e. “Life is going to be so awesome then! Then it will all make sense! Then I’ll stop making stupid mistakes! Then I’ll find the stability/freedom from drama/inner peace/self-love I crave!”
Well … yes and no. Every passing day brings me closer to my dreams: having children, starting a blog, working full-time as a writer. But through it all, I seem to be the same old me, putting on the same old emotional hats, and a lot of them just don’t fit. Recently I did a thorough inventory of these behaviors and emotions to come up with a list of habits that don’t improve my life. A mini-manifesto, if you will. Suffice it to say, it was … long.
1. Regretting Choices I Didn’t Make
Everywhere I look, it seems like someone or something wants to remind me of a choice I failed to make. I could have been a graphic designer. I could have been a travel guide. I could have been a web developer. Well, I’m not. Probably for a reason. We can’t really do it all, and it’s time for me to accept that.
2. Wishing I Were Someone Else
Other people’s lives look so dang glorious. Their hair is perfect, their children are perfect, their cars are perfect, their careers are perfect. In the pictures, at least. Even those who make a living off shouting self-deprecatingly from the rooftops — “See?! I’m not perfect either!” — seem perfect to me. But they aren’t. And if I let them feel bad about me, well, that’s on … me.
3. Judging Others’ Happiness
If it makes them happy, who the hell am I?
4. Gossiping
Although some research indicates that gossip may actually aid social interactions by reinforcing good behavior and ostracizing people who misbehave, for the most part it isn’t a good road to go down. Do I do it? Sure. Should I? Well, let’s just say that most of the time I do, I don’t feel better afterward. In fact, I often feel worse, having spent so much time focusing on negative emotions and engaging in behavior that doesn’t really get me anywhere.
5. Putting Tasks Off
It never feels better. It never feels better. It never feels better.
6. Sticking My Head in the Sand
So, so often I choose to waste time and energy trying to pretend nothing is happening. Of course, I know it’s happening, because I’m spending the time and energy trying to convince myself otherwise. Hmm. I’ve learned the hard way that it’s better to make the phone call, have the conversation, pay the bill or otherwise deal. Problems rarely go away or become not-problems. Sadly.
7. Spend Too Much Money
Spending too much money is one of my worst habits, and I tend to indulge it in every area of life: food, clothes, household goods, craft supplies, gifts for other people. I’ve heard tell that other people have problems with chronic underbuying, but that sure ain’t me. I’ve learned the hard way that spending doesn’t make me happy in a lasting why unless the item itself will continue to add to my life.
8. Railing Against Authority
I dislike authority, but unfortunately, some form or other will always be present in my life. As I get older and more autonomous with work, I find myself at the mercy of fewer and fewer outside authorities, but I’m not exempt. I still have editors. I still have friends and family who expect me to behave in socially acceptable ways. The police can still stop me pretty much on a whim. Instead of hating this, I’m trying hard to see others’ points of view.
9. Wishing I Were a Different Person
This is subtly different from wishing I were someone else. Instead of wanting to emulate another’s life, I simply want different qualities in my own. I wish I were budget-conscious. I wish I got up and did my hair every morning. I wish I didn’t have to control my temper. Guess what? Too bad. Might as well accept who I am, and find the workarounds.
10. Feeling Ashamed
In limited situations, shame is a useful emotion. It’s one I’ve genuinely earned a number of times. But sadly, like many others, I feel it so much more often than is really warranted. Shame creeps on me for many reasons, eroding my faith in myself and limiting my ability to chase my dreams. Why let it? Now when I feel ashamed, I spend a minute trying to figure out whether it’s justified. If it isn’t, pffft, I’m moving on!
11. Pursuing the Wrong Dreams
Perhaps if I had learned this lesson earlier, I would have fewer degrees. Alas. The fact is, it’s okay to have lots of dreams, but if I spend all my time going after the ones that won’t really make me happy … well, isn’t the outcome obvious? When it really comes down to it, I want very specific things out of life, and I have to content myself with who I really am. Spreading myself too thin not only isn’t effective, it takes away from what I really do what.
