You might be making a more peaceful life harder than it has to be. You surely aren’t doing it on purpose and probably don’t even realize it.
Have you ever met a person who just always seems to be making everything more difficult than it needs to be. You probably know a few people like this. Do you wonder what it is that makes it that way?
Here are ten things that may be blocking their road to a more peaceful life. You may even see yourself in a few of these, but it’s okay. Once you identify them, you can put together a plan and work on getting rid of the roadblocks.
No goals
What would it be like playing soccer without any goals. How would you know exactly where to kick the ball? How would you know the score? How could you determine a win or a loss?
The same goes for goals in our daily lives. If you don’t have them, you don’t really know where to focus your efforts. You don’t know if you are going in the right direction, and you surely don’t know if you’ve accomplished your purpose.
Decide what is important to you, what you want to accomplish, and set some goals to get there. They don’t have to be big and elaborate. You can start with simple things, and as you start to see your success in the small things, you can move on to the bigger ones. It may seem a bit scary at first, but you can do it!
Wasting precious time
We only have twenty-four hours in today. Some of those hours will be spent eating, sleeping, and taking care of our personal needs. That leaves us only a certain amount of time to accomplish the things we want to do with our lives.
What are you doing with that time? Are you scrolling through social media, watching your favorite shows, playing games, or doing other things that don’t really help accomplish what you want to do? There is a place for leisure, but there has to be a balance.
Try this super effective exercise. Write down how you spend your time for a few days. Write down every detail as you do it, don’t wait until later because you won’t remember it all. Then review how you actually spent your time. Does anything jump out at you? Are there places you can streamline? Be honest with yourself and make some tough decisions.
Once you find that balance between work time and leisure, you will be amazed at how things start to fall together.
Procrastination
Procrastination is one of the most common roadblocks out there. Some people find all kinds of things to do before beginning the task at hand. That can be quite productive but is it really helping you achieve your purpose?
If you have a task that you just don’t feel motivated to start, try setting a timer for fifteen minutes. Then tell yourself that you can stop at the fifteen-minute mark if you really want to, as long as you get started right now. You may be surprised at how quickly that task actually gets done.
Overthinking
I personally love to research! I love to see all the different ways people do things, what works, what doesn’t. I love to learn as much as I can possibly learn about a subject. Now that may sound like a good thing, but actually, sometimes it is a roadblock in itself for getting things done.
It’s important to be informed, but once again you need to find the balance. How much do you really need to know about something to effectively do what needs to be done? Be thorough, but don’t overthink it, and you will be able to accomplish things with a lot less stress.
Missing the lesson
We all make mistakes. Failure is a necessary part of success. Don’t beat yourself up if you make a mistake, but be sure to learn from it. What is the lesson? How can you prevent it from happening again? Someone once told me the first time is a mistake, the second time is a decision. Think about it.
Worrying
Many people worry about all kinds of things. “What if” is a big source of worry. Many ask, what if I mess up? What if I look foolish? What if something bad happens? Think about it – what does worry accomplish? Nothing good.
If you are prone to worry, ask yourself what is really behind the worry? Then address it if you can, and let it go if you can’t. There is nothing good that comes out of excessive worrying. If you can’t let it go, try changing the scenery. Give yourself a fifteen-minute break (set the timer). Take a walk, practice some yoga or tai chi, do something you enjoy to get your mind off of it for fifteen minutes.
After your fifteen-minute break, go back to your original task and tackle it head on. You can do it.
Unhealthy habits
Do you fail to build good habits? You already have plenty of good habits, like brushing your teeth. So, it’s possible to build additional good habits. When you establish positive, meaningful habits, your life will be much easier. Negative or ineffective habits lead to big challenges. As you let go of a negative habit, be sure to replace it with something positive.
What positive habits will you start? How about reading at least ten pages of a good self improvement book each day? Learn something new that will help you with your long term goals. Practice daily random actors of kindness. These are all great habits to develop.
Lack of planning
Do you fail to plan how you spend your time? Avoid waking up each day without a clue of how to get the most out of your day. Make a plan the night before or first thing in the morning and do your best to complete it each day. Check off each item as you do it, and feel the satisfaction from the progress you are making.
It is amazing how much more you can get done if you’ve taken a few minutes to plan it out in advance. You may even find some additional time for fun or relaxation as a result of your efforts.
Poor influencers
The company you keep influences you more than you know. Do you spend time with negative people or those that would rather complain and blame when things don’t go their way? The people that you spend time with influence your life.
If you want to improve the quality of your life, make it a point to be with quality people. No one is perfect, and we can’t expect to be either. Find the people that have a positive attitude, an open heart, and goals and values that align with yours.
Comparing
Do you compare yourself to others? The only person you should be comparing yourself to is the person who you were yesterday. You gain nothing from comparing yourself to others.
Did you see yourself in any of the ten roadblocks? Consider it a success if you did! Challenges are a part of life. The way you deal with them is what makes your life peaceful or not.
You have the ability to overcome any of these roadblocks. Make your plan, and stick with it. As always, give yourself some grace when things don’t go as planned, and know that you will be successful if you don’t give up.
Find your purpose – find your joy