Ten Things to Stop Doing in 2018 for a Better Life
by Connie Jo Holmes
- Stop saying yes all the time. Them: “Susan, can you make 3 dozen cookies for the school dance this Friday?” You: “No. Not this time.” NOTE: Unless it is your turn to do something, then suck it up and do it. However, if you are always the go-to person and are starting to resent it, you need to start saying no immediately. No explanations necessary.
- Stop being lazy and start exercising. Even if it is just 20 minutes a day for at least 5 days a week. You only have one body for this lifetime, so make sure it is operating at its max.
- Stop watching so much TV. Yes, I know it is an easy, brainless way to kick back and relax, but you are doing nothing for your brain or body. Even if you start small, and replace one hour per day of watching TV with reading a book or listening to a Podcast or going for a walk.
- Stop wasting money. If you save the $5/day from Starbucks or the $30/bi-weekly for a manicure and put that in an envelope, at the end of the year, you will have $1,820 from coffee savings and $720 from manicure savings. You could take this money and open an IRA account. With compound interest, this money could turn into tens of thousands for your retirement.
- Do not eat lunch out every day, rather pack a lunch. This will not only save you a lot of money at the end of the year, but it will save you many calories too!
- Stop hitting the snooze button on your alarm clock. This actually makes you much more tired and less productive.
- Stop complaining. Complaining drains you of your energy and makes you negative. It also gives attention to the situation and makes it bigger than it usually is. Instead, turn your complaining into something productive, when possible. Alternatively, as the old saying goes, if you cannot say anything nice, do not say anything at all.
- Do not make excuses. Own your own stuff, and accept responsibility. When you make excuses, you are passing the blame somewhere else. When you do this, you do not take responsibility. Without taking responsibility, you cannot learn and grow from an experience.
- Stop wasting other people’s time. This is in the form of being late for your commitments, not listening carefully to instructions and needing them repeated, and not doing something correctly where someone else needs to fix your work. This is also referred to as respect. Respect for others along with yourself.
- Do not compete with anyone other than yourself. Ever! The best competition is the one that you have with yourself, and that should be to be better than yesterday’s you.
If you can clear your mind and energy of these debilitating qualities, you are sure to have a fantastic 2018!
