Today, we are going to learn about 10 signs you’re wasting your life. Now, let’s begin.
- Sleeping Away
How often do you oversleep? Sleeping too much creates laziness and encourages poor self-control. In the morning, it’s challenging to get yourself out of bed. Your brain wants nothing more than a few extra minutes of sleep. If you struggle with self-discipline, you may drift back to bed, and your motivation may instantly disappear.
But over-sleepers face an even bigger problem. If you spend ten to eleven hours sleeping, you’re losing huge chunks of your day. As the weeks go by, those chunks add up. Time begins to slip through your fingers. To make matters worse, fatigue will slow you down.
Not only do you have less time… you’re also less productive with the time you have. You’re prone to exhaustion, and you may struggle with your daily routines. Here’s the bottom line. If you’re oversleeping, you’re not using your time constructively. You’re making yourself more tired, so you end up wasting your day.
So how do you change your relationship with sleep? How do you stop wasting your mornings and your life? Give yourself something to look forward to. Find an activity or hobby that gets you out of bed in the morning. Instead of craving another few minutes of sleep, remind yourself what makes you happy, excited, and intrigued. If you focus on your biggest motivators, that extra hour of sleep won’t feel so necessary.
- Historical Hesitation
Imagine this. A few years ago, you chased a big dream with everything you had, but you failed. Maybe you started your own company… but went out of business. Maybe you wanted to launch your artistic career… but you didn’t make it. Now, you’re hesitating. You’re unwilling to move forward, because you’re scared of repeating history.
It’s time to let go of your past. Yes, that failure was demoralizing and difficult. But your past does not guarantee your future. One failure should not stop you from finding success. If anything, failures increase your chances of becoming successful.
Those failures are learning opportunities. Each time you fail, you can learn from your mistakes and fix those problems in the future. When you focus on the past, you’re wasting precious time and motivation. Don’t sabotage your own success by concentrating on your failures. Instead, move forward. Try again. And look ahead toward your future.
- Mutual Productivity
Are you less successful than the people you idolize? Comparisons like these can be destructive. For example, you may compare yourself to a celebrity. But how does that comparison make you feel? You may lose self-esteem. You may worry that you’ll never catch up—that you don’t have what it takes. Faulty comparisons can drive you down. Those celebrities may be far ahead of you, but you two are living very different lives.
The more of these comparisons you make, the longer it will take to motivate and empower yourself.
There are, however, some healthy comparisons you can make. For example, you may compare yourself to your friends. Ask yourself: Am I the biggest procrastinator that I know? Do my friends spend more time working than I do? You and your friends are individuals with your own goals and ambitions.
But looking at your friends and family challenges you to improve. These are people you can work with. People that you can learn from and grow alongside. Don’t compare yourself to people you don’t know. Those comparisons drag you down. Instead, learn from all the productive people in your life. Challenge those people the same way they challenge you. Not only will you forge more meaningful bonds, your productivity will soar.
- Chronic Indifference
Are you an indifferent person? Do you care about the world around you? Ambivalence shows a lack of intellectual and creative spirit. I’m not saying you’re stupid or uncreative. Not by a long shot. Your passion has simply faded into the background. That’s why you don’t care. You’ve lost the purpose and meaning that makes one thing more important than another.
So how do you change your mind? Learn more. Invest in things that interest and inspire you. That way, you always have a reason to care.
- Directional Disinterest
What are you doing right now? Are you earning your degree? Are you working at a boring job? Are you searching for a career that sparks your interest? Whatever stage you’re at in life, ask yourself this. Am I chasing something that I love?
Am I passionate about the path that I’m on? Is it meaningful to me? Your answers tell you whether or not you’re wasting your life. Life should be spent pursuing your passions and interests. If your job doesn’t make you happy, why are you doing it? If your degree bores you out of your mind, why are you pursuing it?
