Identifying Energy-Draining Toxic Habits
Have you ever felt inexplicably drained, even after a good night’s sleep? If so, your daily habits might be the culprit.
Yes, you heard right – certain toxic habits can silently suck away your energy, leaving you feeling lethargic and unproductive. 🫠
These habits, while seemingly harmless, may be silently wreaking havoc on your physical and mental well-being. In this blog post, we’ll explore these energy-draining toxic habits and provide strategies on how to break away from them.
Often, these toxic habits are so deeply ingrained in our daily routines that we fail to identify them as the root cause of our constant fatigue. 😫
From incessant worrying to unhealthy eating, these habits can slyly infiltrate our lives, causing us to lose precious energy. The first step towards regaining your vitality is identifying these habits and acknowledging the need for change.
Remember, the goal here is not to shame or blame, but to bring awareness to these habits, so we can make informed decisions about our behaviors and lifestyles. By recognising these toxic habits, we open the door to a healthier, more vibrant life. 🥰
The Silent Threat of Negative Self-Talk
Negative self-talk is a toxic habit that can significantly drain your energy. The harmful effects of this habit are often underestimated, as it occurs within the privacy of our own minds.
Negative self-talk includes any inner dialogue that diminishes your self-worth or ability. These are the critical voices in your head that tell you that you’re not good enough, smart enough, or capable enough. 😰
The energy costs of negative self-talk are immense. Every negative thought depletes your energy reserves, leaving you feeling mentally and emotionally exhausted.
What’s more, negative self-talk can rob you of your motivation, making it challenging to pursue your goals or engage in activities you enjoy. 🫠
Combatting negative self-talk requires conscious effort. It involves being aware of your inner dialogue, challenging negative thoughts, and replacing them with positive affirmations. Remember, your mind believes what you tell it. So, fill it with positive, empowering thoughts.
The Energy Costs of Procrastination
Procrastination, the act of delaying or postponing tasks, is another toxic habit that can drain your energy. The energy drain from procrastination is twofold.
Firstly, the anxiety and guilt associated with procrastination can cause mental fatigue. Secondly, the energy required to rush through tasks at the last minute can lead to physical exhaustion. 😴
Procrastination often stems from a fear of failure or a lack of motivation. It’s essential to identify the root cause of your procrastination and address it head-on.
Breaking tasks down into manageable chunks and setting realistic deadlines can help overcome this habit. Remember, productivity fuels energy. The more tasks you complete, the more energised you’ll feel. 💪
The Trap of Perfectionism
Perfectionism, or the need to be flawless in everything you do, is another toxic habit that can deplete your energy.
While striving for excellence is commendable, an unrelenting pursuit of perfection can lead to stress, burnout, and decreased productivity. The constant pressure to be perfect can leave you feeling mentally exhausted and physically drained. 😥
The key to overcoming perfectionism lies in embracing imperfection.
Realise that it’s okay to make mistakes and that no one is perfect. NO ONE. Even if they’re life seems perfect from the outside, it never is. Learn to appreciate your efforts and stop comparing your progress with others. Remember, progress, not perfection, is the goal. 😉
The Harm Caused by Excessive Worrying
While it’s natural to worry about life’s uncertainties, constant worrying can lead to anxiety and stress, which are significant energy zappers.
Additionally, worrying can disrupt your sleep, further depleting your energy reserves. 😴
To combat excessive worrying, try practicing mindfulness and relaxation techniques like yoga and meditation. These practices can help calm your mind and reduce your stress levels, thereby conserving your energy.
You can learn more about mindfulness and meditation in The Keys to Self-Mastery eBook
The Cost of Holding onto Grudges
Holding onto grudges is another toxic habit that can drain your energy and time. Harbouring resentment or anger towards others can lead to emotional exhaustion. Also, it can rob you of your peace of mind and happiness, leaving you feeling drained. 😒
To break free from this habit, practice forgiveness and let go of past hurts. Remember, holding a grudge is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. By forgiving others, you free yourself from the burden of resentment, thereby conserving your energy.
You don’t need to continue to talk to them or have them in your life if it’s going to affect your peace. Leave them where they are and move on. 🚶♀️
The Burden of Not Setting Boundaries
Not setting boundaries is another toxic habit that can drain your energy. Without boundaries, you can easily become overwhelmed with responsibilities and commitments, leading to burnout.
