Johan

Eight “Bad” Habits That Are Actually Good for You

Believe it or not, some bad habits are really good for you. Sadly, our parents usually try to punish us out of or control us out of doing these things. Of course, everything in moderation, right? Let’s look at eight “bad” habits that are actually good for you that you can stop trying to end now.

1. Fidgeting – If you tend to wiggle a lot, your mom probably tried to stop it. Your partner might try too. However, fidgeting is really good for you because it burns more calories and keeps your blood moving. This is especially true if you have a job that requires a lot of sitting. Sitting is possibly worse for you than smoking, so anything that can undo that damage is a good thing.

2. Gum Chewing – Sugarless gum is really good for you. If you have the right dental work or your own teeth, chewing gum burns calories, helps you eat less, freshens your breath and also cuts down on cavities.

3. Video Games – While there may be some games that aren’t worth the added benefit, playing video games helps with developing fine motor skills, keeps the mind nimble, and by some reports can help give relief for chronic pain conditions by taking your mind off the problem.

4. Daydreaming – Finding a way to allow your mind to get bored enough to be able to daydream is very good for your mind as well as for your goals in life. You cannot create amazing goals for your life if you can’t daydream.

5. Swearing – Everyone has a swear jar growing up, either for parents or the kids. Swearing is considered inappropriate, but studies show that people who swear appropriately tend to have less stress in their lives. Remember that swearing is completely different from a slur. A slur is something you say about a person, whilst a swearword is just a curse word – otherwise known as an expletive.

6. Messiness – If you are a naturally messy person, take heart; you’re likely also a very creative person. Messiness is sometimes a sign of creativity. If you want to be more creative, don’t purposely become messy but realize that sometimes being messy is required to be creative.

7. Sleeping in Late – They say that “the early bird gets the worm,” but do they? Sleeping well and enough each night is important to your health and brain function. If you stayed up late and need to sleep in and it won’t cause you to get fired or miss something important – go for it.

8. Passing Gas – Everyone farts and burps every single day. Passing gas is good for you because it’s a normal activity that is getting rid of built-up gas from your digestive tract to prevent bloating and pain.

Of course, you don’t want to do some of these things when other people are around, but it’s okay to accept some of these things as part of who you are and part of living life. As long as you can choose the habits you create, you can build a life exactly as you want it to be.

Eight Examples of Good Self-Discipline

To be self-disciplined, you need to be able to motivate yourself to meet the goals that you set for yourself. You don’t need anyone’s outside help to get done what needs to get done. You do what you said you would – whether that was said to yourself or someone else, and even if you don’t feel like it. To get a bigger understanding of what self-discipline is, let’s look at some examples.

1. Wake Up on Time – The ability to get yourself up before work, get properly dressed, fed, exercised and out the door on time to get to work is a trait of self-discipline. Sure, if you’re late enough, you may get fired, so there is some outside push there. However, for most people, it’s simply self-discipline that gets them going each day.

2. Act Respectfully Toward Others – Everyone has thoughts in their head about people they meet during the day. That person who cut you off? That person who is walking too slowly in the store when you’re in a hurry? With good self-discipline you will still be respectful toward everyone regardless of your feelings, hunger, or mood at the time.

3. Eat Healthily – There are so many things out there to eat that aren’t good. A person who chooses to eat healthily 80 to 90 percent of the time is demonstrating excellent self-discipline by saying no today to short-term pleasure in exchange for being healthier long term.

4. Daily Exercise – Some people really do love exercise and get a true “high” or addiction off it. But most of us don’t. A person who goes ahead and does their exercise anyway each day because they have goals is showing how self-disciplined they are.

5. Meet Deadlines – Sometimes you’ll see the words “self-starter” in a job description, but what they really want is a person who is self-disciplined enough to make and meet deadlines without a lot of outside influence.

6. Avoid Temptation – A truly self-disciplined person doesn’t allow temptation to be a factor in their lives because they work to avoid it. If they’re tempted by donuts, they don’t walk into a donut shop. If they want to save money, they get it taken out of their paycheck; they’re never tempted to spend it since they don’t see it.

7. Follow Through – A self-disciplined person tends to do what they say they’ll do. They have follow-through. If they say they’ll get done on Friday, they will do what they can to get done on Friday without anyone reminding them.

8. Create Good Habits – A person with self-discipline knows that the best way to stick to any goal is to create good habits surrounding that goal. For example, a person who has the goal to get up an hour earlier to go to the gym knows that it’s going to be only willpower the first month, then after that, a habit will be created.

Self-discipline doesn’t mean that a person never has fun. The ability to let go of weakness and do what you know is right is the best example of self-discipline. It doesn’t matter if you’re at work or at home; being able to control yourself is essential to your happiness and success.