15 Common Comforts Sabotaging Your Success
How do common comforts sabotage your success? These are fifteen common comforts people use to escape reality that sabotages their success.
Do you feel stuck in your comfort zone? If so, you are preventing yourself from reaching your full potential. Don't let your desire for comfort hold you back—it's time to break free! By practicing self-discipline and moderation, you can avoid becoming a captive to comfort. Start by identifying and eliminating the fifteen common comforts sabotaging your success. Take control of your life and achieve your goals today.
“It is the nature of the wise to resist pleasures, but the foolish to be a slave to them.” - Epictetus
Television, Movies, And Streaming Content
Watching television, movies, and streaming content can drain your precious attention, time, and energy. Statista states, "U.S. adults will spend an average of nearly three hours watching TV [and digital media] each day."
What could you do with an extra three hours each day? Instead of consuming media, you could use that time to better yourself by focusing on productive activities.
Consuming Prepared And Processed Foods
Most people get their sodium from prepared food. It is important to note that prepared and processed foods often contain additives and have had most nutrients removed.
As a result, these types of foods can usually still be consumed even past their listed best-by date. Common ingredients in processed foods include high-fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, protein isolates, artificial colors, and emulsifiers.
Although processed foods are convenient, they are more expensive than cooking from scratch. A great grocery shopping strategy is to shop the store perimeter, where you'll find natural foods such as meat, vegetables, and fruit.
Fast Food
Although convenient, fast food is unhealthy and may harm your body. It is high in sodium, empty calories, and trans fat, which can lead to several health problems.
Additionally, fast food contains preservatives and chemicals such as propylene glycol, caramel coloring, silicon dioxide, cellulose, tertiary butylhydroquinone (TBHQ), dimethylpolysiloxane, and sodium acid pyrophosphate, which can be harmful to your health.
Fast food can become an addiction due to its convenience and availability. Despite fast food being a comfort food that reminds you of childhood memories, returning to it frequently can be detrimental to your health.
Going Out To Eat
Regularly going out to restaurants can quickly add up and become expensive. Restaurants tend to add excessive amounts of salt to their food to enhance its taste. Despite having a favorite restaurant where you enjoy the food, ambiance, and people, dining out can quickly take a toll on your finances.
On the other hand, cooking at home can help save money and eat healthier meals. Moreover, learning to cook can be an enjoyable and fulfilling experience.
Drinking Alcohol
Alcohol is one of the most widely used legal drugs. You can consume alcohol at home, at a party, a restaurant, a bar, or a club.
Alcohol is a depressant. Since it is a depressant, it makes you sluggish and unable to think clearly. Depressants negatively impact your ability to think, mental health, and physical health.
Being able to think clearly, be mentally strong, and be in good physical health increases your ability to experience success. Drinking negatively affects vital core abilities you need to succeed.
I used to go out to bars to be social. I would use being social as an excuse to drink at bars. I could notice the effects on my productivity later or the next day. Alcohol was tranquilizing the very traits I needed to succeed.
Drugs
Drugs are also popular. The National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics states the most widely used drugs are:
Marijuana
Opioids
Prescription pain medication
Prescription stimulants
LSD
Cocaine
Prescription sedatives
Methamphetamines
Heroin
Drugs are another way that many people escape reality.
Gambling
It is estimated that 5 million Americans have a gambling addiction.
Gambling is an addiction that can be done in casinos, online, or on your phone. Forms of gambling can range from playing slots and blackjack to betting on sports teams or the outcome of a political election.
Video Games
Video games can trigger the release of dopamine in your brain, a chemical that makes you feel good and happy. As a result, you begin to associate pleasure with playing video games. The dopamine desire can incentivize you to return to playing video games to experience that same feeling of pleasure again.
Today, you can play video games on various platforms, from gaming consoles to computers and mobile phones. The accessibility of video games makes it easier to get your dopamine fix.
Social Media
“The smartphone is the modern-day hypodermic needle, delivering digital dopamine 24/7 for a wired generation”- Anna Lembke, “Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence”
Social media has resulted in the fragmentation of people by creating an environment where individuals tend to group themselves based on their interests and views. When you use social media, the algorithms tend to reinforce your views, and you may rarely encounter a view that differs from what you already think. As a result, you might follow only those who share similar views, which can confine you within a bubble.
When using social media, it is essential to purposefully follow people and organizations that have different worldviews from yours to prevent yourself from being exposed to only one point of view.
Furthermore, limiting or ending your use of social media can also increase your productivity. Instead of scrolling through social media to look at videos or pictures, use that time and attention productively by creating your own content or starting a side hustle.
Sexual Pleasure
Sexual pleasure is another common way to escape reality. Someone can now experience sexual pleasure through porn, adult camming sites, or having one-night stands.
The pervasiveness of access to sexual content on the Internet makes it easier to consume. Health Research Funding estimates that 12 to 30 million people in the United States have a sexual addiction.
Social Bubble
Staying in your social bubble can be comfortable, but it can also prevent you from personal growth. You may become complacent if you continue to spend time with the same people.
To break out of your social bubble, try volunteering. Attend networking and professional events to meet people who are more successful than you. Doing these things will expose you to new experiences and help you learn about different lifestyles.
By spending time outside your usual social circle, you can gain a greater appreciation for what you have, new skills, and interesting stories.
Following The News
A simple way to reduce stress and gain more time is to stop watching the news. The news divides people based on where they watch it. Consequently, people you meet make assumptions about your personal and political views when you tell them where you get your news, further feeding division.
News often uses fear to make you afraid of the world and categorize people into boxes based on their political or societal views.
This division by politics is particularly evident as certain opinions are associated with a particular political party on the left or right. As a result, you are automatically placed into a box even though you are a unique individual.
Keeping up with the news is time-consuming. There will always be another story that makes you afraid of people or makes you view another country as your enemy.
Celebrity And Influencer Culture
When you follow celebrities and influencers, it is easy to think they are successful because they are better than you. You can also get caught up in following celebrity and influencer gossip.
Success often takes many years to achieve. Instead of idolizing a celebrity or influencer, it is vital to acknowledge the effort and dedication that goes into achieving success and strive to reach your goals.
Following Sports
Sports is a popular source of entertainment. While playing sports can keep you active, being a spectator is a different experience altogether. Some people who follow sports have an extensive knowledge of players and teams, but this may not necessarily improve their lives.
While it is enjoyable to follow sports, finding something more meaningful to focus on is essential. Try to identify your natural strengths or skills and work towards developing them. Honing your skills and strengths can positively impact your life more than just being an expert on a sports team or player.
Following Politics
It is that time of year again—election season. During this time, politicians are eager to present themselves as the solution to people's problems. The hope is that by electing the right politicians, external solutions through politics will change the issues people are dealing with.
However, relying on politicians to solve your problems takes away your power and prevents you from improving your life. Rather than relying on external influences to make changes, work to find your solutions. You are giving up control of your future by relying on politicians to make changes.
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Summary
Staying in your comfort zone can hinder success if you indulge in pleasure excessively. Break free from the chains of comfort. Do not allow the lure of pleasure to hold you back from achieving your goals.
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How have you allowed common comforts to sabotage your success?
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