Moreover, allowing others to overstep your boundaries can lead to feelings of resentment and frustration, further draining your energy and time. 😑
To establish healthy boundaries, learn to say no when necessary and prioritize your needs. Remember, you can’t pour from an empty cup.
By setting boundaries, you protect your energy and ensure that you have enough left to take care of yourself. 🥰
The Price of Unhealthy Eating Habits
Unhealthy eating habits are another major drain on your energy. Consuming processed foods, sugary snacks, and caffeinated beverages can give you a quick energy boost, but they often lead to an energy crash later. 😴
These foods lack the essential nutrients your body needs to function optimally, leading to fatigue and lethargy.
To boost your energy levels, focus on consuming nutrient-dense foods that provide sustained energy, like whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and healthy fats. 🥗
Remember, your diet is a crucial part of your energy equation. By making healthier food choices, you can significantly increase your energy levels.
The Impact of Lack of Physical Activity
Lack of physical activity is another toxic habit that can make you feel like bluh. Regular exercise boosts your energy levels by increasing your heart rate and circulation, improving your sleep, and reducing your stress levels. 😌
On the other hand, a sedentary lifestyle can lead to fatigue, poor sleep, and decreased motivation.
To increase your energy levels, incorporate regular physical activity into your routine. This could be anything from a brisk walk to a high-intensity workout. Remember, movement is energy. 🤸♀️
The more active you are, the more energised you’ll feel. So make it a habit to get up and move daily!
Strategies for Breaking Away from Toxic Habits
Breaking away from toxic habits can be challenging, but it’s not impossible. The first step is to identify the habits that are draining your energy.
Once you’ve identified these habits, you can start working on strategies to overcome them. These strategies can include practicing positive self-talk, setting realistic goals, learning to manage stress, practicing forgiveness, setting healthy boundaries, maintaining a balanced diet, and incorporating regular physical activity into your routine. 🥰
P.S. You can find worksheets to help you with all of the above in my Etsy Store and the Printables on my site.
Remember, breaking away from toxic habits is a journey, not a destination. It requires patience, perseverance, and commitment. But the rewards are well worth the effort.
By freeing yourself from these energy-draining habits, you open the door to a healthier, more invigorated life. 🥹
Conclusion: Embracing Positive Habits for an Energy-Full Life
In conclusion, we all have toxic habits that can drain our energy. However, by identifying these habits and working on strategies to overcome them, we can break free from their hold and reclaim our energy.
Remember, the goal is not to be perfect, but to be better. Every small step you take towards breaking these habits counts. So, start today, and embrace the journey towards an energy-full life. ❤️
Pin this post for a reminder 📌 👇
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Things to Say “No” to for you to Live a Happier Life
Your sense of self-esteem impacts EVERY area of your life. Your relationship with your family, your significant other, your career, your physical and mental health are all reflections of your self-esteem.
Even though having high self-esteem is indeed a good thing it’s only good in moderation. Having very high self-esteem – like that of a narcissist- isn’t something to aim for.
Even though people with very high self-esteem feel great about themselves they tend to be extremely vulnerable to criticism and negative feedback about themselves and their work.
When you take everything personally and avoid constructive criticism like the plague, you stunt your growth. You’re never going to stop making mistakes, so choosing to ignore the help of someone showing you the right way will affect you negatively in both your personal and professional life.
The only way to learn is to accept guidance and feedback. You’ll be doing yourself a great disservice if you believe you know it all and no one can do it better than you because the reality is… there’s someone else out there that is.
Why is building self-esteem so important?
The more self-esteem you have the more “inner stability” you have. When your opinion of yourself goes up you stop trying to seek validation and attention from others.
Your level of self-esteem influences the choices and decisions that you make. In other words, self-esteem serves as a motivational function by making it more or less likely that you will take care of yourself mentally, physically and emotionally.
When you have low self-esteem you may hide away from going to social events, avoid things you find challenging and be hesitant to try anything new. In the short term, avoiding anything that takes you out of your comfort zone will make you feel safe at the time but in the long term it will eventually backfire. This is because you’re reinforcing underlying doubts and fears. You’re essentially teaching yourself that the only way to cope is by avoiding things.
Here are a few ways to help build your self-esteem so that you can thrive and live a life that reflects who you truly want to be.
You deserve it girl!
Change your story
We all have a narrative or a story that we have created about ourselves that shapes our self-perceptions which our core self-image is based on. Your level of self-esteem may have grown or been reduced by how people have treated you in your past. The good news is that you have control when it comes to increasing your self-worth. If you want to change your story you have to understand where it came from.
