We’re already into a brand new year, and this is no surprise that you’re looking to have a highly rewarding career in 2022. If you’re really serious about it, then it’s time to quit some toxic habits that are holding you back.
Here are 5 habits that you should break now. Don’t wait any longer – your career depends on it!
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5 Toxic Habits To Quit Immediately
Toxic Habit #1: Comparing yourself to your Co-Workers
Your coworker may be great at what she does, but that doesn’t mean you have to be in close competition. It’s about working on your own strengths and using them to do the best possible thing for your own career.
Everyone is unique and gifted. This is my favourite tagline, by the way, ha ha ha.
No one is better or worse than anyone. Isn’t it unfair to compare an orange with an apple? I didn’t say mango here… I am even a little biased!
I have my own unique journey, and you have your own. Every journey is amazing.
I have worked with thousands of people, and I’ve heard this habit from 99% of the people I have coached or trained. I mean everyone who feels stuck in their career, IS COMPARING HIMSELF TO OTHERS.
You’ll never advance in your career if you keep on comparing yourself to others.
Why? Because if you compare yourself to others, you will never be happy, and that’s what matters – happiness.
And when you are not happy, all of these comparisons will make YOU feel even worse about YOURSELF! And things like this turn into a vicious cycle, where it’s a constant fight to keep your head up.
Clearly, this affects your productivity and performance.
When you indulge in this Comparison Game, you naturally feel Jealous. And that’s a very low-frequency emotion. You may have heard me say over and over that Emotions are everything. And each habit I am talking about here causes a negative low-frequency emotion that keeps you from achieving beautiful and high-frequency stuff.
You cannot measure yourself against others, and you can’t create this huge gap between their success and yours.
Instead of wasting your time by comparing yourself to others, try to learn from those who are more successful than you in that area. Take inspiration. Because if they can do it, you can do it too.
Toxic Habit #2: Saying “yes” when you really mean “no”
Do you think that when you say “Yes” to every unsolicited request that’s not your job is helping your career?
Not at all.
It’s showing you as a weak personality. And to have a strong career, you must show a strong personality.
As a leader and employer, I can tell you that people who try to please everyone around and put themselves last usually don’t make the best employees. It’s the workers who are keen on their own success that put themselves first that will be motivated to better themselves and push the business forward.
Working long hours without control, and not giving yourself enough time for family & friends is going to keep you stressed and burnt out. The last thing you need when trying to be your best for an employer is fatigue.
Your career will suffer too if you don’t learn how to push back and say “No”. When you work in high-pressure environments, saying no helps keep your head in the game.
I’ve seen managers who are so worried about making others happy that they forget their role first and foremost is to further the goals of the company.
I see employees who are so worried about saying no that they avoid any risky projects or useful strategies that would advance their career because they’d rather not upset anyone than try something new, be recognised for it, and improve.
The best way to climb the ladder at work is to distinguish yourself as someone who is valuable, not just a team player.
Being a team player means teammates can easily replace you. Being valuable makes the company come after you if you ever leave it.
Doing your best at work entails knowing what’s really important and focusing your attention there, ignoring other tasks that are merely nice-to-haves. At the same time it’s also about learning to say no when someone asks you to do something that isn’t more important than what you’re already working on.
It means saying “No” to interruptions, unimportant emails, and requests for help with projects outside of your responsibilities. Saying “no” more often has helped me prioritize and work on what matters most, and consequently, get more done than ever before.
You may be thinking that you don’t have the guts to say “No”. Well, it’s mostly about having a different strategy for those times when you’re asked to do something that isn’t as important as what you should really be doing.
Toxic Habit #3: Holding grudges against those who hurt you before
If you are seriously ambitious and want to climb the corporate ladders fast with ease, you can’t afford to hold grudges against anyone.
This is indeed very toxic, and each toxic habit is a bad and harmful influence on anyone who has it.
Holding grudges or holding on to anger and resentment towards someone will only make you lose that person’s trust and friendship. It doesn’t help in any way, shape, or form.
Letting go of this toxic habit can be hard at first especially if you’re working towards becoming a healthier individual. However, toxic habits can be changed with determination and hard work.
Psychologists say that holding grudges against people who hurt you is harming yourself more than the person you hold your grudges against.
Grudges are toxic because they make one feel anger inside which can lead to stress, depression, and worse than that…. Hostility.
