
If you've kept up with us here at the VAI blog, then you know we are all about wellbeing. A big part of wellbeing is taking personal responsibility for your own happiness. Part of personal responsibility is identifying habits that are sabotaging your success and happiness and then taking steps to overcome or extinguish these behaviors in your life. 💥
Many of these habits are low key addicting because:
they give you a dopamine hit
they have been taught to you by formative caregivers
they are often reinforced in our lovely society
they are based in fear, and many people have been taught to be afraid
they help you avoid doing things or feeling things
they reinforce your old programming
they distract you from doing the work that will change your life for the better, but you are subconsciously afraid of change or feel unworthy of improvement so you revert to the addictive behavior because it feels safe and familiar
If it isn't obvious to you, what brings you comfort can also serve to keep you stuck. In this blog, you are going to learn about 9 sneaky addictive behaviors that are gatekeeping your highest potential, and tips to get ride of them.
Addiction #1: Comparison
Comparison is a strange human tendency to look at what another else has accomplished and then judge themself as lacking or less than. It happens in a split second, makes us feel like 💩, and steals joy. It can also result in rushed goals, dissatisfaction with life, relationship problems, and persistent feelings of inadequacy. Comparison is a component of impostor syndrome.
Try This: Combat comparison by adding a simple gratitude practice to your morning and evening routine. Catch yourself when you are tempted to compare yourself negatively to others and instead, use it as an opportunity to celebrate the success and joy of others.
Addiction #2: Comfort
Ah yes, the comfort zone: where dreams go to die. Our brains love comfort zones because comfort zones = survival. We also feel smart and expert-like in our comfort zone. But nobody ever really grows in a comfort zone. You don't have to jump off a cliff, but you do need to push yourself a little closer to the edge.
Try this: Use the 85% rule when you are trying new things. Learning is optimized when we get things right about 85% of the time. Also, remember to have grace and patience for yourself when you are outside your comfort zone, and tell your harsh inner critic to take a hike.
Addiction #3: Quitting
When things get hard or we feel overwhelmed, we tend to think quitting is the safest thing to do. But the only way to guarantee failure is to quite. If you simply stay in the game long enough, you will be ahead of most people.
Try this: To avoid quitting something, commit to finishing it by giving a friend $100. If you quit, they get to keep the money.
Addiction #4: Distraction
Do you distract yourself from your life? Not including sleeping, is there ever a time when you're not watching something, playing something, listening to something, or consuming some kind of information? Do you feel anxious if you sit still too long?
Try this: Schedule one 15 minute block each to do NOTHING. No inputs. No distraction.
Addiction #5: Your Phone
You knew this was coming. Phone addiction is real. Just watch people around you. Watch yourself - see how often you check it - how your thumb just knows automatically how to get you into your scrolls. Yeesh.
Try this: Turn your phone off 1 hour before bed. Don't turn it on for 1 hour after you wake up. Your life will transform before your eyes.
Addiction #6: Waiting for the Perfect Time to Start...
...is never going to happen. There's no good time to start a business, have children, pursue your goals, etc. Right now, there is someone out there who is less qualified than you and is living the life and goals you want simply because they took consistent, aligned action.
Try this: Use the 70% rule: take action when you have 70% of the information you think you need to get going.
Addiction #7: Multitasking
Do you find yourself watching a show and scrolling on your phone? Half-focusing leads to half-assing. Furthermore, having a constant need to be doubly stimulated or doubly distracted may indicate an underlying mental imbalance such as anxiety.
Try this: Commit your full focus to whatever you are doing. If you can't, get help from a therapist to retrain your brain.
Addiction #8: Procrastination
In the words of guru Pink Floyd, "And then one day you find 10 years have got behind you. No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun."
Don't lose your life to procrastination. Like other addictions, your mind thinks that procrastination serves a purpose to protect you (from change, from failure, from success, from being seen, etc.).
Try this: Use the 5 minute rule. If you're procrastinating something, just work on it for 5 minutes. The hardest part of a task is often just getting started.
Addiction #9: Complaining
Complaining may seem harmless, but over time, it will train your brain to look for the negative side of everything.
Try this: Wear a rubber band on your wrist for a week. Every time you complain, snap it, and immediately say something you are grateful for.
Action Step
Pick one of the nine addictions you would like to work on, and work on it! Let us know in the comment section which one you picked and what you are going to do to remove it from your life.
All our slightly scandalous love to you,
Sarah J. Wooten, DVM, CVJ and the Vets Against Insanity Crew 😆

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