“If we are born poor, it is not our fault, but if we die poor, it is!”……
Bill Gates
No matter what you do, no matter who you are, you can never
make meaningful progress if you are unable to ditch your bad habits. Nearly
everyone is guilty of quite a few bad habits here and there. It takes some firm
resolution and discipline to break some of these habits. If you do, the feeling
is akin to getting of chains which hitherto have been real obstacles to your
progress in life. These here 10 bad habits are the most obvious habits you can
do without if you want to make progress real quick.
01. Living above your means. This is one bad habit that can
leave you perpetually broke and in financial distress all your life. You must
avoid it. So many people are in debt because they keep living a life they can’t
afford and don’t deserve. They keep living it in terms of expectations, and not
reality. That is the real tragedy. It is a very smart thing to live within your
means and even to leave something extra as savings for the proverbial “raining
day.”
02. Staying in bad relationships. This includes all
relationships and not just romantic relationships alone. Any relationships you
are in, be they friends, family and professional connections which have a
tendency to get abusive should be avoided at all costs. It is easy to identify
people in your life that only make it hard for you to move forward. These are
people who drain you physically and emotionally. To make progress, you must
consciously decide to get them off your life even if such a decision may be painful
at first.
03. Being apologetic for your achievements. You should never
feel sorry for the great things that are happening for you in your life. No
matter what you do, there are always people who are going to get envious of
your modest achievements. You don’t owe these people or anyone like them any
apologies for what is going great for you provided you are honest enough about
your means.
04. Habitual lateness. Apart from the fact that it is a
grossly uncivilized thing to do, lateness is rude, selfish, and disrespectful.
Nobody takes dealings with you seriously if they know you are a habitual
latecomer. Having the discipline to manage your time efficiently is one great
way to avoid lateness. If you can, you earn yourself more respect and
admiration from other people who you are compelled by circumstances to interact
with and even do business with.
05. Procrastination. Putting off what you can do today to
some other day is one very potent way to defer your own progress. Today is that
day. So, stop putting a part of yourself or a part of your life on hold for
that mythical one day when everything will fall together. That time is now, and
the person to get things done is you.
06. Poor habit of cash savings. If somehow you find a way to
live below your income, there will always be something left for you to put
aside for the proverbial “raining day.” That is savings. No doubt, without the
requisite discipline, saving can be tough, but you need it to remain above
poverty line when things get really tough as they usually are during economic
down-turns or even recession. Naturally, as your income grows, so does your
expense. You need to learn to work with it and figure out how to set aside some
money for future use.
07. Not exercising. A healthy mind in a healthy body ensures
that you have unhindered progress in life. Guaranteeing that is by way of
regular exercise. Even if you hate it, you need to push yourself to at least do
some form of exercise to safeguard your good health. It is by way of exercise
that you can guarantee good health without which, you won’t be able to do any
of the stuff you want to do in your life.
08. Giving up easily. Don’t let yourself be defeated easily
by life’s constants. Truth is, life’s challenges are before everyone not you
alone. Your ability to stick with things inspite of all odds is what guarantees
your uninterrupted progress in life. Everyone has their own challenges to get
over, their own set of heartbreaks and their fair share of disappointments. That’s
why those things don’t matter. They are there to prove you have the ability to
rise above them and to stay the course.
09. Lying. Interestingly, liars do need more lies to shield
their previous lies. Clearly that is an enormous task. The fewer the lies you
tell therefore, the easier it is for others to trust you and to rely on you.
The habit of not lying at all, easily attracts good people to your life.
10. Uncontrolled temper. Getting angry is temporary madness.
Not very many people want to do business with people who are short-tempered.
The tighter you keep your temper in check, the better for your progress in
life.
