7 Bad Habits That Can Destroy Your Faith in Yourself
Do you feel yourself falling into a black hole of self-loathing or depreciation? Are you anxious and worried about what your life is going to look like a year from now?
Having faith in yourself can seem impossible. Especially in this day and age of Instagram and Snapchat, where everyone seems to be living a better life than everyone else. But there are ways to improve your self-esteem.
But first, you have to take a look at what’s affecting your life. And then, do some reevaluation.
Let’s take a look.
1. Negative Friends
Our friends are often considered our lifelines.
But sometimes the people we surround ourselves with are not the best people for our mental well-being. Negative people have a marked influence on our daily lives. Take a look around you the next time you’re with your friends.
If they are not positive or supportive, you might be stuck in a toxic friendship.
Toxic friendships can lead to increased anxiety levels. You may find yourself being put down often. Or it could manifest as dissatisfaction.
If this is the case, it’s time to cut ties and find a new friend group.
2. Over-Apologizing
Chronic apologizing has a huge negative impact on your self-esteem.
It’s always important to apologize for things that are your fault, of course. But stop apologizing for every little thing that happens around you. You don’t have to apologize for every mistake that’s made. Especially if you didn’t do it.
Chronic apologizing can lead to feelings of ineptitude and indebtedness.
Both of these things are terrible for self-esteem and self-worth. If you think you’re a chronic apologizer, try to spend a week without saying sorry.
Changing your dialogue can do a lot to eliminating this habit.
3. Not Having a Purpose
Asking yourself “What am I going to do in my life?” is something every single one of us has done at some point in our lives.
It’s a hard question to answer too. Not having a purpose is one of the most negative things impacting our self-worth. But it’s easily rectified.
It’s a good idea to sit down and try and map out your life. Figure out what your purpose is. What is your greatest passion? What do you live for every day? How do you want to impact the world?
Ask yourself these questions and make a list of how you would go about answering them. This can be the roadmap to your life. It’s always a good idea to be organized. So give your life some guidelines and start meeting some goals.
Checking things off of a list is one of the best feelings in the world. And doing that as you’re trying to find the purpose for your existence? That’s a completely priceless feeling.
4. Giving Into Your Fears
Fear is an essential part of being human.
Being afraid of things is a common part of life. But giving into your fears and worries can be detrimental to your health.
When you feel yourself falling into a cycle of anxiety and fear and it’s starting to limit your daily accomplishments, it’s time to take a step back and reevaluate some things.
Fear is often the thing that motivates people. But it might not be the right kind of motivation. Tell yourself that you’re strong. That you can do anything.
Surrendering to your worries will only knock you down. Being brave is not always as easy as we’d like, but quitting is definitely not the answer. The next time you find yourself slipping into your comfort zone, try and do something different.
5. Procrastinating Everything
We’ve all said it. “Oh, I’ll do that later.”
It’s a part of our daily dialogue. But procrastination can be detrimental. Finding yourself rushing to meet deadlines that are mere hours away can put you through a load of pointless stress.
The next time you find yourself facing a dauntless or boring task and thinking, “Man I don’t want to do this now,” don’t fall prey to that pesky “later.”
Set yourself some small goals along the way. Cleaning your spaces doesn’t have to be a huge undertaking. Just focus on cleaning your desk for an hour. Take a small snack break. Then vacuum the couch.
Small goals can lead to the completion of a giant goal. All without rushing around at the last minute.
6. Obsessing Over Social Media
We live on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
It’s just a fact of modern life at this point. But living on social media has a definite downside. Comparing ourselves to the snapshots of our friends’ lives can destroy our happiness.
One thing to keep in mind if you find yourself falling into the black hole that is social media envy: not everything you see is as it appears.
“Social comparisons” is actually a leading cause of depression for teens and young adults. A lot of this stems from social media addiction.
If you find yourself obsessively checking your favorite social media, it’s time to set the phone down. Practicing self-care is a great way to move beyond your envy.
7. Thinking Failure is the End
We’ve all failed at something, right?
Sometimes failure is overwhelming. But just like giving into your fears, letting yourself accept your failures isn’t wise either.
Licking your wounds can seem like a good idea. But you should always get back up and try again. Letting your failures drag you down is an exhausting and totally unhealthy way to go about life.
When you’re faced with something you think might be impossible to recover from, take a deep breath and focus yourself. Then, look at what you did this time around and make a plan on what to change that might make you better capable the next time.
This could be practicing job interviews. Getting your resume professionally done over. Or applying for a college that better fits your passions.
Failure isn’t the end-all-be-all that many think it is.
Always Have Faith in Yourself
It’s important to believe in yourself.
While this is always easier to say than to necessarily do, it’s something to keep in mind as you go about your daily life.
If you feel yourself falling into some negative patterns or you’re anxious every time you choose to hang out with a certain friend, it might be time for some self-reflection.
Having faith in yourself is important for improving your mental health. But to have faith you might need to make some changes in your daily life.
Visit our site for more tips on self-love and improvement. We’re sure to help you find a way to love yourself!