Out of sight, out of mind
How to successfully eliminate negative things from your life
Sometimes we need to eliminate certain things from our lives in order to achieve the things we want to achieve. This is something I know all too well, as I’m the kind of person that has an addictive personality and either goes all in or all out.
Here are some things I think most people can relate to:
Junk food
I admire those who have a bag of chips and can just eat some, then put the bag away. That’s not me, if it’s in my house I will eat it all. Immediately.
When I set out to lose some weight, I knew that wasn’t going to happen by eating junk food. So I had to make sure I didn’t keep anything I knew was unhealthy for me at home. Out of sight, out of mind.
Alcohol
What’s better than popping a beer after an exhausting day? Or drinking a glass of wine when cooking or eating dinner. The problem with me is that “that first beer was so good, I want to keep up this good feeling I have and grab another one”, then “I’ve already had two, might as well have a third”. As for the wine, the bottle is already opened and it might go bad if it stays open for too long — so I might as well finish it. You see the pattern.
The solution? Don’t keep any alcohol at home. Out of sight, out of mind.
Social media
Last year I got into this mini-depression where I felt like I didn’t get anything done. My creativity and inspiration were gone, and I felt like I wasn’t present in the things I was doing. I relocated to another country for a while, as I thought the reason was that I was doing everything out of routine(been there before). It didn’t help.
I thought I would try eliminating all the extra screen time, so I removed all social media apps from my phone.
The reason I’m only mentioning social media is because I think it has the most impact. Youtube, Netflix, and porn also have the same effect on us, but they require more commitment. You are more aware of the time you’re going to be spending. Checking Instagram “for just one minute” between tasks is quite innocent. We don’t realize that “one minute” is never actually one minute. We don’t think about the dopamine hit we get and the impact that dopamine hit has on the work we’re doing.
I still catch myself checking my phone at certain times, only to realize I have nothing to actually check. That made me realize how addicted I actually am to my phone.
For those wondering, I’ve now been off social media for about four months and I feel great. I’m more creative, more productive, more present, etc.
Friends
The phrase you’re the average of your five closest friends is quite popular, and it’s true.
Want to start a business? Want to get fit? Want to develop yourself in any way? Or just want to be more positive? Don’t hang out with people who are unmotivated, are negative, and are just watching Netflix all day long. This even includes your family. If their vision and values don’t align with yours, you shouldn’t spend as much time with them. The vibes and energy we get from the people we spend time with affect us more than we realize.
So, if you’re trying to quit a bad habit, you have to make sure you don’t have anything related to that habit around your home. You will just come up with an excuse to keep up that bad habit, as it takes a lot of willpower to resist the temptation.
If you have something you want to do, or do more of, evaluate what’s keeping you from doing it. What is taking up a lot of your time without getting you closer to those goals? Eliminate those distractions.
