你应当戒掉的十个坏习惯

 　　10 Bad Habits Worth LosingAs we enter the first week of July, it’s been 6 months since we made our 2012 New Year’s Resolutions. How many have you nailed? And how many have fell by the wayside?

　　Now is a good time to review what you’ve achieved so far and what needs more work. Effective people understand the need to constantly ‘review’ themselves to improve and refine their level of productivity and achievement. Instead of focusing on what to achieve, sometimes it can be good to look at things to cut out from your life.

　　What bad habits do you currently have that are hindering your progress or productivity? Remember the saying:

　　“We are what we repeatedly do.”

　　What ‘thing’s do you do that you wish you didn’t?

　　It’s a good idea to put together a list of bad habits to remove from your life this year. And the good news is – we still have 6 months to get rid of them!

　　To get you started, here are my top 10 bad habits to lose:

　　1.Striving for perfection. The sooner we let go of ‘perfection’ the sooner we get results because we’ll take action! Perfectionists find it difficult to move forward because they become paralyzed by a ‘fear of failure’. Know that it’s ok to go ahead when something is not yet perfect – it’s much better to take action and fix it up as you go!

　　2.Being too serious. Approach things with a light attitude. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Positive psychology¹ has shown that one of the most important routes to happiness is to laugh at yourself more – and not take life too seriously. So ditch the frown and take the time to laugh more!

　　3.Negative self-talk. Make a decision to be kinder to yourself going forward. Remove that negative voice that constantly puts you down when you make a mistake. It doesn’t do us any favors when we insult ourselves in our own heads – this just creates negativity which can compromise our goals.

　　4.Listening to other peoples’ opinions. While it can be useful to get someone else’s opinion I would urge caution here. The most important thing is not to ‘value’ yourself based on what other people think of you. So it’s okay to get feedback, but know that you have control over your life and you make your own decisions. Be careful not to life your life according to what others want instead of yourself.

　　5.Oversleeping. We all need good quality sleep – but are you getting too much sleep? Research has shown it’s actually counter-productive to over-sleep as this can make us feel groggy² and more tired! Try limiting your sleep to between 6 – 8 hours and notice how much more energy and time you have as a result!

　　6.Saying ‘yes’ to everything. By being a people pleaser you are pleasing everyone but yourself! Start to value your time by learning to say no. Fear not – people will still like you if you say ‘no’ every once in a while! It’s important we schedule in enough down-time to recharge our batteries.

　　7.Multi-tasking. When we try and do everything at once we do a lot of things at a poor standard. It’s much more effective if we stop and focus on one thing at a time. This strategy produces good quality work in half the time!

　　8.An unhealthy attitude to stress. In the corporate³ world we are taught to admire people who are ‘stressed’. In fact, if you’re not stressed then people often think you’re not working hard enough! What rubbish! Ditch any mis-perceptions that ‘you have to be stressed in order to achieve’. Plenty of great people have achieved amazing feats⁴ without high levels of stress. Think of Gandhi and other ‘gentle, relaxed’ super-achievers who did it their own way.

　　9.Stop talking – and start listening. The most effective communicators are proficient⁵ listeners. By taking the time to intently listen to others we can understand their needs quicker and build valuable rapport⁶ with them. Listening is such an underrated tool – start to use it!

　　10.Naysayers. Negative people are like vampires⁷ – they suck all of your good energy and leave you tired and lethargic⁸ making it difficult for you to be productive. Distance yourself from the negative people in your life and instead surround yourself with positive super-achievers!

1 psychology   

n.心理，心理学，心理状态

参考例句：

• She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
• He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。

2 groggy   

adj.体弱的；不稳的

参考例句：

• The attack of flu left her feeling very groggy.她患流感后非常虚弱。
• She was groggy from surgery.她手术后的的情况依然很不稳定。

3 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

4 feats   

功绩，伟业，技艺( feat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He used to astound his friends with feats of physical endurance. 过去，他表现出来的惊人耐力常让朋友们大吃一惊。
• His heroic feats made him a legend in his own time. 他的英雄业绩使他成了他那个时代的传奇人物。

5 proficient   

adj.熟练的，精通的；n.能手，专家

参考例句：

• She is proficient at swimming.她精通游泳。
• I think I'm quite proficient in both written and spoken English.我认为我在英语读写方面相当熟练。

6 rapport   

n.和睦，意见一致

参考例句：

• She has an excellent rapport with her staff.她跟她职员的关系非常融洽。
• We developed a high degree of trust and a considerable personal rapport.我们发展了高度的互相信任和不错的私人融洽关系。

7 vampires   

n.吸血鬼( vampire的名词复数 )；吸血蝠；高利贷者；（舞台上的）活板门

参考例句：

• The most effective weapon against the vampires is avampire itself. 对付吸血鬼最有效的武器就是吸血鬼自己。 来自电影对白
• If vampires existed, don`t you think we would`ve found them by now? 如果真有吸血鬼，那我们怎么还没有找到他们呢？ 来自电影对白

8 lethargic   

adj.昏睡的，懒洋洋的

参考例句：

• He felt too miserable and lethargic to get dressed.他心情低落无精打采，完全没有心思穿衣整装。
• The hot weather made me feel lethargic.炎热的天气使我昏昏欲睡。