By Claire McCulloch
You know what habits they are.
The ones you know you shouldn’t do but can’t help but do anyways. The ones you won’t admit you even do but more often than not find yourself taking part in some, if not all of them. Maybe even on a regular basis.
Having lasted approximately one month into 2018, I’m sure there are a lot of us still thinking about our own new year’s resolutions and ways they’d like to change for the better. Some of these habits could be ones that come to mind. And in hopes for all of us embarking on a more positive and successful 2018 (cheers to leaving 2017 behind), here are some habits we all know we should break:
1. Complaining
We all do it. We all do it even when we don’t realize we’re actually even doing it. Sometimes we even turn to complaining as a means for conversation! It’s something that subconsciously creates more negative energy and sets the dampened tone for whatever we’re complaining about in the first place — and if that doesn’t sound like a negative spiral downwards then I don’t know what does.
2018 Tip: Listen to yourself speak (it’s actually harder than you think) and be aware of what you’re saying. Make a conscious effort in saying other, more effective, things rather than wasting your time on the negatives.
2. Blaming Others For Our Challenges
You are an individual. Yes, other peoples actions may have some responsibility for yours but for the most part, you. are. your. own. person. You are capable of making your own decisions and addressing your own failures with ownership rather than immediately pointing the blame to someone else. It’s time to start addressing our own faults, dust ourselves off, and try again with new and improved solutions.
2018 Tip: Stop being so afraid of failure. It happens to us all. It happens to the best of us, and there’s nothing wrong with addressing the things we know we did wrong.
3. Negative Mindsets
The worst thing we can do to ourselves is to ruin potentially positive events, meetings, or scenarios with our own mindsets. We do that to ourselves. Fun is had through the people you surround yourself with, and most importantly, the level of fun you are willing to let in.
2018 Tip: If you think it’s going to be a bad night, it probably will be a bad night. Save yourself the trouble and have a good night: think positively and keep an open mind. Typically, getting out of your comfort zone makes for either great experiences or (at the very least) great stories.
4. Judging Others
Life is a maze of good times, bad times, embarrassing times, exciting times, etc. and it honestly sucks when you have to navigate that as well as catering to what other people think of you. Life is hard enough as it is without constant social norms and gossip getting in the way of how we like to live our lives. As long as we’re not hurting other people in the process, why can’t we just all live the way we want to?
2018 Tip: Next time you go to criticize someone for how they look, act, love something or overall live… Just don’t.
5. Judging Ourselves
A habit that will always get the best of us, your worst critic is oftentimes the one and only YOU. What’s worse, is that the amount we judge ourselves can also hinder fun times with friends, new experiences, or times where we ruin ourselves over feeling uncomfortable. Self love is so important, and feeling comfortable in our own skin can make a world of difference.
2018 Tip: Go easy on yourself. If you’re someone who avoids judging others, take that same care for yourself and celebrate your successes.
By addressing some of these habits within ourselves, we can work towards a new year of positivity within ourselves and work on spreading it for others. 2018 is yours individually to conquer. Go out and have the best new year you can possibly have. Be yourself, accomplish your goals, do good and be good to not only yourself but to others. Take ownership of your future and honest to goodness, leave the negativities at home.
Happy 2018 and good luck!