I’ve said this many times, but we all the the power inside of ourselves to get the most out of life & reach our fullest potential. While we all have this potential, we are often the ones holding our own selves back.
I’m very passionate about living life to the fullest because we all have this one life to live. We have this one life and we are the ones holding ourselves back from getting the most out of this life.
Over the last couple of years, I have come to realize all of the things that I am in control of & how I have been focusing on the wrong things. In this post, I am laying out 9 of the most prevalent things that I bet you are probably doing, that you should probably stop doing so you can start getting the most out of life. ❤
Making excuses.
We are constantly making excuses for ourselves, even when we don’t even notice it. Do you ever catch yourself saying things like:
- “I don’t have time”
- “I don’t have what it takes”
- “I will never be able to be successful”
- “I’m not pretty enough”
- “I’m not good enough”
- “Nothing ever works out for me”
Whether you want to believe it or not, those are all excuses. They are all excuses holding yourself back from living your life to the fullest. They are excuses that keep you right where you are. In order to get the most out of life, you have to get rid of those constant excuses for not showing up fully for yourself.
Try to catch yourself making these excuses. You are probably saying them so much that you just believe it and don’t even consider it to be an excuse. But, it is! Get rid of those excuses & start taking ACTION on your life & reaching those goals of yours!
Complaining all the time.
This is a big one and something that I think it really important to try to monitor in order to start getting the most out of life. Constantly complaining about every little inconvenience really trains your brain to go into this “woe-is-me” mentality & will also have you stressing out about things that really don’t need your energy. Once I started taking the time to create an awareness around all of the things I was complaining about throughout each day, it became really clear why I was feeling so frustrated all the time. These things are often not in our control & honestly, not worth getting all worked up about.
Really take the time to think about all the things that you are complaining about throughout the day.
Things like,
- Too many people at the grocery store
- The person in front of you driving too slow
- Food service is slow
There are just so many things that you are probably complaining about to yourself that you don’t even know about. But I think that it is really important to create an awareness around everything you are complaining about because it does start to weigh heavy on your subconscious. You start doing it automatically without even knowing that you are doing it and it’s going to start making you not feel so good about yourself.
So, create an awareness around all the things that you catch yourself complaining about. Especially with what others are doing and create alternative perceptions. Even if the other person isn’t doing something for that reason, it really makes you feel so much better overall.
This is definitely so much easier said than done, but creating the awareness is the first step!
Beating yourself up.
We are all the biggest bullies to ourselves. When something doesn’t go the way we expect it to, we get hard on ourselves. One thing that I urge you to try to do is to remember that you must not get hard on yourself during these times. Beating yourself up for whatever reason it may be will get you nowhere except keep you going even further downhill.
I’ve noticed this to be especially prevalent in my early to mid-twenties and I think it’s pretty common around this age for most people. It’s the time in our lives when we are set free to really figure out who we are and what we are supposed to be doing with our lives. Every time we think we are getting closer to getting it figured out, something happens to throw us off track a little bit.
When this started happening to me, I was thinking that I was the only one going through this. I just assumed that everyone else my age was getting things all figured out and they were happily progressing without any problems. When you think you’re the only one going through something, it’s very discouraging.
Trust me, I know this very well. I spent about 3 years trying to find a job, getting another degree, revising my resume, countless applications & interviews and ended up getting fired from the job I finally got after just 5 weeks. Talk about discouraging! While it was frustrating and discouraging, I’ve come to realize that Getting Fired Was The Best Thing To Happen To Me!
The most important piece of advice that I received in terms of getting through this was to not beat myself up. If you can shift your perception on the situation to the best of your ability, you can see this in a whole new light.
Give yourself some grace here! If you want some extra tips, make sure you check out my blog on The Importance of Self-Care!
Avoiding facing your fears.
A lot of people don’t reach their full potential because they are letting fear win. They stay in their comfort zone forever because they think it’s better than what potentially could happen if they get uncomfy & take risks.
However, it is really important to understand that all of your dreams, success, best life is on the other side of that fear. It takes doing things that makes your heart feel like it’s going to beat out of your chest. It takes really stepping out of that comfort bubble, taking risks & doing things that truly scares you. If it scares you, you are probably on the right track.
What is something that you really want to do, but you know there is a possibility that it could take you to the next level?
Do that. Be okay with failing because that’s where growth happens.
Putting pressure on yourself to get everything done.
One of the most common questions that I get as a Life Coach is how to balance everything. How in the world are you supposed to get everything done in the day?!
The quick answer: You don’t. So try not to put the pressure on yourself to get all the things done.
Don’t put the pressure on yourself to be a perfect parent, work 80hrs a week, cook 3 healthy meals a day, volunteer at all of your kids events, get in an hour an a half workout 5 times a week, have a solid social life, get 8 hours of sleep every night and be smiling all day everyday.
I teach creating a balanced lifestyle, but I don’t teach trying to balance every single little thing. Here’s the thing: I believe that there’s really only 3 things that you really want to balance at a time. How much better does 3 things sounds than ALLLL of the things?! So much better.. Not to mention more realistic and attainable.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help for other things. Do you have a spouse that can help with meals and watching the kids? Can you get a meal delivery service for some of your meals during the week?
There are so many options to help you keep things under control. Don’t put the pressure on yourself to be perfect at balancing everything all the time. You are human. You have one life and you must live it to the fullest.
Also, you are doing a great job & deserve to be kind to yourself!
Saying mean things to yourself.
I saw a quote recently, I forget where & who said it but it has stuck with me and I think it is really important. It said something along the lines of:
“You talk to yourself the most. Make sure you are saying the right things.”
Inner dialogue is so important.
We, especially us women are so hard on ourselves and so quick to beat ourselves up. Like complaining, your inner dialogue becomes automatic, but your subconscious always remembers.
We are so quick to tear our bodies apart and tell ourselves how we have fallen short in different areas. We say things to ourselves that we would never say to someone else.
As cliche as it sounds and as silly as it may sound, start paying attention to all the things that you say to yourself on a daily basis. You may be surprised by what you notice.
Living life based on what others want you to do.
As humans, we care a lot about what others think of us. It’s human nature because we literally need interaction and acceptance to survive.
However, I’ve come to realize that it is really common for us to do things & live life based on what we think others want us to do.
I wrote a post on Breaking Free From Society & Creating A Life You Love & I think you should check it out if this resonates with you.
This is your life. You should live how YOU want to.
Comparing yourself to others/Getting jealous.
Comparing yourself to someone else is the fastest way to halt any possibility to get the most out of life. However, I understand that it is so much easier said than done to get rid of this comparison.
Take yourself out of situations where you are going to compare yourself to others while you work on yourself. Once you take your power back from other people, that’s when the magic can really begin.
Avoiding doing things that you love.
Really sit and think about this for a moment. What are some things that you really love doing? What makes you really happy that you aren’t putting much- if any- attention to?
This goes along with doing things based on what others think of you because you might be avoiding them because you are worried about what others may think of you.
Seriously, sit down and really think about this. What do you really love that you aren’t doing right now? What makes you REALLY happy & feel alive?
Remember, this is YOUR life. Don’t hold yourself back. You are amazing & have so much to offer this world. Start living your life & go after your dreams. ❤
xx,
Jess
