One can say a lot of good things about the society we live in. Technology has made the world considerably smaller and has brought people together like never before. Business is no longer considered something we look for, but something we actively do and something people more easily and readily attain. Life is becoming faster and edgier. But, are we losing something in the process of all of the good things?
In my opinion, we are losing too many things to count.
The relentless pace we all live by and the constant struggle to reach new milestones, consume more information, and unlock new doors behind the elusive title of an “accomplished individual” is leaving us with some pretty bad habits.
To make matters worse, these habits impede on our professionalism, are bad for our health, and place conflict on our social modus operandi. They strike to our very core and undermine the foundations of everything we are trying to achieve, pushing our sense of accomplishment further and further away.
This vicious cycle needs to be broken. Here are some of the most poisonous habits of the modern man and woman and how to avoid them.
1. Poor Nutrition
Healthy nutrition has to be one of the most obvious victims of the modern lifestyle. On-the-go snacks are numbing our satisfaction signals and loosening our ties with the sense of genuine hunger. Fast food floods your body with unhealthy ingredients like trans fats. Skipping breakfast keeps your metabolism drowsy and deprives you of valuable energy.
In order to avoid these unpleasant outcomes, kick off your day with an energetic breakfast and replace all the junk food you are eating throughout the day with some healthier alternatives. Also, do your best to eat only when your body is physically craving for food and not as a coping mechanism when you are feeling stressed, angry, or you simply don’t know what else to do.
2. “I Want It All And I Want It Now”
“I’m a man with a one-track mind, so much to do in one lifetime…” The thing that the singer of this song didn’t quite understand is that any kind of success requires patience. Sure, patience requires time and time is something we all feel evades us, but there’s simply no other way around time and acquiring the things that you want. Patience is key.
Overly enthusiastic gym newbies end up with injuries. Businesses that bite off more than they can chew crash and burn. Such experiences make each new beginning much harder than it is supposed to be. What you have to do is to stop looking for instant success and find your way to the top one step at a time. Make small gains towards your goals and make them every day.
3. Sloppiness
Who knows? Maybe the laid-back attitude of the internet billionaires forever eclipsed the image of what success and wealth looks like. Be that as it may, neat, organized, and well-dressed people have always been taken more seriously and have earned more respect than the people who approach their work with a more lackadaisically. Dress for the job you want, not the one you have, remember?
So, what should you do instead? Pay attention to your looks and the way you’re dressing. Don’t leave a mess in the office. Mold yourself into the person you’re trying to be by investing in your wardrobe. Maintain a workspace that represents your organization and capabilities of a great employee by having an office or cubicle that exudes the boss status you someday hope to have. In short, make looking good and being tidy a part of your daily routine.
4. Sedentary Lifestyle
Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu alone pack more quality content than we’ll ever have time to check. And what about the countless hours we spend in front of our office desks or browsing the web? According to Tom Cove, CEO of the Sports and Fitness Industry Association, “the high rate of inactivity is fundamentally alarming.” It looks like binge-watching is rapidly becoming the new smoking.
Fortunately, the solution to this problem is not that hard to figure out – start exercising. Various HIIT routines and 7-minute workouts provide more than satisfying results for the time invested. If you are more ambitious, you can sign up for yoga lessons or join a local gym. Make the 2/30 rule (30 minutes of exercise for every 2 hours of TV) the core of your daily routine.
5. Cigarettes, Painkillers, and Alcohol
Modern lifestyle is more than stressful, so it’s okay to look for a way to relieve that stress. Now, as far as human pleasures go, everything comes with a certain price. What makes cigarettes, alcohol, painkillers, sedatives, and other common substances we use to fight stress undesirable, is that their price is often too steep for us to pay.
Physical activity, on the other hand, promotes the production of neurohormones, like norepinephrine, which reverse the damage inflicted to your brain by stressful events. As a result, exercising elevates your mood, improves cognitive functions, and allows easier absorption of information. Alternatively, you can cope with stress by learning the art of meditation. Unlike relying on substances and unhealthy habits, both of these methods will reward you with a number of long-term benefits.
6. Excessive Buying
Shopping has always been a proven method for putting a smile back on your face and there’s really nothing wrong with indulging yourself from time to time. The problem, however, arises when indulging becomes a habit and the things that are your priorities begin to suffer as a result.
Unfortunately, this habit can be reversed only through restraint, objectivity, and a lot of self-criticism. You can decrease your urge to spend by weening yourself off of excessive spending habits versus quitting cold turkey. Put yourself on a rewards system where tackling a priority is rewarded with buying a nice item or two for yourself every couple of weeks – as long as it doesn’t break bank. Basic budgeting and personal financing skills won’t hurt you either.
7. Winning Mentality
The world we live in is a world of climbers and the people who succeed have to have “winning” carved into their brains. What we often fail to understand is that climbing doesn’t have to mean pushing the others below or beneath you in order to get to the top. While such behavior can be tolerated in the business environment, practicing it in your social life can have devastating results.
Personal relationships have no room for winners and losers. Trying to put down everyone around you to look good can only earn you a bad reputation and cause you to lose important relationships. People are much more appreciative of individuals who make them feel good, offer help, and elevate themselves by elevating others. So keep your “shark attitude” for the corporate situations.
Everyone has innate desires to feel successful and accomplished. What makes the people with those qualities the way they are is the fact that they don’t put too much effort into habits that bring them down. So let’s follow suit in our efforts in creating a successful life and make the foundation for something better. It’s as easy as changing few bad habits.
