Do you have a list of new year's resolutions that you find increasingly tough to keep up with? We suggest rather than building new habits, focus on eliminating some of the toxic ones in your daily life and you will automatically start feeling closer to your goals. Want to know exactly what are these habits? Read on to know more!

1. Overthinking:

Remember choosing the most obvious place for a vacation after spending hours or even days planning for a trip with your family? Can you recall a time when overthinking about anything brought out any wiser decision for you? I doubt you have any such memory.

Most of us suffer from this habit of overthinking which is nothing but a mental barrier in taking decisions quickly. Almost all of us make decisions based on intuition and yet try to find a logical reason to explain it to ourselves. So instead of thinking a lot, focus on execution. There are no good decisions, you can only work to prove that the decisions were good.

• For example: If you think that the syllabus for board exams is just too much and you are falling behind, stop overthinking and just pick up the first piece of material you come across. Once you start studying you will automatically find better ways to improvise and strategize. Spending a lot of time planning before execution is only going to exhaust you mentally.

2. Obsessing over other people’s opinions:

Growing up in a society that is obsessed with others more than themselves, most of us tend to get easily affected by what others think about us. As you grow up you will notice that it is not always helpful to listen to what others say.

You will realise that everybody else is just as flawed as you and going through a struggle of their own. So, it is more productive to focus on your own self and work on what you think is important. Remember you cannot be everybody’s darling, but you can indeed be your own hero and save yourself.

• For example: The biggest drawback of the current mainstream education system is the uniformity of it. But people are not the same. They have different learning styles and requirements. Choose a tool and plan that can help you bring out the best in yourself. Do not obsess over what the teacher says is right or what your friends and neighbours say.

3. Fearing change:

Being scared of the unknown is natural. Yet a lot of us don’t think about it very consciously and let this habit impact our journey towards success. However, people who want to live extraordinarily need to take every challenge as a learning opportunity. These opportunities will help you improve and become a better version of yourself. Even when it gets too scary, try to persist a bit longer to reach your target.

• For example: Feeling intimidated by highly competitive exams is natural but if you really intend to excel, get the fear out of your mind. Ask yourself, what do you have to lose? Who knows it might even lead to success or learning that might help you later on.

4. Talking yourself down:

Would you like to be with someone who constantly motivates you to get better or someone who discourages you and focuses only on your shortcomings? The obvious choice would be the former one. Similar to your expectations from others, your relationship with yourself should also be a positive one. Do not take yourself down. Keep encouraging yourself.

As famously said by Lao Tzu: “Watch your thoughts, they become your words; watch your words, they become your actions; watch your actions, they become your habits; watch your habits, they become your character; watch your character, it becomes your destiny.”

• For example: Do not discourage yourself from dreaming about the prestigious university you want to go to. Rather, focus on preparing yourself mentally to take on the challenge of reaching there.

5. Procrastinating:

We often spend our entire day doing everything but the hard thing we don’t want to do. Think for a moment. What is that one thing you’ve been putting off lately? Have you ever wondered why we do that? After eventually completing the task a lot of us feel that it was not so difficult in reality and we unnecessarily worried so much.

What you’ve been doing is basically trying to protect yourself from uncertainty. None of us wants to feel incompetent or overwhelmed. Procrastinating is one way we can avoid feeling that way. So just start acting on the first thing on your task list and let the momentum take you even further.

• For example: The next time you find yourself putting off solving mock tests, decide a specific time to do it and don’t waver. Get yourself to be accountable to someone like a friend or a parent.

These are some of the most toxic habits we think you need to get rid of immediately in order to reach your goals.
Do you struggle with these in your daily life? Do share your experience with us in the comments below.