Ahh December, that time of year in which everyone is just a little bit mad. End of year deadlines drive us nuts, as we rush to get as much as we can done before one manager in the chain of command goes on leave and stops everything. We get a bit mad outside of work as well, running around spending untold sums of money on presents for friends and family. It’s that crazy time of year and it really prevents us from seeing too far ahead. So with that in mind, here is a list of totally worthless habits to kick in 2019!
1. Spending Too Much Money
I know you’ve heard this a million times and you don’t need another person telling you this *again*. Understand that I am not a grinch and love a good bit of retail therapy, but I’ve recently come to realise how much I actually spend on things that aren’t truly necessary – and it’s A LOT! The best (and obvious) advice is to continue spending money on things that make you happy, but to cut back your spend on things that you don’t really need. For example, a weeknight food delivery for two can cost you $50, and it comes late and lukewarm. Cook something quick at home or go out for food and get something actually warm. You’ll be amazed at how quickly you’ll feel superhuman from saving money and eating better.
2. Comparing Your Progression to Those Around You
At this time of year, we are all in reflection of how our year has gone. Our ups and downs, victories and defeats. You may have had a great year or an awful year (condolences if you fit into this category). No matter how your year went, one thing to recognise when you are reflecting is to drive all your focus on yourself, and not at others. Comparing your progression to others serves no purpose other than to distract and depress. Everyone has their own battles, their own victories ,and they are not telling you about their losses. Eyes forward and focus on you. You’ll get further and won’t get so distracted by what others are doing.
3. Trying to Please Others All the Time (AKA Learn to Say ‘No’)
Saying “no” to people is one of the hardest things to do. It is a normal reaction to have because we want people to be happy and it is always nice to help others. When being asked to help someone with a project, you must ask yourself if you’re able to commit the energy to successfully undertake the task – i.e. Do you have the time? Will your priorities and values be potentially compromised by fulfilling the favour? If you find that it’s probably not in your best interest to take onboard anything new, have faith in knowing that it’s okay to say no and that it doesn’t make you a bad person to prioritise you.
4. Stressing Over Things Outside Your Control
Trump, Brexit, unexpected redundancies. There is a lot of time in this world that we spend stressing over situations that are not in our control. There is nothing you can do to stop a business from making you redundant, or from Trump tweeting about… whatever Trump tweets about. We collectively waste countless hours and many sleepless nights fretting over things that we simply cannot dictate. Do yourself a favour, get a good night’s’ sleep and energise yourself on matters you can control.
5. Mindless Consumption
Another episode, another beer, another piece of clothing. It is all too easy to slip into automatic mode and just “consume”. There have been countless times where I put on a tv show, whilst browsing social media and half an hour later, have no idea about what is going on in the show and on my feed! It is just consumption for consumption’s sake and serves no other purpose except to distract us. The next time you are in a queue for more than 30 seconds, resist the urge to whip your phone out. Instead, give yourself a moment to just be present.
6. Acting Upon All Advise That Is Given to You
Good advice is worth its weight in gold, and bad advice can be harder to realise. I am not going to tell you how to spot the former and avoid the latter (if I could do that I wouldn’t be sitting here typing this). That being said, it is a worthless habit to take on the advice of everyone around you. They don’t know your goals and what you value! Listen to the advice of people who you aspire to be like and take in what their habits are and their personal rituals. Their guidance will be the most valuable to you. Just be careful not to compare yourself to your thought leader of choice and accidentally fall into an existential crises.
7. Putting Off the Things You Really Want to Do
Finally, it is just too easy to say “not right now” whenever you’re asked about your personal goals and projects. Simply put, it will never be the perfect time to get started on living your dreams, but you have to start somewhere. So in 2019, stop putting it off and remember that “the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the next best time is today”.
