In a world governed by capitalism, consuming is culture. For this very reason, it is not the person who does the most who stays ahead, but rather the person who says no that is king. Most of us are raised believing that we must always do more in order to succeed. This is true in a sense — action is the only cause of change.
However, there are two kinds of actions or activities, if you will: those that you benefit from and those that have an opposite, negative effect. Some things that we do, help our cause, but many things we do only hurt us. We have a silly tendency of doing things that only harm our purpose, things that take us that one step backwards and further away from our goals.
It’s not that we are masochists of sorts — it’s our lack of focus that gives way to such slippage. If we were only to put focus where it was needed, we’d find that we’d get to where we wish to go much faster. Here are 10 things that you ought to avoid doing today. Try and see how long you can avoid them for:
1. Don’t snooze today.
The way that you start the day basically dictates how the rest of your day will go. It is these first thoughts that you have that will either have you getting off to a good start or off to no start. When you hit that snooze button in the morning, what goes through your head? Is it: Woohoo let’s start the day! But let me just sleep for another 10 minutes.
Or is it: F*ck…not again. Why?! Why, does it have to be morning already?! Oh what I would give not to get up right now…that’s it, I’m hitting the snooze button. Each time that you hit the snooze button, you are telling yourself that you would be better off staying in bed — that getting up and starting your day is not something that you want to do. You begin your day with negative thinking. Negativity is a disease — don’t be the one to infect yourself.
2. Don’t multitask.
There are two sorts of things that one does: those that are worth doing and those that aren’t. Anything that is worth doing should be given focus unto. Anything worth doing ought to be done properly; if you aren’t going to give something your fullest attention, then don’t bother doing it. Not only will you produce half-assed results, research now shows that multitasking makes you dumber. So not only will your work suffer, but so will your IQ.
3. Do not give mind to those that don’t deserve it.
A person either matters to you and plays a significant part in your life or they are of little to no importance. People affect us profoundly. The words a person speaks, his or her actions — towards us or around us — their energy and state of mind all affect us whether or not we wish it so. If you ever find yourself asking yourself why the hell you are hanging out with this idiot, then you have found yourself in a situation you should not be in.
The world is full of ignorant people. I’m not one to believe dumbness to be the key underlying factor, but rather the ignorance that allows these morons to accept their idiocy, to be their true fault. If your goal is to see the world from as many perspectives as possible, as it ought to be, then you have no place standing next to a dumbass — far less to be fraternizing with one. Only spend time with those who are worth it. If you could care less, then do something else.
4. Don’t take a day off.
Now, I don’t mean from work — the more time off you are able to take and the more “you time” you can squeeze in, the better. However, you should never take a day off from working toward your dreams, toward your goals and toward the life that you wish to have. Once we get to know ourselves enough to know the life we must lead, reasons for living any other way for even a second are inexcusable.
It is understandable to do erratic things when grasping for solid ground to stand on. But if you know what needs to be done, then do it. You have no reason or excuse not to. Many times people like to “reward” themselves for holding a routine for a certain amount of time. Oh, I’ve been exercising and eating healthy for the last month… so I’m going to treat myself and eat a bucket of ice cream — but only after I finish off this rack of bacon.
You want to reward yourself by regressing to a worse version of yourself? How in the name of all that is holy is that a reward? If you have been focused and diligent, making sure not to go out and get sh*tfaced, making sure to stay up-to-date on your reading and other activities that you deem important, then reward yourself by not being a pussy and sticking to it.
5. Don’t let the you of yesterday be the you of today.
Every day of our lives the circumstances change — the world is different. Nothing ever stays the same around us, so there is no reason why we should remain unchanged. We should continuously be looking for new experiences and new aspects of life that we have yet to live. There is more to do than can possibly be done — so why stick to a rigid routine that does nothing more than allow you to get through the day?
This day is a gift, not a hurdle. We are meant to grow and change for the better — this requires learning; learning requires new information, which can only be derived from new experiences. Life is the greatest teacher — experience, listen, learn and grow.
6. Don’t be afraid to ask.
So many opportunities are lost because we simply fail to ask. We are so afraid of rejection that we don’t attempt to ask. What is the worst that anyone can tell you? No? And then what happens? You go on living your life, only the wiser for knowing that you didn’t miss out on an opportunity. Life is for the taking — the least you can do is politely ask to be given what you want. You’ll be surprised to know how many people are just as afraid of saying No as they are hearing it. Which brings me to my next point:
7. Don’t be afraid to say no.
Only you know what it is that you want and what you don’t want to have anything to do with. I could never understand the concept of people saying yes when they really want to say no. Just say no. It’s fun. Try it. NO! Feels good, doesn’t it? Don’t allow yourself to be pushed around — stand your ground. There are people out there who find no shame in taking advantage of you — and I’d hate to say it, but if you allow yourself to be pushed around, then you deserve it.
This is not to say that we shouldn’t help out a friend in need even when we find it somewhat inconvenient. There are, of course, times when we ought to say yes even when we don’t really feel like it. You must figure out for yourself when saying no is appropriate and when you are just being lazy. But if you know that it is entirely acceptable to reject someone, then reject away. Whenever it is acceptable to say no, chances are that the person shouldn’t have been asking to begin with and was only trying to take advantage.
8. Do not wait until tomorrow.
Putting things off for some other time in the future is pointless. If something needs to be done, now is as good a time as any — plus, if you get it done now, you won’t have to do it later and won’t have the additional weight on your mind until then. The more we put off the larger things, the chances that we will find ourselves swamped with more than we can handle.
Not to mention… tomorrow is never promised. It would be a shame if you decided to hold off on doing something important to you only to never get a chance to do it. This is the essence of life — a certain end at an uncertain time. Squeeze every drop out of life while you still have the strength to squeeze.
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