Embarking on a spiritual journey is not as easy and brilliant as it sounds. That’s why we need to make things as simple and smooth as possible. It means that you have to let go of all the things that are not helpful to you in your spiritual quest.
Some of these things are bad habits that you are used to. These habits become obstacles in your journey. That’s why you need to eliminate them. Otherwise, these bad habits will become extra baggage on your trip which will only make things more difficult.
Also, you couldn’t transform into something new by functioning the same way. If you want to grow you need an update. Here are the common bad habits we all get used to in our lives. Try to eliminate each of them. You will see how your journey becomes smoother and easier without them.
Table of Contents
1. Having self-limiting beliefs:
Self-limiting beliefs include defining yourself in a way that you might not see any room for improvement. If you think of yourself as a mediocre person, you tend to act that way because you think that’s who you are.
This is how you limit your possibilities and the divine spark of the Universe within you. Stop defining yourself. Open yourself to becoming.
2. Thinking your job is your life:
Just because you spend more time on your job than on other things, it doesn’t mean your job is your life. If so, who would you be, if today or tomorrow, or the next day, you lost your job?
Your job title has nothing to do with who you really are. You are more than your job. Once you see yourself this way, your life will be more meaningful.
3. Being your worst critic:
While it is good to evaluate yourself every now and then, criticizing yourself for the things you have done wrong is not healthy. Be constructive in your criticism of yourself.
Stop when you feel like you’re wrong. Instead, focus on how you can improve yourself. In fact, that’s what criticism is for, to tell you where you should improve and what you should learn, not to belittle yourself.
4. Feeling anxious all the time:
Anxiety is not only harmful to your body but also to your spirituality. Too much anxiety is likely to lead to depression. It’s normal to feel anxious when your work is about to be assessed because that means it is important to you. Make sure you’ve done all you can to be the best you can be.
However, feeling anxious all the time is not good. It will prevent you from seeing things as they are and will hurt your spiritual connection. Let go of anxiety by accepting that some things are out of your control. Focus your energy on the things that are. That’s all you can do anyway.
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5. Listening to your ego:
Your ego is always there to feed itself. It wants to stay the same, defined and protected. It doesn’t care about your growth at all. If you allow your ego to have the final say, you will not grow. A sign that you are listening to your ego is when you take things personally and the opinions of others about you enter your mind and your emotions.
Don’t push back your ego because it is not your enemy. Just acknowledge its presence but never listen to it. Focus on the things that can make you a better person. Instead, listen to your soul. Let others have their opinion. Moreover, they all have the right in the Universe to have their opinion, it is their opinion and not yours. You focus on your own opinions and personal growth.
6. Holding onto feelings of guilt:
You are an imperfect person just like anyone else. You may have made a decision that seriously hurt you or yourself. It’s good to feel bad about these things because it means you realize the mistake in these decisions. But that doesn’t mean you have to feel bad about yourself forever.
Feeling bad will lead to guilt. And feeling guilty doesn’t solve things. The best thing you can do is make changes. Ask for forgiveness and learn from your mistakes so you don’t repeat them.
However, if you keep repeating some of these mistakes, it doesn’t mean that all of a sudden it’s normal to feel even more guilty. The same is true here: make amendments, ask for forgiveness, and try even harder to learn. From there, try to be wiser and kinder next time.
7. Making procrastination a habit:
It’s okay to think once or twice before making a decision. But using your over-thinking to procrastinate is not acceptable. You will hurt your productivity and miss important opportunities.
Sometimes it is more useful not to think, but to do it right away. Of course, only if these things aren’t extremely dangerous or really important to your life quality.
8. Being around the wrong people:
Be aware of who you surround yourself with. As it has been said, “If you hang around five idiots, you will be the sixth. If you hang around five broke people, you’ll be the sixth.
If you hang around five confident people, you’ll be the sixth. If you hang around five millionaires, you’ll be the sixth. That makes sense, doesn’t it?
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9. Seeking validation from others:
We all seek validation from others, especially when what we feel is quite uncommon. But when you seek validation from others to feel good about yourself, it isn’t healthy. To constantly seek the approval of others is to deny the greatness in you.
It means that you give others the right to speak your mind rather than yourself. Others have known you much less than yourself. No one, therefore, has the right to validate you rather than you. You might not be the best, but you are the best for yourself. Focus on yourself and your growth.
10. Being stuck in the past:
If the past still haunts you, it may mean that there is something in the past that you need to turn back and heal. Healing is the only business you ever have with your past.
Let go of the regrets. Accept what happened. Learn the lessons. Heal. Then continue.
11. Being too attached to things:
One lesson that can help you the most on your spiritual journey is the art of letting go. Letting go is detaching yourself from the material and immaterial things you have. Learn to slowly let go of your possessions, your guilt, your ownership of people’s attention, and time.
Understand that nothing is permanent and those material things, even many immaterial things, are temporary. Enjoy their presence, but don’t get too attached. However, another trap that many people fall into is the attachment of letting go.
They try to detach and let go of so much that they can not realize that they are attached to the act of detaching. Some things are worth hanging onto, even if they are temporary in nature.
12. Not valuing your time:
Time is our most precious asset on earth. Give more value to your time by devoting it to whatever activities make you grow. In spirituality, the most precious time is the present moment.
When you make every moment count, you are on the right track for your spiritual journey. Come to the present moment and realize that this is the only time that really exists, the only time when you really exist. Stay present and in the present.
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