7 Things to Stop Doing in 2020

As we enter a new year, it’s important to reflect on the past so we can adjust and improve as needed.

To reach our goals we have to give up old beliefs and bad habits.

The 7 things below are common issues many of us face on a daily basis.

These things are standing in your way and only you have the power to change that.

Comparing yourself to others

We are all unique individuals with different skills, talents, strengths, and weaknesses.

Comparing your own success, body, or life to anyone else is completely useless.

In this completely connected society, it’s difficult not to compare yourself to others. This is why confidence is so important.

Comparison is typically unfair. Many times you end up comparing yourself to someone who is at a different stage in life, even if you are the same age as them.

An individual with a great body and toned muscles, dedicated years to eating healthy and weight lifting.

Someone making $100K+ a year as an entrepreneur spent hours every evening working after they got home from their full-time job.

You can look to others for inspiration or guidance in your own journey, but don’t compare their accomplishments to yours. Someone will always be better and someone will always be worse, no matter what you are comparing.

That is irrelevant though. Focus on yourself.

Self-sabotage

Are you sabotaging your own success?

If you engage in negative behaviors, thoughts, or habits, then yes you probably are.

Here are some self-sabotaging behaviors:

Telling yourself/thinking you’re not good enough
Unhealthy habits (smoking, drinking, overeating, undereating, not taking care of yourself, not sleeping, etc.)
Dwelling on the past
Starting things but never finishing them
Being unorganized/missing deadlines/running late
Procrastinating

You’re standing in your own way.

Self-sabotage may seem harmless in the moment, but these things have lasting effects.

Self-sabotage stems from your thoughts and lack of confidence. You have to get to the point where you know and believe that you deserve better.

You are worthy of healthy habits and success.

Mindset and thought work are so important and something you consistently have to work on.

When you focus so much on lack, negativity, failures, doubt, worry, etc. nothing good arises. You are inviting more of those things into your life.

Actively work on changing your thoughts and mindset about yourself by journaling and training your brain. This is probably the hardest area for most people, but the most impactful.

So much social media

In 2019 I went over 6 months without Instagram and it was great. I have since returned and gone are the days where I would spend hours tapping through stories or even sharing excessive photos of my life that no one cares about.

Social media is a great thing, however, people are addicted to it and I think it has decreased the confidence of many individuals and reduces focus on important work.

I think it’s important that you be honest with your social media use.

How much time do you spend on it daily?
Can you focus on a task without checking your phone?
Do new notifications excite you?
Are you comparing yourself to others?
Do some things you see make you feel negativity?

Be aware of the media you are consuming.

I’ve recently started unfollowing people who don’t inspire me in any way. I don’t want to follow people who encourage over consumerism or who literally have nothing valuable to offer.

These outlets have a HUGE influence on us.

Reducing your time on social media will help you be more present and productive in your own life.

Hitting the snooze button

It’s time to end that snooze button habit.

By hitting the snooze button you’re literally starting your day in a negative manner AND snoozing on your life dreams.

Snoozing reduces your self-discipline, which ultimately affects your confidence and decisions for the rest of the day.

Snoozing also makes you more tired anyway and stops you from just getting up and living life.

I suggest setting your alarm for the time that you usually snooze up to and put your alarm across the room. When it goes off, take some deep breaths and IMMEDIATELY start doing something (other than getting back in bed).

Find your ‘why’ for getting up on time. This why should be powerful enough to motivate you and get you excited.

It’s difficult to think of your why as soon as you wake up in the morning, but start reminding yourself of it in order to enter a different state of mind.

I used to wake up and feel AWFUL for at least half an hour. I would think negative thoughts such as, “What is life?” “Why am I doing this?” “I don’t want to do this.”

But now I wake up EARLIER and with gratitude and drive to work toward my big goals. I immediately fill out my 6-Minute Diary. If I feel really tired I just think, “I’m just tired, it’s OK. Nothing is wrong with being tired.” I get ready while listening or watching a video and then I write.

