Bad Daily Habits That Can Be Extremely Harmful to Your Mental Health!
What we think and what we do, in sum, shapes our perception. These small or large habits are called Atomic Habits or Micro Habits. Their size and intensity play a subordinate role. The fact is, they are a fixed part of our lives every day, constantly present and at the forefront. If you want to achieve big goals, you have to start with these small, seemingly insignificant steps. Everything rises and falls with a positive mindset. Fatefully, however, it not only determines success and failure. It can even harm our mental health if we don't say goodbye to the following bad habits.
1. Always assuming the worst
We are all familiar with this specter. Someone is a few minutes late, and we immediately think of a tragic accident or something similarly dramatic. The fact that the person may have just been delayed or met acquaintances along the way, which would be much more obvious, does not immediately occur to us. Why our mind always has to come up with the worst case instead of staying rational is not yet known. Despite all the progress in the field of neurology, the brain is still a map with many blank spots. Perhaps evolution is still speaking through us here. By preparing us for the worst possible scenario, we are prepared and can arm ourselves against it. In everyday life, however, each of these excursions into the world of theoretical horror is poison for our psyche and our well-being. If we expect murder and manslaughter several times a day, our soul will eventually not be able to rest at all and may even suffer permanent damage because it must constantly be on high alert.
2. Self-flagellation and self-criticism
If you are unsparingly honest with yourself, you are basically doing yourself some good. However, honesty should not be confused with mercilessness. Those who never let their inner critics fall silent and unreservedly believe everything they whisper to us will soon no longer have a happy minute in their lives. Unfortunately, the fine line between high demands on oneself and mental self-destruction is then quickly crossed. On the one hand, we naturally want to be successful and strive for the best possible result for ourselves. It is enough if you can assure yourself every evening that you have given your best. Failure and any setbacks do not equal defeat, rather, they are learning processes from which you emerge wiser and stronger. Instead of exposing yourself to a constant barrage of self-criticism, give yourself a pat on the back more often and be satisfied with what you have achieved. No one can be you, and no one can take this job away from you.
3. Holding on to shadows from the past
There is a world of difference between a healthy dose of nostalgia and holding on to ghosts from the past. Your psyche, in particular, gets to feel it. While the occasional reminiscing can be quite healing and an escape from the gray everyday life, the opposite is a real nail in the coffin for our well-being. Those who simply can't manage to let go of negative experiences from the past urgently need help with this. You have to think of such mental prisons as safety catches that just won't let go of a part of you. You are only partially anchored in the present and it will be very difficult for you to take off in the direction of the future. If you notice that yesterday still has a stranglehold on you, seek professional help. Not all experiences can be put to rest single-handedly. But if they are only harmless fantasies in the sense of "woulda, coulda, shoulda", then put a brake on your own thoughts.
4. Setting goals too high
In an interview, none other than Bill Gates once said: "We overestimate what we are capable of accomplishing on a daily basis, and we underestimate what we will be able to accomplish in 10 years. Even great inventors like him obviously had their problems with practicing feasible time management. If the days seem too short for everything you have planned, you are in good company. The important thing to remember is that it's not your fault that you can't get everything done, and you're not too lazy or not motivated enough to do it. There are only 24 hours in a day and sometimes that's too few for all the to-dos that are waiting for us. The only way to solve this problem is to adjust your workload downwards to a realistic level. Otherwise, you'll always feel like you're lagging behind the high goals you've set for yourself, feel inferior, and be dissatisfied and frustrated.
5. Misconceived perfectionism
Perfection has always fascinated us humans. We love the idea of perfection and the absolute security that should 100% guarantee us. In addition, we are fascinated by the desire for control and the feeling that we have everything in our lives under control. At least by this point it must be clear to us that we have succumbed to an illusion. Perfection is a myth. It simply does not exist in the human, earthly and worldly realm. Anyone who aspires to perfection must first be able to walk on water in order to qualify for it. Unfortunately, we tend to constantly compare ourselves and don't exactly choose realistic role models to do so. What Instagram and Co. make us believe is feasible and real can at best be described as manipulation of reality by every trick in the book. None of what happens in the dazzlingly colorful world of the Internet can be verified for its truthfulness. But even in real life, all that glitters is not gold. There's nothing wrong with role models, but don't turn yourself into their copycat by copying them and blindly emulating them. You just never can know what other people's lives are really like. The price that many pay for their image and their flawless facade is very high.
Today's Conclusion: Mental hygiene instead of psychological terror
Most problems we conjure up in our heads. Much of what preoccupies us day and night isn't even real, but a product of our overactive imaginations. Take a break from these horror scenarios and give your psyche a detox from bad habits at home. That's it for today.