How Do You Break This Bad Habit?

Which bad habit is the worst? They each do their damage, but if bad habits were given awards, I would nominate the habit of waiting for things to happen for the category of most depressing. Waiting for things to happen is essentially waiting to die. It isn't a very inspiring or resourceful way of life.

Waiting For My Ship To Come In

What a terrible thought! Waiting for opportunity? Waiting doesn't invite opportunity into one's life - work does! While others are out their building their "ships" some people sit desperately, saying, "I am just waiting for my ship to come in." What ship? You mean the one you didn't build?

What is this supposed ship supposed to bring? The riches created by others? Instant money, overnight fame? Waiting for others or "the universe" to bring opportunities to you is a sure recipe for a poverty of the soul and of the wallet or bank account.

This kind of thinking is fed by stories of people getting rich quick and singers who are "overnight" successes. Those who get rich quick usually spent years learning how to make money, of course. Most successful entrepreneurs fail at several business before succeeding. As for "overnight" fame and success in the movies or in music, it is usually preceded by years of low paying struggles.

Do people sometimes get "lucky" and become wealthy or famous with little effort? Of course. A lottery is won by someone every time it is run. Look at the odds though. How many lifetimes do you have to wait for your ship to come in? Look at the results too. Instant fame or money is almost universally followed by the loss of that wealth and fame. A person who has not learned how to handle money or fame cannot be expected to learn instantly.

Want to break this bad habit of waiting for opportunity? Start searching out opportunities and creating your own opportunities. Training your mind to find them can be as simple as looking for them consistently. Train yourself to take advantage of them by always taking some small step the moment you recognize an opportunity. Start the process and the rest becomes easier (not easy, perhaps, but easier).

Waiting For Something To Happen

Many people are secretly waiting for things to change. That might work with the weather, but it isn't a very productive practice in one's personal life. You hear the clues that this thinking is active when people say things like,"Maybe I'll do it next year," or "I hope things will be different in the future," or "Someday I'm going to go to..."

They may or may not "do it" or change or go to wherever. What are the odds of success though? Poor at best. Compare this to what someone who doesn't have this bad habit might say: "I am planning a trip to Nepal in two years. I am putting aside $200 per month to pay for it, and I applied for my passport this month.

What does wishing for things get you? Disappointment, if wishing is all that there is. If you had faith the size of a mountain it won't even get you off the couch without something more. That something more is motivation, goals and action.

It is self-destructive to wish for things. It trains you to be disappointed with life. This why so many idealists become cynics. To quit this bad habit of wishing and waiting, stop wishing! Get honest. If something really isn't worth the effort to you, drop the thought. If you decide it is worth it, take the necessary steps to get it.

What if you don't know what those steps are? Take the necessary steps to find out. any honest step forward is better than a thousand prayers and wishes. Do anything that takes you closer to your goal. Do anything other than indulging the bad habit of waiting for things to happen.