8 Things I Want To Do Less Of In 2018

The start of a New Year is not just about new beginnings or new habits. It’s also an opportunity to reflect and acknowledge what you want to have less of in your life. Rather than keep adding things to your endless to-do list, it’s important to let some unhealthy habits go in order to make room for better ones. Inspired by Advice From A Twenty-Something, that’s what this blog post is all about: eight things I want to do less of in 2018.

Related: How To Create A New Habit & Actually Stick To It

1. Negative self-talk.

Although I’m usually a positive person, I’m also my biggest critic and can often be too hard on myself. Actually, I would never say to anyone some of the things I say to myself. Until a few years ago, I thought that was harmless – it just me thinking, right? No big deal. Wrong. The truth is that when you keep saying the same things to yourself over and over again, you start to believe in them. While thoughts are not your reality, they can certainly have an impact on your life. That’s why I want to make an effort to silence my inner critic and be kinder to myself.

2. Mindlessly scrolling. 

Especially when I’m about to go to bed at night or before I get up in the morning. Do you know when you’re on the couch feeling super sleepy but are too lazy to get up and go to bed? For some reason, that’s how I feel. I just lay there in bed mindlessly scrolling through social media, only to realize 30 minutes later (!) how much time I wasted. And that’s such a bad habit – especially at night – because I know it only makes falling asleep much harder.

3. Worrying about what I can’t control.

Easier said than done, right? Just like silencing my inner critic, this isn’t something I can achieve and that’s it, I’ll never have to deal with it ever again. This is more a constant reminder. When I start worrying about things I can’t control, I want to remind myself that worry won’t change a thing and will only suck the happiness out of me.

4. One hundred tabs open.

Well, I’m exaggerating a bit here. Only a bit though. But yes, it’s embarrassing the number of tabs currently open on my laptop. It’s definitely something I need to work on!

5. Judging.

I recently got a newsletter from Sam, at the Smart Twenties, where she talked about the fear of judgment, a topic that is very close to my heart as I’ve been struggling with it for as long as I can remember. She mentioned that our fear of judgment is amplified by our judgment of others. Judgment is a projection of our own insecurities so we assume that since we are being so judgy, others are being the same to us. That said, I really want to make an effort to be less judgmental of both myself and others because it really is a nasty habit.

6. Ignoring anxiety.

Stealing this one from the article I mentioned in the beginning but after reading it I knew I had to include it on my list. My anxiety seems to be getting trickier and I thinks it’s time for me to stop ignoring it, to stop pretending it’s OK and that I’m just a bit stressed.

7. Skipping a skincare routine.

I am incredibly grateful to have very good skin – aside from the occasional breakout, even though I don’t treat it as well as I should. So this year I want to make the effort to take better care of my skin, as well as incorporate some clean beauty products into my routine.

8. Consuming over creating.

This last one is tied to comparison. I waste too much of my precious time consuming other people’s content and getting stuck in the comparison game, trying to understand why my own content isn’t as good while I could be practicing and making it better. Also, it’s so much easier to be a consumer than putting yourself out there as a creator, isn’t it? But I’m committed to push past fear and doubt and do it!

What do you want to do less of in 2018?