“We are our own potters; for our habits make us, and we make our habits.” — Frederick Langbridge, an author
Habits are behaviors we do daily over a period of time that now we subconsciously do on a regular basis automatically, making it hard to give up. Most of what you do on a daily basis is automatic , like brushing your teeth. You don’t even have to think about it, and most of the time you don’t even know you are doing it. e ripple effects that get compounded over time and ultimately determine who you become. Most of us have habits, some good, some bad and some toxic things that drain our energy every single day. I mean Ed Sheeran has bad habits too (if you know you know).
Here I share 7 toxic things that drain your energy, that are detrimental and should be cut out immediately.
7 TOXIC THINGS THAT DRAIN YOUR ENERGY
Toxic Habit #1. Quit Not Getting Enough Sleep
If you are the person who says “ you can sleep when you’re dead” . This one’s for you. Sleep is your superpower. Sleep is the FOUNDATION of health. Without sleep, there is no health. There are now many studies on the deleterious consequences to our health when we don’t get enough sleep.
Skipping sleep drains your creativity and heightens your stress levels. A study concluded that moderate sleep deprivation produces impairments in cognitive and motor performance equivalent to legally prescribed levels of alcohol intoxication.
Much of our body processes depend on getting the right amount of sleep. Processes like regulating insulin, satiety levels, hunger levels, immunity and stress levels are some of the many processes that all require an adequate amount of sleep.
So do yourself a huge favor and get all the zzz’s you need. On average most people need 7-8 hours of sleep. Next time you say you can sleep when you’re dead, you are bringing that day even closer.
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Toxic Habit # 2. Quit Being Negative
Quit being negative all the time. The human brain does have a natural inclination to give weight and remember negative experiences more than positive ones. We tend to easily fixate on the negative.
For instance, your boss who usually praises you, one day gives you some criticism. Or we fixated on that one negative comment about your appearance, rather than fixating on the 100s of other people who commented nicely about your appearance.
We have all been there. I have too. The solution to this is to be aware of this issue. It is super important that you are first aware of this negative thought pattern, so that once you have a negative thought pattern you can stop it.
After you’ve spent a little time paying attention to your thought patterns and reactions , you can take the next step to retrain your brain to be happier and more positive.
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Toxic habit #3. Quit Not Drinking Enough Water
We need water to function our best. If you tend to feel sluggish throughout the day, you may be dehydrated. When our bodies and cells are dehydrated, we function poorly. It is an important healthy daily habit to incorporate into your daily life.
While staying hydrated sounds simple, it is often overlooked and neglected. We are made up of 70% of water, and water helps to get rid of toxins and transports nutrients to cells.
Improve hydration by setting small habits.
Small habits include:
- getting a reusable water bottle and filling it up each morning and using it throughout the day. Keep it with you at all times. When the container is empty you know you accomplished your goal.
- choose water when going out to eat at restaurants
- Remember it is these small habits that add up to a large difference
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Toxic Habit #4. Quit Consuming Added Sugar (Yes natural sugar like fruit is ok)
Oh the sweet sweet danger of sugar.
Over the years I have developed the bad habit of snacking and consuming foods with added sugars. We have been taught that sugar is a bad thing since we were kids.
I knew I was consuming a decent amount of sugar. But I did not know how much. I went through my entire kitchen and decided to donate and throw out foods that had artificial and added sugars.
It just had to go.
Added sugars were hidden in my protein bars, granola bars, breakfast cereals and lots of condiments. I was very surprised. It was only one of the main reasons I was not losing weight. Did you know that 3 teaspoons of ketchup have more sugar than a glazed donut?
This habit is something we all tend to overlook. Myself included. So many food products have hidden sugars, artificial sugar, added sugars, you name it. Sugars are added to nearly everything! To make things even more complicated sugars have so many different names (56 to be exact), to name a few, maltose, sucrose, fructose.
Consuming too much sugar has been proven to lead to chronic disease, inflammation, heart disease, diabetes, destroys your metabolism, disrupts your hormones and much much more. and many more ailments.
Read those food labels judiciously and be mindful of how much sugar you are consuming on day to day.
This is a great article to read about hidden sugars:
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Toxic Habit #5. Quit incurring debt
Never be okay with incurring debt.
Being in debt has become so normalized these days. Shopping excessively and heedlessly can cause so much financial damage that it can take years to clean up.
I know it can be tempting to swipe your credit card left and right to incur those reward points but don’t be fooled. Credit cards should not be used as an extension of your income.
Don’t buy things you can’t afford.
Always assess whether you can truly afford it and if you can use your debit card instead. If you can’t, be stronger than your temptations and resist the want for instant gratification .
The reward?
Financial security down the road and a fatter bank account.
Toxic Habit #6. Refusing to Learn Anything New and Becoming Stagnant
I know as an adult it can be tough to even have a desire to learn something new. We all get so busy with work and by the end of the day we are just so tired, you can’t even think about learning something.
You can gain so many benefits from learning a few new skills. Don’t over complicate this. You don’t have to learn aerodynamic physics.
It could be something like learning a new language, learning how to knit, learning something that has to do with your day to day work.
Toxic Habit #7. Holding on to the Past
Living in the past is very toxic and damaging to your mental health and well-being. This habit will leave you miserable and you have to just let it go.
Our past makes up who we are today. When we constantly ruminate and dwell on the past, and what we should have done, shouldn’t have done, we are falling into a trap.
Something that helps me not live in the past , is the thought that the actions that I did then, were the best option I could make with the knowledge I had then. We can only learn from our mistakes.
It also helps to write down the past events that have an emotional hold over you. Writing is so therapeutic and can help combat so many of the emotions we feel when we think about the past. Writing it out helps set yourself free from the past events that keep your mind from being present.
Forgive your past self from regret and failures and focus on the present you. You can’t change what has already happened. Give yourself permission to be happy.
What are you doing today to improve your life? Do you have any goals? Have you achieved anything lately?
How are you going to start a new chapter in your life if you keep rereading the last one?
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In Summary
There are seven toxic habits that you should quit today. Quit not getting enough sleep, quit being negative, quit being okay with incurring debt and spending mindlessly , quit not drinking enough water, quit consuming sugar, quit letting your past impact your present and future, and quit being stagnant.
Bad habits impact yourself and others more than you realize. We all have toxic habits, so don’t feel bad. But we can all make sure to cut them out and avoid them.
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