There are bound to be days when we get so frustrated that we just want to throw in the towel. We all go through phases of boredom and burnout where we find everything we do tedious and meaningless. But if this is becoming the norm in your life rather than the exception, then something's wrong.
There are some habits and practices that can hold you back from enjoying what you do and sap your natural enthusiasm. Here are 5 of the most common ones:
1. Competition
A little healthy competition can push you to excel and up your game. In this case, what you do becomes stimulating and exciting. But when your life turns into one big, ruthless race, the picture changes.
You become obsessed with winning. You continuously compare yourself to others. You push yourself too hard and spread yourself too thin. When you don't come first, you feel crushed and beat yourself up for not trying harder.
Needless to say, the pressure you put on yourself kills your pleasure because the task or activity itself loses its meaning. Rather than being present and enjoying the moment, your mind is racing ahead to the future and worrying whether you'll 'win' or not.
The solution? Ease yourself out of the competition! Do things at your own pace and focus on doing your best. Celebrate your achievements without comparing them to anyone else's. Become your own champion!
2. Insisting on Perfection
It's important to be diligent and responsible in all that you do but striving for perfection can make your life miserable. Why? Because you're never satisfied! Your vest is never good enough, which makes for a stressful dilemma.
Being a perfectionist is extremely nerve-wracking. When you do something, you're usually too agitated to enjoy it because you need everything to be just right. And because it never is, you end up doing it over. Perfectionism can waste a lot of time and effort, drain you mentally, and make you hate certain tasks because you know you're going to do them over and over.
The solution is to change the way you think. Tell yourself that perfection is unattainable. Make the intention to do your very best and let that be good enough.
3. Striving for Praise or Approval
Seeking validation for your achievements with praise and approval is another big enjoyment-sapper. Rather than focus on the task at hand and take pleasure in doing it, your mind is projecting ahead in anticipation of the praise or approval you expect to get.
This can be a very debilitating mindset because when you don’t get praised or celebrated, you feel undervalued and unappreciated and your motivation – as well as enjoyment – plummet.
Please yourself first by doing things super well and celebrating your accomplishments. Getting praise or approval is always an added bonus but it should never be your goal.
4. Negative Self-talk
If you actually hone in and listen to your inner dialogue when doing something, you'll often find that it's negative and scathingly critical. "You're going to make a mess of this… you never do anything right… you're such a loser! You're just going to embarrass yourself…"
This is typically the type of inner commentary that you don't stop to notice. If you find that some of the things you do are becoming hateful to you, focus on your inner critic and you'll likely discover the reason.
Turn your negative self-talk into positive by being aware of your thoughts. Immediately replace the negative with positive statements like, "I'm great at this. I'm doing this brilliantly. I'm totally capable and can overcome any challenge," and so on.
5. Clutter
Many of us are used to living and working in cluttered surroundings simply because we’ve accumulated loads of stuff over the years. But while you may not notice clutter, your brain does.
Physical clutter creates mental clutter. It drains your brain's energy and clarity, leaving you feeling tense, moody, and mentally fatigued. It's no wonder that doing things amidst a cluttered space makes them unenjoyable.
The solution's simple. Declutter and streamline your home and workspace and immediately, your brain will become calmer, clearer, and sharper. You'll feel peaceful, calm, and uplifted and everything you do becomes exciting and enjoyable in your tidy, organized space.
The bottom line is that ultimately, there will be times when we find it impossible to enjoy what we do. Diverse factors can come together to create the perfect horrible day or week. But these are exceptions that rarely happen on a regular basis. Enjoying the journey to your goals and finding stimulation and pleasure in all that you do is the key to your personal best and your greatness.
Reflect on the 5 practices described here and decide whether they could be holding you back from achieving your full potential. If so, change your thought process, embrace new more productive habits and learn to enjoy anything that you do.
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