3 Toxic Habits That Make Us Tremendously Unhappy
Not always toxic people, bad times or adversity cause us unhappiness. On many occasions, more than we realize, unhappiness is born of our actions, through toxic habits that we repeat without thinking because they have become part of our routine. Furthermore, instead of analyzing and transforming them, we choose to blame luck as we sink into bitterness.
It is clear that being happy all the time is impossible. However, it is doable to maintain a certain balance and emotional well-being. This is simple when everything is fine. The problem arises when obstacles appear or we have to compute a setback, something that happens very often. Out of inertia, we continue to maintain these toxic habits, and by definition, the more we do them the harder it will be to “escape” from them. They have turned into a vicious circle in which we feel trapped.
Toxic Habits: Energy Thieves
Many of us will feel identified with the toxic habits we’ll mention next. It’s curious because they are part of our life, without realizing how much they influence us negatively. One of these very human customs is that of desiring what we don’t have. We underestimate what we have, we want more and more. Realizing that we don’t need anything else to be happy is what will keep us from feeling heartbreak and sadness.
Likewise, the opposite situation occurs: emotional stagnation. A circumstance in which we are not going forward, but neither are we going backwards. We stay in the famous comfort zone that holds us, preventing us from growing and progressing, moving forward and feeling fulfilled. Why don’t we get out of it? Is it out of fear? What causes us so much insecurity? Being honest with yourself and reflecting on this will allow us to put an end to a situation in which we feel trapped in our own prison.
Another of the toxic habits we put into practice is that of autopilot. That moment in our lives when we don’t pay attention to the present, we don’t savor it. We move forward without stopping to think about what we are doing. It is as if we were walking through a forest, without stopping to contemplate the wonderful landscape around us. We move away from reality, we don’t enjoy the here and now, and we miss out on great pleasure.
Nor can we forget something that we often leave in the background or third place. We are referring to our food and also our sleep. Eating poorly, not maintaining a healthy diet, will have a clear negative repercussion on our mood: we will not have the necessary energy level and we will have impaired self-esteem. In the same way, getting enough sleep is important to work and feel better.
The worst of toxic habits: playing the victim
We left for the end one of the toxic habits that most resonate in our relationships. Playing a victim is, for many people, a resource for getting attention, among other privileges. However, this custom implies many other practices that make us plunge into a very adverse reality.
Playing the victim keeps us stuck with all the negative emotions that we would have to try to release. However, we need them to make us feel sorry and not feel responsible for what is happening to us. Closing our eyes, embracing negativity, will cause only anger and resentment in our hearts.
Denying reality: a dead end street
Related to this is the terrible habit of denying reality. When this is not what we would like to observe, we simply turn our back on it and deny it. However, doing so will not prevent her from being present. It will continue to exist no matter how long we don’t want to see it, and without a doubt, it will hurt us in a strong and violent way at any given time.
The habit of playing the victim is often accompanied by a tendency to blame others. We will never be responsible for what happens and, even if this is the case, we will try to make ourselves seen as martyrs. For example, if we fail a subject in school, we will never be to blame for not having studied enough or for not being focused; it was the fault of the teacher who took a very difficult test.
In conclusion, there are many toxic habits that we maintain in our daily lives that we need to let go of in order to feel good. Without a doubt the last of them – playing the victim – is the most complicated to approach. Not having the ability to be self-critical and accept our mistakes will prevent us from being aware of all these customs that we include in our routine and that make us feel bad about our lives.