For example, was it a teacher who made you made you doubt your academic abilities? Changing your belief on not being good enough is pretty hard. When you decide to change the story about yourself you look into your past to see if there is evidence of the new story you want to create.
Continuing with the example above, if you have successfully completed school with excellent grades and moved onto higher education, this alone shows you that you have accomplished a lot despite what was said about you in the past, you then start to realise that you’re carrying a false narrative of yourself around.
“Sometimes automatic negative thoughts such as “you’re lazy” or “you don’t do anything right” can be repeated in your mind so often that you start to believe that it is true” says Jessica Koblenz, Psy.D. “These thoughts are learned which means that can be unlearned.”
When you label yourself as “not that person” that can achieve XYZ, you limit yourself on what you’re capable of achieving. Letting go of life-changing opportunities because you doubt that you have the capabilities to do well is only going to keep you in your box of safety wondering what life is like on the other side of living your true potential.
You’ve got one life, go get everything you deserve.
Identify your triggers
To increase your level of positive thinking, you need to recognise what places, people and things spark negative thinking. Is it that bad vibe “friend” that’s always got something to say about something or that annoying co-worker who’s always telling you what to do even though it isn’t their job? You can’t change certain situations, but you can change the way you react to them.
The next time you get mad, anxious or sad write down what caused it. After a time, you will start to see a pattern of what your triggers are and what you’re able to do about them.
When we know our emotional triggers, we can choose not to expose ourselves to situations that affect us negatively and harm our mental health.
We are not in control of what other people do, we can only control our thoughts and actions. Next time you’re sitting in a situation that you don’t want to be in, sit back and ask yourself:
Why am I here right now?
Is me being in this situation going to impact me negatively or positively?
The answers to the questions should tell you what your next action should be.
Acknowledge your success
Usually, people with low self-esteem disregard their success by chance. People with high self-esteem take the time to celebrate their success. They appreciate the praise given by others and thank them for their acknowledgment instead of downplaying it.
Your success was not by chance, it was thorough hard work, dedication and persistence. You deserve to re receive every reward, recognition and praise that comes your way.
When you acknowledge what you’re good at, you become more confident about yourself, making you more likely to continue doing what brings you joy.
Whether you acknowledge your success by going out to dinner with friends, having a spa day, or buying something that’s been sitting in your online basket for days, take that time to enjoy how far you’ve come.
Recognising your success is a powerful motivator that reinforces the meaning behind all the hard work that you have done. This in turn boosts your self-esteem and motivates you to take the next step towards achieving the next goal.
Recognise that you are not your circumstances
Learn to differentiate your circumstances and who you are as a person. We are all born with infinite potential. To believe we are anything less than that is a false belief that is learned over time.
It’s not uncommon to think that what has happened to you reflects who you are. Didn’t get the job offer you wanted, now you’re not good enough. Messed up your diet, and now you’re someone who has no self-discipline.
FALSE
Taking a situation and associating it with who you are can only lead to your downfall. Controlling what happens to you is not easy, life gets in the way and can throw you off course. No matter what your circumstances may be, you have to learn to start separating who you are and what you think about yourself from what happens to you.
Someone who is devoted to going to the gym and keeping fit can still miss a day and eat snacks. Someone who is good at their job can still get fired.
Everyone wins some and loses some. Do not become your loses.
Celebrate the small stuff
You got up on time this morning. Tick. You flipped your omelette perfectly. Tick. Your downward dog was better than last week. Tick.
We’ve been conditioned to only celebrate the big milestones and achievements and not acknowledge the “trivial wins” as they’re deemed as non-significant. This is far from the truth.
You’re really celebrating your habits. You’re celebrating the person you’re becoming by continuing your good habits. When you show appreciation for your small victories you show appreciation to yourself.
Celebrating your small wins is a great way to build confidence and feel better about yourself while at the same time keep you motivated to carry on. Every success you earn is a success to your overall dream. You wouldn’t have got to where you are now without all those small wins, so acknowledge them and celebrate them.
Let me leave you with one last valuable tip…
One way for people with low self-esteem to start to appreciate what it would be like to have higher self-esteem is to consider how they feel about the external things they value in life. E.g. Some people really love buying, collecting and using make-up because it’s important to them.
They take pride in their collection and school people on the texture and application of different products. They watch countless makeup videos to help perfect their look and try new ideas because that’s their idea of heaven. Self-esteem is like that, except that love and proudness you feel is targeted at yourself.
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