Find your reason to wake up and I guarantee you it will get easier.

RELATED POST:
How to *Happily* Wake Up Early

Letting others/outside forces control your life and feelings

Despite what you think no one can MAKE you feel any type of way.

You get to choose how you feel or react to any situation. Your feelings can be justified, but understand that you are choosing that.

For example, let’s say your boss is making you feel stressed. Your boss assigns you too many projects and isn’t friendly or appreciative.

Your boss is not putting the feeling of stress inside of you. You are.

Sure, your boss assigns you a lot of projects and may not be friendly, but that is completely neutral. Someone else in your exact position may not feel stressed at all.

Your feelings are valid, you’re allowed to feel whatever you want, but do you WANT to continue to feel that way? Probably not.

Take a step back and observe what you are feeling. Be curious about yourself and try to understand it.

The best way to stop allowing people or circumstances control how you feel is through self-love and mental toughness. You can reach a point where an argument with your significant other won’t consume you. You can reach a point where suffering does not exist.

Of course you can feel how you want to feel, just recognize that it is you deciding that. It is you reacting to a neutral situation.

Poor financial habits

Personal finance has become a huge problem.

Personal debt is at an all-time high, savings are low, and financial literacy is nearly non-existent.

It’s time to change that.

First of all, if you’re interested in personal finance, please go subscribe to my new YouTube channel (Personal Finance with Leila). I really want to focus on helping people to become financial literate by sharing my financial knowledge and sharing my journey to financial freedom.

There are many areas of finances you can work on.

Stop overspending:

Work on your discipline and stop buying so much crap.

Think of the last few things you bought, were some of those purchases completely unnecessary? Do you even regret a few things?

All those unworn clothes in your closet and barely used beauty products are just a waste of your hard-earned money.

Start being intentional with your spending and THINK before you buy.

Do you need it?
Will it improve your life?
Could you buy it used or cheaper?

If you’re feeling inspired to reduce your spending, participate in No/Low Spend 2020 with me! More information coming soon.

Save more:

If a $1,000 emergency occurred, would you be able to cover that without going into debt? About 60% of people wouldn’t be able to!

This is a huge problem.

This is what creates a vicious cycle of living paycheck to paycheck, more debt, and financial stress.

Start actively saving by creating an emergency savings or other sinking funds. Sell things around your home or find other ways to make cash quick to get a head start!

Be aware of where you stand financially:

Do you know how much debt you have? Your net worth? If you have investments or not? How much you spend each month?

Stop ignoring your finances and prioritize them!

Don’t be afraid of numbers. It won’t help anything.

I know it can be difficult or stressful to look at anything that may cause you stress, but keep in mind that your debt or any other financial struggle does not define you.

If you start paying attention to your finances you can begin making progress.

Negative money talk:

“I’m broke.”
“I can’t afford that.”
“I hate paying bills.”

NOPE.

Remove these words from your dictionary. Sop demeaning you and your finances.

Even if you’re on a debt-free journey or barely making it bad, choose positive thoughts and words.

“That is not what I choose to spend my money on right now.”

“I like paying bills because I want to have running water, electricity, etc.”

Wasting time

Life and time are so precious. The next day is not guaranteed.

Many people act like our time here is infinite and that nothing matters anyway.

I don’t know about you, but I want to achieve big goals, make an impact, explore the world, share experiences, etc.

Life is such an amazing thing which is exactly why I choose not to waste my time on endless Netflix binges or lazy evenings.

Sure, these things are fine every now and then, but stop wasting SO much time on things that don’t matter.

Stop consuming content that is mindless or destructive.

Stop putting things off that you really want to do.

Stop making excuses.

The time is NOW.

There is so much opportunity out there to do what you want and to achieve your goals.

I want this to be your best year ever.

It’s time to let go of these things so you can live up to your full potential and focus on your priorities.

Pay attention to yourself and start to recognize if any of the above are getting in your way.

Be intentional and work on removing them from your life.