By Jack Parsons

We all have big dreams. We all want to achieve amazing things in life however it’s human nature that sometimes we have things that get in the way which upsets us, waste our time but most importantly our energy.

Lots of people have that ‘I don’t trust someone who smiles that much’ thought when your gut feeling is going against an overall, seemingly friendly exterior that someone is exuding on an everyday basis. These contradictions between your mind and feelings can take up a lot of thinking time in a day.

Here are 12 Everyday habits that drain our time and energy:

Taking things personally

We are the center of our own universe, so it is more than understandable to be protective of oneself. Any vague conversation, snide comment or just a shared opinion can suddenly become a personal attack to your own value. However, try to remember that the majority of people that surround you think the same way. Try to distance yourself from the situation and either see the whole picture and perhaps realise that the situation at hand might not event involve you one bit. Or you might just get a glimpse into the other person’s perspective.

Always try to assess the situation before developing your own emotional reaction to it.

Now, there will be cases where what you realise that you were right all along, perhaps the situation did include a snide comment towards yourself. But. Then. Do you really want to waste energy thinking about people that don’t give you the respect that you deserve?

Holding on to the past

The history of the human race is nothing more than a bundle of stories. They put as to sleep at night, we learn them from history books at school and as we grow up, we develop our own stories. It is great to have a full life to remember and often laugh about silly memories. But it’s the bad memories that ten to bring us down. The key is to learn from any and all situations. Yes, think about them, analyse and learn. But once the lesson is learned and it is there, in your subconscious keeping you safe from future harm, what is there more to think about?

Never fail to learn, but once the lesson is over, remember the teachings, not the entire lesson.

Always checking social media

It should go without saying that social media is a technological and social marvel that has enabled people to reach far and wide in this world. But try to be aware of other factors in life that can bring you just as much joy as scrolling through Instagram or Twitter. Human interaction, emotional development, intellectual stimulants. The world is a wonder itself. So prioritise your time, since you do have a limited amount of it on this earth.

Over-stressing

Interlinking with most points made here, over-stressing is an analytical flaw within the human brain. We try to prepare for any possible outcome out of a situation, when in reality only one of them will be the ultimate ending.

Stress is a difficult thing to deal with over all, and there are multiple ways of dealing with it. Meditation is your thing? Brilliant! Going for casual walks (or running if you’re the active type)? Fantastic! There is no way to get rid of stress all together (and let’s be honest, not much would be done without a little stress), the key is to stop it at a healthy level and redirect your energy elsewhere.

Sleeping in late

Sleep is a wonderful, and yet very tempting thing. Most of the time, we are not in charge of our bodies and minds once asleep and the relaxation level can be very tempting. But again, remember that your time can be spent doing so many more things that you will enjoy. And if you’re willing to improve on this particular aspect of your life, depending on your body, you can actually figure out the best hours in the day for you to sleep that will bring the most energy to the following day.

Fuelling drama

Being a part of a community is embedded in our psyche. And spending time with other highly social beings can be stressful, yet very rewarding. Your opinion has the most value to you, and it is ok to feel like it needs defending. But being social and smart can be two different things. A clever person would (once again) distance themselves from a dramatic situation if the overall outcome will not be beneficial to the individual. And fuelling dramatic situations might be best left in secondary school, when you we’re a young child, not in control of your overpowering emotions on ‘being right’.

Having a poor diet

Not only is it time and energy wasting, poor diet also wastes your money!

Not taking care of your health is a luxury only a child can have, when they are fully dependable of their caretakers. As you grow up, thats becomes a personal responsibility that, sadly, you cannot blame on anyone else. By having an unbalanced diet you damage your mental and biological health, therefore even lessening the lifespan that you are expected to live. Is that not scary, or what?

Complaining all the time

This point is very closely related to holding on to one’s past. Complaining about things that happened or will happen in the future is a waste of breath and brain waves, that can be put to much better use. Although there is only a limited number of things you can change about a certain situation, there is an infinite amount of positive ways that you can change your perception.

Overthinking

Going through the biological changes of puberty influences our minds as well. We start to understand the world around us better, and it is natural that we tend to overthink it. Once again, try to stop yourself and think of better ways to spend your time. Redirect your thoughts to a new topic. That way it’s not over thinking, it’s just thinking about a lot.

Gossiping

Once again, our highly social nature drives us to huddle together and share thoughts by the best communication tool at our disposal – speech. Gossiping is a very fun and devious way to pass time with friends, or even strangers. But a regular chat can very easily turn into nasty gossiping that gives no real value to you. There are much better ways to get to know what people are doing in their personal lives, like asking them personally.

Not living in the moment

Choose to spend your time wisely and try to enjoy all that this life has to offer and create amazing memories. By not living in the moment you will most likely miss beautiful moments that’ll pass you by and never come back. You might not even realise how much you miss just by rushing through life and having tunnel vision, slow down and remember – you life is much more than just your education or career.

Worrying about things before they happen

Overthinking? Overstressing? Add premature worrying to the mix and you become a bit crazy. It gives us a feeling of safety and security when we know what to expect from certain situations, but genuinely worrying about it beforehand can hurt your trust in yourself and others. Not only that, you’re once again wasting time worrying that can be put to much better use – go ahead and halt the negative train of thought and try to redirect it towards thoughts that would actually help you out. Always evaluate your emotional response to your thoughts and try to see if the energy is spent wisely.