Breaking bad habits: How to stop progressing – Part 2

If you have not had enough information on how to stop progressing from part 1, let’s discuss four more nasty ways that will hinder your life’s progress. It is a normal reaction to say: “Of course, Tony, easier said than done!” Bad habits are hard to kill. They are malicious. They exist because they give us pleasure or comfort. Therefore, you beating those bad habits contradicts your satisfaction, in a way. But not all satisfaction is good. In fact, we love fully opening that tap of damaging satisfaction and abusing it. 

We may label our satisfaction in 2 ways: destructive and constructive satisfaction. Destructive satisfaction includes pleasantries like alcohol, tobacco, fast food, and social media abuse. Constructive satisfaction, on the other hand, includes the pleasure of expanded knowledge from reading books, that feeling of achievement you have after you have completed a 6-kilometer run, and that pride you feel when your business is rocketing off into space. Granted, the latter is the satisfaction that is more difficult to get. A convincing argument, however, is that constructive satisfaction lasts longer, and helps you last longer to continue feeling it. 

So what else can you do to stop progressing?

1. Watch TV and play video games

Here is the most bitter way to put this. TV exists to occupy your time and distract you from your own life. You are watching the lives of fictional others, and despite that some of you may consider TV as some form of education, you will probably never use this education to progress. Unless you plan to work on TV and you need experience, you are wasting your limited time on this planet. 

I can say something similar about video games. Why would you progress in a virtual fictional world? Because it makes you feel good? Because it is so interesting and exciting? Are you willing to invest your time into something that will most likely not change your life? Face it. If you have made this decision, forget about progress.

Everything is a business – especially so for TV and video games. Next time you see a child with a device, observe their zombified face. It is terrifying to witness. Facial muscles get completely atrophied as that child’s entire focus is absorbed by whatever continuously addictive content is displayed before them. And we do it without fearing the consequences! 

“Most parents allow screentime for their kids, why shouldn’t I?” we argue. It makes your life simpler not having to deal with your needy kids 24/7, but at what cost? Melting your child’s precious mind? There is so much more you can do to contribute to the development of your children in a healthy way. But then, if you are a TV zombie or an avid gamer, change should start with you. Fight it. 

2. Eat destructive food

Are you still here? Good. Let’s go for another gross habit that keeps you from progressing. Ever heard of “You are what you eat?” Are you a lazy, greasy burger with extra bacon or a nutritious poke bowl full of energy? We have probably all been through it – myself included. I would argue for my right to stuff myself with McDonald’s! It tastes delicious, of course. But remember, short-term destructive satisfaction is not a great path to success. 

It is all about taste for many of us. So if that is so important, why not learn how to make healthy meals taste delicious? It is possible. If you do it, you will have clarity of mind and energy for action – 2 essential things to make stupendous progress in your life and business. What is greatly upsetting, however, is that our economy is built in such a way that healthy food is now more expensive. Who in the world would want us to be unhealthy, and why? Hmm, you have to wonder. 

3. Let your addictions run your life

There is nothing in the world more malicious than companies that supply you with purely addictive, health-damaging products. These are tobacco, alcohol, and sugar-snack companies. Their produce is already addictive, so they have a clear advantage in demand. The rest is all about branding and marketing it to you in such a way that you get hooked. Perhaps, like for me, this will help you to contemplate these addictions seeing yourself as an easy-to-get consumer for these giants. You would not want to pay these companies for goods that you know damage your health and destroy your ability to progress, would you? 

But of course, this point, in particular, is much easier said than done. It is true and unfortunate. There is much difficulty in overcoming these addictions. So, perhaps, it is a good start to learn how to control them. Your goal is not to be led by them, but rather, to indulge in them selectively. If you smoke cigarettes every hour or two, you are controlled by them. If you switch to occasional smoking, you could regain control and maybe even lay the path to quitting forever. Same with alcohol and sugary products. Are they present in your life frequently? Salad and water should be present in your life frequently, and those two evils could come in and out on rare occasions. 

4. Live in your comfort zone 

It sure is comfortable, is it not? Cozying up in your mortgaged apartment, under a warm blanket, with a bottle of red wine, watching some stupid TV show that stops you from thinking about life. Face it – that is not where you will find progress. Comfort should not be your end goal. You can always align your circumstances to find a level of comfort you enjoy. You cannot, however, always have the right settings to progress. Your time is ticking. Your body and mind are ready now. Do not waste it. 

Think: what are some of the most uncomfortable things you can do in your life at this moment? Here are some examples. You can start waking up early. You can take cold showers, or ice baths, in the morning. You can start training for a marathon. You can negotiate a salary raise with your boss. You can cut any of your toxic connections. You can validate a business idea. Notice how any of these presume progress as a payoff when they are all not comfortable performing. Hush that little inner voice begging for comfort and get that progress you really deserve. 

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If you have read this far, there is hope for you my friend! Perhaps you are open-minded to learning how to enjoy the non-commercial, simple things in life. Things such as the air we breathe, the water we drink, the nutritious vegetables in our gardens, and the energy we still have in our bodies because we are still young. I am tempted to post a third part for this blog topic next week. If you found this inspiring, please like and subscribe!