10 Draining Habits That Are Holding You Back

Navigating all of the obstacles in life is difficult for everyone. There is a significant amount of work needed to take care of those around you and and energy is even needed to manage the little things to get through each day. These little things add up and make it challenging to find the necessary time to work towards success. You don’t want draining habit to hold you back.

That being said, there are 86,400 seconds in each day. That is plenty of time over the course of a year, or many years, to become successful. To get there, though, you have to be thoughtful and targeted in your approach to life and decision making.

Some of the largest obstacles towards this success are attitudes and actions that drain your energy. When you do something that takes away energy, it is more challenging to focus on tasks that lead towards your success. Therefore, you should work away from unnecessary habits in your life that drain your energy.

Here are 10 draining habits that are holding you back from success that can be eliminated:

1. Worrying what others think about you.

Having a voice in your head that is always asking how others will perceive your actions is a huge weight and one of many draining habits that stand in the way of happiness. This voice is both draining and negatively impacts your decision making. Having to put each of your choices through an additional filter takes more mental energy. Plus, a deep care of others’ opinions will lead you to make certain choices you would not have otherwise.

On the contrary, being yourself and doing what you want to do without fear is both energizing and empowering. It allows you to focus your energy on what you care about and lets you live the life you want.

2. Considering sunk costs.

Continuing involvement in activities you do not enjoy is exhausting. This can come in the form of a job, a relationship or friendship, or even a long-standing project you decided to take on.

Instead, you have to view time you have spent in the past as sunk. You already spent X number of months in your job or with your boyfriend/girlfriend. That does not indicate anything about what you should do in the future.

We often hang onto these sunk costs because of a desire to feel that we made the right choices in the past. Letting this go, though, and making decisions based on what is best for you now will add significant energy to your life. You will be able to focus more on the things that you care about and can sustainably do.

3. Needing perfection.

There are times when perfection is valuable. That being said, much of life does not require flawlessness. Getting something (whether it be a project, activity or presentation) from 90 percent effective to 100 percent effective can often take as much time as it took to go from 0 to 90 percent.

In many cases, the last 10 percent is unnecessary. Recognizing those unnecessary situations will prevent you from spending significant time on things that are not important. Instead, you can put that time towards what matters more.

4. Caring about what society cares about.

Success looks different for each person. This understanding is critical in finding what actually fulfills you. Feeling an urge to make a lot of money or work a prestigious job, when that is not something you care about, can take your energy away from what matters. Instead, listen to what you, personally, desire, and do not be afraid to go after that.

5. Having to always be in control.

In the professional world, some of the biggest opportunities for growth and change come with ambiguity. Therefore, to be successful, you have to be willing to tackle the unknown. An urge to always be in control can prevent risk-taking and put you deep inside your own head. It makes you more likely to replay past and future situations in your head, and it creates a need to always be prepared.

Preparation is important, but feeling the burden to always be 100 percent prepared is draining. Instead, become comfortable that you might not know what is coming and that you are going to have to learn. This will open up countless opportunities and propel your success.

6. Worrying about the past.

Using the past to better understand yourself and learn from your mistakes is important. Living in the past and wishing you handled things differently, on the other hand, does not accomplish anything. Doing so will keep your thoughts on the negative outcome instead of in the current moment. That is draining because of the regret and anxiety that it invokes.

It also takes your attention away from being the best that you can right now. It is difficult to get over the hump, but understanding that you cannot control the past will empower a brighter present life.

7. Not keeping an effective task management system.

Little tasks can feel like big burdens. This is especially true when you have countless little tasks and do not know how to keep track of them all. That is why an effective task management system is critical. This is one of many draining habits that looks different for each person.

What matters is finding a way that you can keep track of what you need to do in a stress-free and effective way. Then, you will make sure to actually accomplish the things that you say you’re going to accomplish, and you will spend less time worrying about getting them done.

8. Taking everything personally.

You have to be receptive to change in order to grow. When someone gives you criticism, getting down about it is not going to accomplish anything. Instead, you should take the criticism as an opportunity for improvement. Even if the change is extremely challenging, it can and needs to be worked on.

Getting down when your self-concept is misaligned with your actions or how others see you will get you in a rut. In order to grow and not be as negatively impacted by criticism, you should stop taking things as personally.

9. Always blaming others.

Just as detrimental to you as the other draining habits is always blaming others. It is easy to point fingers when we have shortcomings. Doing so will only prevent growth, though. In order to be successful, you have to take accountability when you are in the wrong.

Being accountable will earn respect from your peers and will enable you to take the necessary steps moving forward. Being vulnerable, willing to take fault, and open to change will free up mental energy and put your best foot forward in life.

10. Forgetting about your health.

You have to take care of yourself rather than giving into draining habits. That means eating healthy, exercising, getting enough sleep and decompressing when needed.

In the short term, you can push your body to extreme limits and handle it. To live a sustainably successful life, though, you have to have the right mechanisms in place. Otherwise, you will burn out, become unhealthy and ultimately lose the energy you need to put 100 percent into each day.