Adopting healthy habits and giving yourself time for yourself can help increase energy. Learn seven toxic habits that zap your energy and how you can break them.
Complaining or holding grudges can be an energy drain. Try to limit exposure to negative people and focus on building positive relationships instead.
1. Not doing what you are passionate about
Passion gives us the drive and determination to work hard at whatever it is we love doing – this allows us to complete each task precisely and with excellence. Furthermore, passion helps us overcome any obstacles along our path as they are an indicator of progress toward our ultimate goal.
However, it’s important to keep in mind that not every activity can become a passion. People may care deeply about many different topics without reaching the level of passion – which is okay! For instance, one may be passionate about being an attentive friend or leading a healthy lifestyle – all fantastic pursuits which can bring great satisfaction in life.
One habit that can sap your energy is reading negative news on a regular basis. Doing this may leave you feeling stressed out, overwhelmed and anxiety-ridden; to combat this habit try limiting media consumption and focus on positive stories instead.
Lacking passion in your job can also sap energy from you. Feeling fulfilled at work requires passion as it helps us see its value; whether that be as simple as seeing its positive effects on others, or more complex like making products or services that contribute towards making an impactful difference globally.
2. Not making time for yourself
Lack of self-care can zap your energy and productivity. Therefore, it is crucial that you dedicate some time each day for you – be it exercise, meditation, reading or simply relaxing – so as not to fall behind on life and feel stressed and depleted.
Procrastination, overworking and avoiding difficult conversations are three common bad habits that drain energy from you. Procrastinating can sap mental energy and lead to anxiety or stress; failing to engage in difficult conversations may create miscommunication in relationships; while overworking can drain you of all energy leading to burnout.
To kick these habits, begin by taking an inventory of what and why you’re doing what you do. If your energy is being wasted on something that does not bring joy, make plans to stop doing it; if overworking is an issue for you, try setting tasks aside so that you can leave work at a reasonable hour; if waking late is an issue for you, try getting up earlier so you have time to yourself before embarking on your day.
If you’re finding it hard to motivate yourself, setting a reward or end goal might help. For instance, perhaps rewarding yourself with some new exercise gear would motivate you more effectively than simply trying.
3. Not eating healthy
Unhealthy diets deprive your body of essential nutrients that it requires for energy and optimal health, and introduce harmful substances that could contribute to chronic diseases, mental illness and obesity.
One of the primary excuses people give for not eating healthily is cost, yet when you compare junk food prices with those for lean proteins (chicken and pork loin), fish, whole grain (quinoa, couscous and oatmeal), fresh fruit and high fiber vegetables – you will discover they actually cost less.
People often don’t eat healthily because it seems too time consuming, but meal prep and cooking does not need to take much of your day – in fact it can actually save time by cutting back on grocery trips and kitchen cleanup!
Altering your diet slowly over time is also key in breaking harmful eating habits, like reaching for a bagel bite for breakfast or reaching for candy bar before work. Instead, try switching it up by opting for cereal with milk and fruit or even some yoghurt instead.
4. Being overly critical of yourself
Critiquing yourself is a dangerous habit that can undermine both your self-esteem and mental wellbeing. While constructive criticism can be useful, excessive self-criticism can lead to overly negative thoughts, unrealistic expectations and exaggerating any mistakes or negative actions committed or said by yourself or others. Self-criticism drains energy while making you feel unworthy of happiness.
If you find yourself regularly self-criticizing, speaking to a therapist could be extremely beneficial in teaching strategies to reduce negative internal monologues and boost your mood. Or consider looking at all that makes you good instead of dwelling on all that needs improvement – take stock of all your accomplishments and write down everything that makes you proud to give a more accurate picture of who you are.
One way to reduce self-criticism is to recognize when you are having critical thoughts and address them directly. Ask yourself whether they are realistic and whether there is evidence backing up what they say; for example, if you find yourself critical about failing to finish a project on time, check if the task itself is actually difficult or whether others also struggle with similar tasks.
5. Trying to please everyone
Restrained from pleasing others is a dangerous habit that can drain energy and drain you of vitality. By prioritizing others’ needs over your own, people-pleasing can lead to anxiety, stress and burnout – often with devastating results for all parties involved. People-pleasers may have various motivations behind their behavior such as low confidence levels or fear of rejection as well as past trauma being at play here.
People who strive to please all may lack an ability to manage conflicts and find it hard to say no, feeling guilty when their expectations aren’t met by others. When this happens, they often put others ahead of themselves and may engage in harmful gossip as a means of protecting themselves from hurt feelings.
If you tend to try too hard to please everyone, it is important to acknowledge its negative effects and identify its root causes. With that information in hand, it becomes easier to develop healthy emotional management practices and establish healthier boundaries among family and friends. A therapist may provide additional advice and coping skills for helping overcome the urge to please.
6. Spending too much time on social media
Spending too much time on social media can become highly addictive; according to Computer World, it may even rival crack cocaine! Cutting back even temporarily on these apps could open up hours for personal and professional goals.
This bad habit saps your energy, leaving you unproductive and stressed out. Additionally, it may cause you to compare yourself unfavorably with others and lead to feelings of loneliness and low self-esteem – not to mention diverting quality time with family and friends.
Other negative consequences of spending too much time on social media include: – Cyberbullying can be very harmful and leave lasting emotional scars, making life-long emotional scars. Feeling pressured into posting embarrassing photos or videos that damage reputation. Being self-absorbed by constantly checking Facebook or Instagram feed to see how many likes or comments I have. Engaging in risky behaviors on social media such as playing dangerous pranks, sharing explicit material or accessing my phone while driving or in dangerous situations – indulging in risky activities while engaging in risky behaviors on social media instead of making genuine relationships in real life.
7. Striving to be a perfectionist
Strive for perfection can be beneficial, but taking things too far can be detrimental. Maladaptive perfectionism can lead to negative beliefs such as thinking your work is never good enough or feeling like you must achieve a certain level of success before feeling worthy and worthy of praise; leading to burnout, stress and depression as a result.
Perfectionists tend to be very aware of any mistakes they make, which can be especially stress inducing. It is essential that we all realize everyone makes mistakes; failure does not define who we are as individuals.
If you tend to be too hard on yourself, try shifting your focus away from focusing on the final result and more toward the process of accomplishing each task instead of the end result. This will reduce stress levels while protecting you from overworking yourself. Setting a time limit while working can also help stay more focused while decreasing procrastination.
If your perfectionism is creating difficulties for you in life, seeking support from a mental health professional could be beneficial in developing healthier coping mechanisms and learning how to control it.
