The Price of Bad Habits

All beings have habits. Some habits are good, others bad and some even neutral. We look at habits as either building something or occupying us and holding us back. But what is rarely looked at is the price these bad habits cost. Now I don’t mean as in money, I mean the cost in time, resources, opportunities lost and even friendships & family.

Imagine the habit of social interaction- You are out to eat with your family or a friend, you get a text, and then you spend the next 5-10 minutes texting with that person. What is the true cost of that? Did you have a gain in the relationship with your family or friend you were ALREADY engaging with? I’m sure whoever you are with is there to spend time with you and not watch you text on your phone. The resulting cost- unfavorable feelings by whomever you are with. How often do you think of others feelings before you jump into your “habit”.

Let’s take the Habit of procrastination. You put off what you don’t want to do now in the hopes to either gain pleasure or avoid pain. But now what about when your procrastination affects others?  You’re in a rush and your emergency now becomes someone else’s problem that had nothing to do with whatever you were procrastinating in the first place. A great example is you put off getting up in the morning. Now you’ve missed the school bus and one of your parents has to drive you to school, making them late for work hence affecting their performance that would have been otherwise unaffected.

Now those are only two habits but you can easily look at your life and take an inventory of everything you to on a consistent basis. If you are not sure how your habits affect others- Ask. You may have to prepare to have your feelings hurt but after all, you may have been hurting others and not even realizing it.

How do we now have more consideration for the price of our habits? Simple –Discipline! You either want it or you don’t. If you care enough about other people in your life or your personal success, do what it takes to have the discipline to break these bad unproductive and destructive habits.

As anything, it takes practice. You have to take that bad habit and build an empowering habit in its place. Examine what you are currently doing in your habit and come up with as many negative costs to it as you can. Now, begin building a habit that is powerful, uplifting and has a positive effect on all around you. One you’ve taken this to daily practice you will be surprised on how your previous habit was holding you back.