Throughout life, we form habits based on what we do:

• Daily
• Weekly
• Monthly
• Yearly

What may start as something you try once can quickly turn into a habit, whether it be a positive or negative habit.

On the positive side, your first time opening a book in months and reading ten pages can quickly develop into a habit.

On the negative side, your first time going out drinking with a group of friends for the first time in a while, or ever, can also quickly develop into a habit.

Notice that the positive habit of reading a book doesn’t come with as much instant gratification compared to drinking alcohol, which is by design. 

Positive habits will require you to put in effort compared to negative habits, which require minimal effort.

Since negative habits require minimal effort, 99% of the population indulges in them as they have no want or need to put effort into their life and make something of it.

Below, we will touch on five common bad habits that can destroy your life so that you can recognize and avoid these habits to find more fulfillment within your life.

1. Routinely Consuming Alcohol

We must start with the worst habit of them all: routinely consuming alcohol.

Along with several health effects, routinely consuming alcohol terrorizes your personal life and any goals that you are working towards.

For most people, they consume alcohol on the weekends to escape the reality they live in during the weekdays. Whether it be a job they hate or a boring life, alcohol gives them an escape to forget about everything.

If you continuously drink alcohol every weekend, you will develop a persona and liking for the lifestyle. Over time, you turn to alcohol and the lifestyle that comes with it for a sense of meaning in your life.

Turning to alcohol becomes an issue as alcohol causes hangovers, along with much more. As you get older, the hangovers will last longer and start affecting you during the week.

If you go out drinking on Friday or Saturday and then are back to feeling normal by Wednesday, that only leaves you two days to grow in your personal life before you do it all again.

Now, this isn’t to say you can never drink alcohol again. Alcohol can be beneficial, when used in moderation, to meet new people and create new experiences.

It is when you follow the majority of people and drink every weekend, or even worse, daily, that you will start to experience the negative impacts that routinely consuming alcohol has on your life and anything you want to make of it.

2. Surrounding Yourself With the Wrong People

If you look at your social circle and nobody in it is progressing, you are surrounding yourself with the wrong people.

In life, we are to be faced with challenges and overcome those challenges through growth and progress. 

People in your life can either help you overcome these challenges or keep you stuck facing the same challenges.

You will find many people, when faced with life’s challenges, would rather ignore them and continue numbing themselves with pointless activities. 

But these people do not engage in these pointless activities alone. They say, 

“Misery loves company.”

And you can find this truth in many social circles where your “friends” will keep you stuck without any progression in life.

By surrounding yourself with the wrong people and environment, you will find yourself going down the same path as them, but that is what people want. 

Hold yourself accountable to who you allow around you, as these people will impact what you accomplish.

3. Excessive Social Media Usage

With the rise of technology, practically everybody has a smartphone hand-reach away at any moment. 

While having a smartphone is not bad, as it can be a tool, most people abuse their smartphone and all that comes with it.

The most common way people abuse their smartphones is through excessive social media usage.

If you look around you in public, people are ever-so disconnected. They are more worried about keeping up with their numerous social media apps and the image they portray on them.

These people are physically there but would rather experience the moment through their phones.

It is no surprise that multiple studies have found a strong link between heavy social media and an increased risk for:

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Loneliness
• Self-harm
• Suicidal thoughts ¹

Instead of engaging in excessive social media usage, make the time to work on your own life so that you aren’t stuck living through somebody else’s. 

If you don’t have any friends or dislike being lonely, get off your phone and talk to somebody at the next chance. 

When you are content with your life, you won’t need to be on your phone at all times, as everything you could want is right in front of you.

4. Not Making Time for Yourself

By not making time for yourself, you are automatically setting yourself up for failure at some point. 

There comes a point in almost every day that you can make time for yourself.

When this point occurs, there are two options presented:

1. Engage in activities, which are typically mind-numbing, to avoid making time for yourself.
2. Make time for yourself.

While most people choose the first option, the second option is where real growth and fulfillment occur.

Instead of watching TV, read a book. 

Instead of going on Instagram, meditate or work out.

There comes a point when people who don’t make time for themselves reach a breaking point. It feels as though they have given much for little in return.

When this breaking point occurs, people must face themselves to improve their lives.

Rather than being forced to face yourself, do it willingly and experience all the positives from it. 

5. Always Living in the Moment

Strive to live in the moment as much as possible.

Whether it be while you are alone or out with people, living in the moment has numerous benefits for your mental health.

While living in the moment is something you should aim to do frequently, always living in the moment can become counter-productive. 

When you are always living in the moment, you may fail to recognize how your decisions affect you long-term. 

When your only worry is right now, with no regard for the future, you will be more likely to engage in negative behavior that will affect you long-term.

For example,

You eat unhealthy food because it is what you crave.

What happens when you start to crave unhealthy food again since you gave in to it the time before?

Not to say that you can’t eat that unhealthy meal, but when it comes down to a decision at the moment, think of what decisions you have made recently and if that decision will benefit your future self.

Key Takeaways

Throughout life, we form habits based on what we do daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly. 

If you look at your social circle and nobody in it is progressing, you are surrounding yourself with the wrong people.

There comes a point in almost every day that you are able to make time for yourself.

Conclusion

And there you have it. You have now learned five common bad habits that can destroy your life.

While there are numerous other bad habits to avoid, it is important to know that most are fine in moderation. 

Is eating junk food or having that drink with friends after work going to negatively impact your life if you do it once a month? No. 

Would the same junk food or drink negatively impact your life if you have it daily or weekly? Yes.

When making decisions, make them wisely. Before you know it, those decisions can result in either positive or negative habits.

–Your future self will thank you.