Nothing is a waste of time as long as it inspires you, motivates you, and brightens your life. If you’re not interested in your goals, don’t throw away another second—no matter how cozy and stable your lifestyle may be. If your work doesn’t light a fire in your belly, it’s time to find something new.
- Repetitive Cycles
Are you stuck in the same distracting patterns day in and day out? Every day, you scroll through your social media pages. You gain nothing from it, but you do it anyway. You get stuck in these unproductive cycles, which waste hours and hours of your time.
There are two big problems here. Number one, you’re wasting more of your life than you realize. When your mind is distracted, time seems to fly by. Hours feel like minutes. The days pass in the blink of an eye. Before you know it, you’ve spent a whole day doing nothing.
Problem number two: you rely on these cycles to free your mind of your responsibilities. When you’re watching TV, you stop thinking about work. When you’re scrolling through your phone, you forget that you’re supposed to be productive. But you’ll never get those hours back. All that time you spent doing nothing, that time has disappeared. You could sit there and pine for the hours you’ve thrown away.
But that’s not a good use of your time either. Instead of wishing for the time you lost, take advantage of the time you have. Escape those patterns. Free yourself from distracting cycles. Dive into your passions and ambitions. Your goals are waiting to be accomplished, so don’t waste another second.
- Mental Maintenance
How often do you maintain your health? I’m not talking about your body. I’m talking about your mind. Many people pay attention to their physical fitness, but they forget to maintain their mind.
Your brain is just like any other muscle in the body. It needs to be worked and challenged in order to grow. If you want to stay sharp and clear-headed, you need to exercise your brain on a daily basis. Very few people give their brains the attention it deserves.
You fill your days with mind-numbing activities. Your brain becomes weak, cloudy, and easily fatigued. Your mind wastes away, and your happiness typically follows.
So take good care of your brain. Every day exercise your mind with books, brain teasers, puzzles, and stimulating discussions. There are many diverse ways to build your mind. Choose whichever one piques your interest, and don’t be afraid to mix things up. As long as you’re pushing your brain, there are no wrong answers.
- Uninspiring Comfort
Do you feel inspired? Inspiration is one of the most powerful emotions we experience. It’s a swirling, all-encompassing energy that challenges you to create and excel. The beauty of inspiration is… it can stem from almost anywhere.
An ocean view. An urban jungle. A busy sidewalk or a cozy evening alone. But what makes one thing more inspiring than another? At the root of inspiration… is experience. New experiences open your eyes to people and places you’ve never known. If you don’t feel inspired, experience may be the missing piece of your puzzle.
Many people feel bored, because they trap themselves within one tiny bubble. They’re never inspired, because they know nothing but their own stale routines.
To find inspiration, look outward. Step outside your comfort zone. And experience something new.
- An Unwanted Lifestyle
Are you satisfied with the life you’re living? Think about what stage you’re at. Think about what path you’re on and the people you’ve surrounded yourself with. Do you feel satisfied with the future you’re carving for yourself?
Or do you wish for something different? Something vague, confusing, or impossible? If you dream of a different lifestyle, stop holding yourself back. Don’t settle for a lifestyle that leaves you wanting. Don’t wait around for things to change, because no one will make that big decision for you.
Prioritize your satisfaction. Prioritize your happiness. And get moving… before it’s too late.
- Self-Isolation
You may enjoy your solitude. You may be an introvert, who feels safe and comfortable separated from the rest of the world. There’s nothing wrong with that. But you cannot live your entire life isolated from other people. Life must be experienced with others.
The connections and relationships you establish will open your eyes to things you never would have known or seen. It may be those connections that give you the purpose or meaning you’re searching for.
Because purpose, like motivation or inspiration, is neither internal nor external. It’s a combination of both. If you want to stop wasting your life, come out of the shadows. Take risks in your environment and expand your horizons. The same goes for extroverted personalities. Social connections can be fun, encouraging, and meaningful. But don’t forget to deepen your relationship with yourself.
credit: TopThink
