5 Things You’re Wasting Your Time On
I could list off hundreds of cliches reminding you how valuable your time is, but you already know that. Time truly is the most valuable resource, asset and luxury we have in our short time on this Earth, and wasting it is both a shame and a tragedy. There are a few habits we find ourselves falling into that cause us to waste time, simply because they do not contribute to our well-being, our success or achieving our goals. Below, I ‘m going to highlight 5 shocking things you’re wasting your time on (so that you can stop NOW)!
5 Things You’re Wasting Your Time On
Today’s the day you’re going to stop wasting your time on frivolous things – things that don’t serve you, don’t better you, and that steal actual joy from you. Below are the 5 things you’re wasting your time on (and some helpful tips for what to do instead)!
1. Comparing Yourself to Other People
This one I put at the top of the list for a reason – this is the biggest waste of time because other people’s accomplishments, triumphs and achievements have nothing to do with our own accomplishments, triumphs and achievements. Comparison is the literal thief of joy (you can find me quoting this throughout many of my previous blog posts!).
Wasting time comparing yourself to other people is taking away valuable time you could be using towards bettering yourself and achieving your own goals. No two people’s circumstances are ever exactly the same, which means you’ll always be comparing apples to oranges. Take this time instead to really focus on yourself and what you want out of life, and fiercely pursue that.
It won’t be easy to break the habit of comparing yourself to others, but here is a helpful resource to get you started today!
2. Dwelling on Mistakes You’ve Made
There’s a difference between taking the time to reflect and learn from a mistake, and constantly ruminating and dwelling on the same mistake over and over again. Constantly thinking about what you may have done differently, the embarrassment as a result of the mistake, or the fallout from the mistake does not serve you or your wellbeing.
Allow yourself some time to wallow and reflect on the mistake, maybe even think about what you may have done differently. Then, allow yourself to let it go. You are human and we all make mistakes. Making mistakes is valuable to our learning, and gives us an opportunity to improve and become better as a result. Dwelling on a mistake for an extended period of time is not beneficial, and results in wasted time.
If you find this is something difficult for you to learn, here are some tips for how to stop dwelling on a mistake!
3. Not Hopping on the Self Love Train
Everyone’s self love journey is going to look a little different. Some people may struggle more than others, others may never reach a point where they truly love themselves. One of the biggest wastes of time is not taking the time to truly learn how to, work at and practice loving yourself.
Loving yourself sets the foundation for all things beneficial towards you. The actions you take, thoughts you have, relationships you experience and so much more is a direct reflection of how much you love yourself. When you love yourself, you attract things and people from an abundance mindset. When you struggle with loving yourself or there are things missing and undealt with, you subconsciously seek these traits and qualities in things, experiences and other people (only to be disappointed in the end, as they do not seem to fill the space you were hoping they would).
Taking the time to lay the foundation and put in the work to love yourself and appreciate who you are as a person opens so many more doors than not loving yourself does. Save yourself the time of struggling through things, experiences and people who serve as a placeholder for what you’re lacking/needing from yourself.
I absolutely love this article, Loving Yourself is Really F***ing Hard: Here’s How to Do it. Definitely give this a read if you struggle with learning to love yourself at any stage!
4. Staying in Situations That Don’t Benefit You
Whether it’s a job you really hate, a friend who’s on your last nerve, you can’t stand your apartment, neighborhood or city, you have to get real and raw and honest with yourself and ask yourself if these situations benefit you. So many times we stay in less than ideal conditions and situations because we either don’t want to cause a scene, we’re a little too comfortable or starting over would be too difficult.
The truth is, you owe it to yourself to do the really hard fucking thing like quit the job you hate, ditch the shitty friend or partner, or move out of the place you despise. I’m not saying make hasty decisions, I’m saying come up with a plan to get you out of the situations you so desperately hate. Because, inevitably you will come to a breaking point where you no longer can stand said situation, and you will need to bail immediately and emergently.
If you find yourself saying “There’s no way I could possibly do that” or “I can’t”, you absolutely can, you just need to figure out a plan, take a deep breath, and do the sucky thing. Trust me, whatever you’re thinking of while reading this (I’m sure I’ve brought something to mind), you’re probably dropping a lot of ‘can’ts’ and wishing for a miracle to get you the heck out of there. There is no miracle, the only miracle is you finding the courage to get up and change the things you can no longer stand for.
Here are 7 tips for helping you leave a situation that no longer benefits you!
5. Worrying What Others Think of You
Ah yes, this one’s a biggie. Sometimes we never really shake the feeling that others are judging us, saying nasty things behind our back or simply laughing at us for pursuing our dreams. The truth is, there is always going to be someone who doesn’t like you, someone who is judging you and someone who is laughing at you.
The reality is, there will be a handful of people who will judge you if you take the leap and do the thing, and then there will be a handful of people who will judge you if you chicken out and play it safe. So, if they’re going to judge you either way, you might as well do the thing that makes you the happiest.
It isn’t easy to overcome the feeling of watchful eyes, judgement and not being able to please everyone. At the end of the day, you only need to please yourself. Ask yourself – did you work towards fulfilling a goal today? Did you do something you are proud of? Did you do something your future self will thank you for? If you are proud of yourself and your accomplishments, then you have done exactly what you are supposed to be doing!
Remember, you could be the ripest, juiciest peach in the world–and there will always be someone who doesn’t like peaches.
Here are some helpful tips to let go and focus less on what other people think of us!
Something to Remember
No matter what it is, what stage of life you’re in or where you’re going next, time is always best spent when you’re doing things to better yourself, spend time doing things and with the people you love and enjoying yourself. These 5 things you’re wasting your time on were inspired by years of watching myself and close friends go through these exact same learning curves. Learning to love yourself and the work you’re doing, caring less about what other people think and spending more time with people who love and support you make all of the difference.
