11 HABITS YOU NEED TO STOP

Your brain loooooves to be efficient.

Once it learns something and does it over and over, it doesn’t take any energy to do it. It becomes a routine.

This is why it’s important to stop and think about whether your habits are helpful or not.

And it’s exactly why I’ve come up with a list of 11 habits that you should stop doing asap.

So, here are the 11 habits you need to stop…

1. STOP BEING BUSY

Being “busy” is a state of mind. It means that you have too much going on that you haven’t planned for.

The reality is that you can take all the actions in your head that you need to do and put them in order on your calendar and do them.

You can choose to do this without ever being “busy” again.

When you free yourself from saying you’re busy, you get clarity on your life.

You can grab my free eBook – 25 Habits That Reduce Stress, Busyness, & Overwhelm for more habits that will help you stop feeling stressed, busy, and overwhelmed.

2. STOP LEAVING LIFE UP TO CHANCE

When you leave life up to chance, you don’t set goals, which means you don’t pursue your dream life.

In this scenario, you are living someone else’s dream.

This is what I teach and talk about in Dream Year, the goal-setting workbook I created to help you achieve your dream life.

When you don’t plan your long-term goals and set intentions for your life, the day-to-day overwhelm will get in the way of any chance you have at living the live you’ve always wanted.

This is no way to live.

3. DON’T BE A SCARCITY THINKER

If you are in the habit of being a “scarcity thinker”, you need to put a stop to it asap.

Scarcity thinking means that you think life is limited and only has so much to offer. It’s thinking “there’s not enough” — not enough time, not enough money, not enough fill-in-the-blank.

People who have a scarcity mindset think there is always a winner and a loser (not two winners), they are exclusive (not inclusive), they are stingy with their knowledge, they resent competition, they are fearful, entitled and think small.

On the other hand, someone who is an abundance thinker believes there is always more to come, they invite and welcome competition, they default to trust, they think big, are thankful, and confident.

Be an abundance thinker. You will be happier, healthier, and more successful.

I could’ve chosen to look at my student loan debt as “poor me” and “how could this have happened to me” (and to be honest at first I did think this way). But soon enough I started a blog, monetized it and last year I made $45k blogging while working full time.

4. STOP LIVING PAYCHECK TO PAYCHECK

If you are in the habit of living paycheck to paycheck, it’s such an awful feeling.

I’ve been there. I used to be broke AF and had no clue how to change it. In a few short years, I’ve completely changed and transformed my life to becoming a financial expert and paying off $100k of student loan debt.

So, how can you do it?

The first step is becoming aware of your problem.

The second step is to get on a budget.

Grab my budget spreadsheets and use my budgeting blog posts to start budgeting asap.

The peace that comes with having financial margin is far more valuable than any of these things.

5. STOP PUTTING OFF STARTING A SIDE HUSTLE

If you want to start a side hustle and you’re putting it off, you need to stop.

This is a habit. You’re in the habit of putting off your dreams.

It’s sooo easy to do this. But the truth is there is never a right time.

I’m here to tell you the right time is right now.

Here are the best resources for you to get started:

• 5 Day Blogging Bootcamp (for starting a blog)
• 45 Ways to make extra money (for getting inspiration on which side hustle to start)
• How To Start A Side Hustle + 23 Ideas (for learning how to start a biz)

I am the perfect example of what is possible when you start a side hustle. I went form overworked attorney to full time blogger – all because I started a blog as a side hustle.

6. DON’T BE YOUR OWN WORST ENEMY

Don’t get in your own way.

If you think negative, hurtful thoughts about yourself, you’re going to get in the way of living a better life.

Get in the habit of being your own best friend and thinking powerful thoughts that support whatever it is you want in life.

I use The Five Minute Journal to practice gratitude and make daily positive affirmations. I use it every day, and I’m kind of obsessed with it. With a simple structured format based on positive psychology research, you will start and end each day with gratitude.

7. STOP SURROUNDING YOURSELF WITH THE WRONG PEOPLE

Stop surrounding yourself with people who don’t support you.

Whether it’s because of their scarcity thinking or something else, if you don’t separate yourself from them, they’ll rub off on  you.

You’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with. Choose wisely!

You can come hang out with people who want to design their dream lives in the Natalie Bacon Facebook Community to get around other like-minded people online.

8. STOP COMPARING YOURSELF TO OTHER PEOPLE

Stop comparing yourself to other people.

This is particularly hard with social media because social media usually shows the highlights of people’s lives (not the whole picture).

Remember that your only competition is yourself. Someone is completely different than you and you shouldn’t compare your story with theirs.

And instead of following people online who make it hard for you not to compare yourself to, focus on following people who inspire you to design your dream life. You can follow me on Instagram for life-inspiring quotes to help you design your dream life.

9. STOP TRYING TO DO TOO MUCH AT ONE TIME

If you are trying to multitask and do a bunch of things at once, now is the time to stop.

This will kill your productivity and time management. You’ll feel overwhelmed and out of control. You’ll also feel exhausted.

Use my Power Productivity List to set your priorities – in order – every day. This is a free download that you can use to list your most important tasks every day. I suggest printing enough for the month and putting them in a folder or binder and using it every day.

You’ll become organized and get more time back every day because you’ll be more productive.

10. STOP SAYING YOU “CAN’T AFFORD” SOMETHING

If you are in the habit of saying you can’t afford to do something, you should stop asap.

This is scarcity thinking. When you say you can’t afford something, you’re giving your power away to your money. Really, you are choosing to spend your money on something else – rent, bills, etc.

Reframing this will enable you to see that you are in control of the results you have in your life.

The truth is that you can change your money beliefs and generate more income. You can also cut expenses. You can get a job. You can do a million different things to change your life.

Watch this YouTube video to hear more of what I’m talking about with respect to your money mindset.

11. DON’T THINK YOU DON’T HAVE WHAT IT TAKES

If you doubt yourself — stop right now. I’m sooo serious about this one!

My dad told me from a very young age that I could do anything I wanted to. He told me it didn’t matter that I wasn’t that smart and wasn’t in honors classes because I could just keep going and eventually out pace everyone if I stuck with it.

He was right.

You don’t have to be the brightest or the most skilled to succeed.

This is exactly why I created Dream Year – because I know how to set and achieve goals and feel good doing it. And that is something I had to share with the world.

You can succeed and you can win with whatever you’re fighting for. The best asset that you have is you. And you have to know that and believe in yourself to make it happen.

A FINAL NOTE!

This post is all about what not to do. By stopping these habits, you’ll start to improve your life and the results will be incredible.

Cheers to habits that help us – not hurt us!