10 Toxic Thoughts That Can Sabotage Your Success

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The inner dialogue we all have in our head is so critical to how we view ourselves and the world around us. Negative/ toxic thoughts become the driving factor in a negative lifestyle whereas positive thoughts often lead to motivation and success. The unfortunate thing is that it is very easy for us to turn to toxic thoughts because we are hardwired to over think and be extra critical of ourselves. This is a dangerous path to go down as daily mental toxicity can compromise our ability to be successful. Toxic thinking is triggered by toxic words said by others or just overall disdain for ourselves. In order to be more successful and happier, it’s essential that we rid ourselves of toxic thinking.

“Pay no attention to toxic words. What people say is often a reflection of themselves, not you.” -Christian Baloga

But what are examples of toxic thoughts? Where is the line between self-awareness and toxic thinking?

“Every thought we think is creating our future. ”― Louise Hay

Below are ten thoughts that can sabotage your success.

1. Comparison

Everyone does it at one point or another- we compare ourselves to other people. Whether they’re smarter or taller or better looking, we take those differences and produce toxic thoughts around them. The reality is that everyone is different. There is no sense in comparing yourself to anyone else because then you’re constantly living in chains. You’re a slave to the other person you’re comparing yourself to. Instead of working to improve yourself for your own success and happiness you’re just playing a game of “keeping up.” You need to accept that you will never win. Once you do that, you will realize that you don’t need to compare yourself to others. Instead, think of ways you can be the best version of yourself.

2. Self Doubt

No one knows you better than you know yourself, but sometimes you may have a lapse in judgment which may cause you to second guess yourself. This is dangerous because it can really inhibit your chances at success. Always doubting yourself compromises any chance you have at being independent and confident. These are the key ingredients to success, so the faster you stop second guessing yourself the faster you will reach your goals.

3. Focusing on the Past

It’s called the past for a reason. It’s time to let go of what happened in 1995 and move on. Sure, looking to the past to prevent yourself from repeating mistakes is fine, but there is a line that is crossed when you obsess about it so much that it impacts your present and future. There is a reason we don’t have time machines, so leave the past alone and focus on the now.

4. The Need to Always Be Right

Let’s face it, it feels good to be right, but sadly the world doesn’t always work to your advantage and there will be times when you are flat out wrong. But guess what? That is okay. Stop telling yourself you always have to be right. This is dangerous because it can seriously affect your relationships. Sometimes there is no right answer, just remember that.

5. Letting Struggles Break You

In life, there are always going to be times when you struggle, but it’s up to you to learn from those struggles and not let them break you. A successful person is able to stand back up every time they fall. Don’t let one or even one hundred failures lead to your breaking point. If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again.

6. Worrying About the Future

Just as dwelling on the past is toxic, over worrying about the future can be a grave mistake as well. It’s important to give some thought to the future so that you can come up with a plan to reach your goals, but over obsessing is never good. Forgetting to live in the present can have serious implications on your happiness and success.

7. Thinking You Can Change Someone Else

As much as you would love to change your father’s smoking habit or your friend’s unhealthy obsession with wine, it’s something that you simply cannot do. You cannot change other people, you can only change yourself. It is not your fault that other people are the way they are. We all have free will to do what we want with ourselves and it’s not your responsibility to try and change that. Only they can truly change themselves, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be there to support them.

Photo by mrfb

8. Allowing Negativity to Dictate Your Life

This one is simple. Negative thoughts can overrun your mind and cause you to feel stressed or even depressed. Dwelling on negativity is a success killer and can even have physical side effects. The best solution is to remain positive and take the time to relax. Condition your mind to see the positive in everything and you’ll be back on track to a successful life.

9. Lack of Trust

This is especially toxic in relationships because most are supposed to be built on trust. It is okay to trust people. Not everyone is out to get you and the sooner you realize that the sooner you will be on your way to clearing negativity from your life. Sometimes it may even be hard to trust yourself let alone other people. You have to start out by trusting yourself before you can trust others. Once you do this you can move forward with your life.

10. Worrying About What Others Think

This is an extremely toxic thought because it prevents you from living your life. Constantly wondering what the people around you think is useless because no matter what you do- good or bad- someone somewhere will always think something! So let go of that negative feeling and start living. If something makes you happy, who cares what others think about it? You have to live your life for you, not for other people.
In order to be successful, it’s important to heal those toxic thoughts. After all, thoughts shape our experiences. It’s up to you to take control of your mind in order to control your life. You have the power to fix the outcomes, it just takes a little brain power.

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