Things to Avoid

I read the Positivity Blog by Henrik Edberg regularly and really enjoyed a recent post about 10 things to avoid for happier 2014.  Here are my favorites from the list:

• Avoid the sea of negative voices.
• Avoid comparing yourself to other people.
• Avoid spending too little energy and attention on what truly matters to you.

I think it’s important to be intentional in our actions and clearly outline things we want to achieve.  I think a key step people often miss is including in that plan the things we need to stop doing.  Time is a finite resource and we have to make wise choices about how we allocate our time and energy.  A good way to make time for new things is to cut out the things that hold us back. 

The one that really hit home was avoiding negative voices.  Unfortunately I must admit that my own self-criticism is often one of the loudest negative voices I encounter on a regular basis.  This article made me consider the price of that negative thinking.  For example if I had a goal to work out three times a week and I stayed focus on met my goal.  I should feel very positively about achieving that goal for the week.  I set out to do something and I did it.  Meeting this goal week after week is what builds the health and lifestyle that I desire for myself.  Each week I meet my goal I drive closer to my larger overarching goals.  The thing that often happens to me is that I allow my negative thoughts about the results not matching what I want and get discouraged.  Those feelings of discouragement often make it two or three times as hard to feel motivated to keep up my work out routine because I deflate my own accomplishments.  This then makes me less likely to remain motivated to keep pursuing my goal.   

Link to the original post:  http://www.positivityblog.com/index.php/2014/01/08/avoid-for-a-happier-2014/