8 Ways You Are Wasting Your Life Without Knowing it

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Habits make up the routines that determine how we spend our time; and time, of course, is life.

Our life is measured by time – from the seemingly insignificant second to the quite noticeable minute, and the obvious hour.

Just know that as time is ticking, so also life is going.

What and how you invest your energy, time, and resources will determine the quality of your life.

How do you know if you’re making your life worthwhile or wasting it?

Below are EIGHT ways you’re wasting your life without knowing it:

1. Holding on to past hurts

I don’t think there’s anyone in life who has never been or will never be hurt by others.

What makes the difference is how you deal with it—letting go of the pain or holding on to it and letting it control your life.

As long as you deal with humans, you’ll always be hurt in varying degrees.

The most important thing is not to let whatever people do control you.

Because you can never control what people will say or do to you.

You can only control how you treat others and how you’ll respond to how you’re being treated.

Holding on to past hurts is a sure way to waste one’s life without knowing it.

The one who hurt you has probably moved on.

Letting go is not a favour you do unto others but a way to secure your own peace and happiness.

It’s proof that you value your happiness above whatever anyone does to you.

2. Holding on to past mistakes and errors

I’ve had my own share of past mistakes in life and I know it can be hard not to wish that things were different.

But truth is, the past is past and there’s nothing you can do about it.

You’ve got to stop wishing you’d done things differently. You’ve got to stop wishing you could turn back the hands of time.

Because you can’t.

Learn from your mistakes and move on. It’s hard, I know.

But keep trying.

3. Internet/social media addiction

Many of us are guilty of this. I am too. I can’t lie.

Technology has so shaped our lives in ways unimaginable that we start to wonder how we managed to live without it in the first place.

If you’re in a public place, take a look around. You’ll see that a larger percentage of people are on their phones.

Family time out/couples’ hangout is no longer the same because everyone is updating their social media statuses and checking social media updates.

We are constantly distracted by the incessant notifications on our phones that steal our attention from the people that are dear to us.

While it’s inevitable for some people (bloggers, social media influencers, internet entrepreneurs, digital marketers etc.) to spend more time on social media, it becomes a problem if other areas of life are negatively affected because of too much time spent on the internet.

We need to strike a balance in life so that we won’t waste our lives while trying to keep up with every news and update on social media.

4. Keeping unprofitable friends

If you’ve read 12 types of friends you shouldn’t have in your life, then you’ll understand that keeping such friends will only amount to wasting your life.

You know why?

Building friendship takes time and effort. And don’t forget that time is life.

If you have such friends around you, you’ll spend your time and effort keeping such friends while your life is wasting without you knowing it.

Stay away from friends that influence you to engage in things that waste your life.

5. Procrastination

To be honest, this is my greatest weakness. I’m still struggling with it and I’m trying to conquer it.

Procrastination has robbed me of some life opportunities. I understand this and I’m trying to overcome it every day.

Procrastination is simply putting off things until a later time. This is a big life waster!

You need to understand that life doesn’t wait for anyone.

Plus, we live in a highly competitive world, so if you want to achieve success, you have to give it all it takes.

No one will throw success on your laps, you have to go for it.

Procrastination will not let you do this, and before you know it, opportunities will keep slipping away from your fingers.

6. Addiction

Whatever you’re addicted to that makes your life unproductive is a life waster.

As a registered nurse and a graduate of psychology, clinical postings to psychiatric hospitals opened my eyes to how many lives have wasted as a result of addiction to drugs and alcohol.

I saw many young and promising men and women who couldn’t live a normal life because of addiction to drugs and other substances.

Engaging in harmful behaviours that ruin your potential is a sure way to waste your life.

Yes, it makes you feel high. But for how long? Is it worth wasting your life over?

What addictions are ruining your life? 

Gambling, p*rn, social media addiction etc.

I hope you get help and strive to live a better life.

7. Comparison

As humans, we are always faced with the temptation to compare ourselves with others, especially in this age of social media where everyone appears to be doing fine.

Comparing yourself with others will only make you lose focus on your own life and potentials.

Comparison can lead to unnecessary competition.

Is it worth the effort?

8. Lack of goals

What is life without set goals to achieve?

As a matter of fact, having goals to achieve makes life interesting and meaningful.

What are your life goals? You can break them into daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly goals.

If you don’t have goals that you can measure your life and effort with, you’ll surely be doing a lot of life-wasting without knowing it.

These are 8 ways we waste our life without knowing it.

Now that you know, find ways to improve on yourself and be a better version of yourself.

You can do it.

Seek help (from the right sources). Depending on whatever it is that you are wasting your life doing, seek the necessary help.

If it’s beyond human help, seek divine help. Tell God to help you, and He will, because He cares about us, and He wants us to live a fulfilled life.

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