12. Failing to Exercise
This is just obvious. And true. And obvious.
13. Nursing Negative Feelings
It feels good to spend a lot of time harping on all the things that feel bad. So … many … things. And yet, does it really? Am I really any happier when I spend an hour thinking about how someone wronged me? Does it really give me clarity, peace, happiness? Sometimes I genuinely need to vent or make a decision, but most of the time I’m just nursing a grudge instead of adding beauty or love to the world.
14. Failing to Follow Through
I start so many endeavors with the highest of ambitions, but they tend to fade as time wears on. Sometimes this is a good thing: I’m really not meant to do karate or drink kombucha. I can accept that. But sometimes I genuinely disappoint myself as well as, I have to assume, others. Following through is very important to me, yet I consistently leave projects unfinished. This behavior never makes me happy, and I’m working hard to nip it in the bud.
15. Setting Unrealistic Goals
Of course, if I want to follow through, I need to set reasonable goals. For instance, I’m continually telling myself I’ll stop eating sugar. But … but … I really love donuts. And chocolate. And donuts. So why do I keep setting this goal? It’s unrealistic and silly. That doesn’t mean I can’t stand to work on my relationship with sweets, but it probably isn’t ever going to work to tell myself not to eat them at all. Rather, accepting how much I love them is more likely to give me the strength to figure out how to manage them.
16. Hating When It’s Hard
Why? Why do I spend so much time grinding my teeth and wishing for something easier when it just won’t make a difference? The thing about easy is it isn’t even particularly rewarding. It doesn’t help you sleep at night, doesn’t give you a feeling of satisfaction at the end of a long day, and doesn’t particularly impress other people. When I want easy, I try to remind my brain that it isn’t in control: I am. And I like hard.
17. Thinking I’m Owed Anything
We all know the world owes us nothing. We all choose to forget it. Enough said.
18. Giving Up On Challenges
Funny thing about challenges: they often don’t start out that way. For me, at least, a challenge begins life as a soft, cloudy dream that just sounds so awesome. Before I know it, I’m away on some project or endeavor that too quickly becomes tiresome and difficult. Does that mean I’d be any less pleased with the end result? Probably not. But I give up because the in-between time sucks, and I’d rather not be there. Mistake.
19. Forgetting to Ask For Help
I often don’t ask for help because I’m embarrassed or prideful. But sometimes I just forget. I look at the people around me who ask for a lot more than I do, and I’ll be honest, I judge them for being weak or leaning too heavily on others. But you know what? They get more help. And no one seems to resent them. Rather, people like being asked for help or advice! So clearly I’m the one missing out.
20. Spending Time With the Wrong People
I’m happy to say this is one that I’ve gotten a lot better at, and my social life now reflects the people and places I’m willing to devote my time to. However, it’s starting to become clear to me that there are some people I love very deeply whom I sometimes still shouldn’t spend time with, depending on the situation. My party-loving friends don’t help me get work done. Mild acquaintances don’t make good companions when I’m feeling low and really need to open up. And my parents, so loving, sometimes aren’t a great place to turn when I don’t want to talk.
These lessons have been hard for me to learn, and none of them are single-repetition cases. Rather, I’ve learned them over and over again, forgotten them, and relearned. (Then, it will shock you to know, re-forgotten.) But I’m trying.
What about you? Do you have habits you just don’t seem to break no matter what?
Positively Dreaming 
Always have habits to break, and not always easy to do as it comes back again. Daily meditation is really a great way to stop thinking negatively or feeling upset with yourself. Even if you do this for 5 mins. Another way to feel better is to write in your diary or book, the 3 things that you are grateful for. Try to do this morning and night and it really makes one feel soo much better.
I love BOTH of these techniques, and often use a quiet 5- to 10-minute meditation period as a way to break out of a funk and stop unhealthy behavior in its path. I have a gratitude exercise before I fall asleep that really does make me happier — I can feel it working as I do it — and I keep a one-sentence journal so I can track progress through my life in a limited, non-intimidating but still meaningful way. Thanks for your comments, sounds like you’ve got fewer habits to break than I do!