There are a lot of ways to let go of grudges but practicing forgiveness is one of the best ways to be kinder towards others and yourself at the same time. Not only does it save you from the anger and stress of holding a grudge against someone, but it also helps you heal from the wounds that person caused you before.
Everyone has been hurt by someone at some point in their lives. We all have our own stories of how we got hurt, but what matters most is not to choose to be stuck on those feelings of resentment, anger, and hatred.
If you’re having a hard time letting go of your grudges to let yourself heal from the pain that person caused you, here are some things to do that can help:
Find a quiet place where you can relax and be by yourself. This is a good way for you to calm down and center yourself.
Meditate and ask yourself, “What is the reason why I’m holding on to this grudge?” and be honest with your answer.
This may take a few days or weeks of deep thinking but eventually, you’ll come up with an answer. Once you know what it is that motivates you to hold on to this hatred towards that person, then you can move on.
Let go of that grudge slowly and let yourself feel happy again even if it’s just for a short while.
You deserve to be happy too! Take small steps towards letting go of the pain other people caused you before. If you are having a hard time or find this exercise to be difficult, then it is best to seek help from a therapist or a trusted confidant.
Be kind to yourself and others, it’s never too late to let go of grudges!
Toxic Habit #4: Blaming other people for your problems
We live in a world where most of us never want to take responsibility for our actions and results.
And the corporate world is no different.
Anytime you try to hold people accountable for what they say or do, you are met with resistance.
“It’s not my job.” “But the system is broken.” “I don’t get paid enough money for this.”
Even though there are opportunities galore in business, it takes a certain level of personal responsibility and accountability to get organised, set goals, plan your work and produce results.
Even the best idea will wither on the vine if no one is accountable for growing it into something amazing.
We have taught people that they need managers to be managed.
But management comes from within, not without. If you are waiting for someone to show you the way, then you might be waiting a while.
I know this habit is pretty old, and you may have mastered it by now, but if you don’t break this habit pretty soon, it’s going to be a huge roadblock preventing you from being successful in your career.
Exhibiting personal accountability is the single biggest characteristic I look for in all my clients and businesses because it is so rare to find someone who can take true responsibility for what they say and do.
This isn’t about blame or pointing fingers. This is about not having your head stuck in the sand. Grow up!
Taking responsibility means doing something about it now, not later. Take your lumps and move on. No excuses, please.
I only work with people who take 100% responsibility for their actions and results at work.
STOP BLAMING OTHER PEOPLE & TAKE 100% RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR SUCCESS!
Toxic Habit #5: Being lazy and procrastinating on tasks
Being lazy and procrastinating on tasks you’re not interested in at your job is toxic. It’s toxic to yourself, your boss, and co-workers, and to the company you work for.
It’s toxic because it lowers productivity—which isn’t what any business or hiring manager is looking for when they’re bringing new people on board (or even promoting current employees).
Laziness and procrastination make other employees annoyed and frustrated. People who are not lazy will resent working with a co-worker who is always late, falls behind on tasks, or doesn’t complete their work at all.
Employers need to rely on their employees to be productive, and if that productivity isn’t happening, then the company can suffer as a whole.
Laziness makes people slow to respond to emails, which can have repercussions on the company’s bottom line. For example, if a client sends an email that needs an immediate response, and your lazy employee doesn’t see it because they’re buried under other work, then this delay could result in losing money for the business.
Laziness and procrastination also make a company look less professional. If you’re a freelancer or in a working position that doesn’t require an employee badge, it can reflect even worse on you when you arrive at your place of work with little to no self-control over when you get there.
The longer laziness goes untreated, the more toxic it becomes. It’s toxic to yourself because you grow more resentful of your job the longer you don’t do it—it’s toxic to others around you because they start losing their patience with your lack of self-control, and it’s toxic for business because this toxic behavior can mean losing money, clients, or even firing you.
It’s not healthy for you or your employer, and it’s toxic to the work environment, which is why the only solution is to take action and change this toxic habit before it becomes a toxic lifestyle you continue to live in.
Now, I would like to hear from you.
Can you relate with any of these? Let me know in the comments below.
Actually, I used to have all of them at a time years ago.
Even a few more..
I am talking about them in this Episode of my Podcast.
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Tune in to this powerful episode:
$100K Without Hustle: The Fast Cash Flow Fix You Need
