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Writer's pictureSmita D Jain

15 Common Bad Habits You Need to Break to Achieve Success in Life

Updated: Jun 23, 2023

The power of daily habits is immense. Determine if you have bad habits sabotaging your chances of success and kick them out of your life before they cause significant damage and adopt some good habits for successful life.

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There are no other actions that are more consequential than what we do habitually. While incorporating impactful habits in our daily life, every single one of us has developed a bad habit or two at some point in our life. It's going to be difficult to attain success if you are living with a slew of bad habits.


If you want to perform at your optimal level, you need to assess your daily habits. Identify and incorporate the positive habits aligned with your life goals, simultaneously, determine some of the bad habits to kick out of your life that could be hindering your success. That approach is necessary to become the best version of yourselves.


15 Bad Habits You Really Need to Break


When you allow bad habits to take over, you allow them to impede your path to success. Bad habits are causing harm to your life slowly until you don’t even notice. Breaking such bad habits has huge implications for success. Let us elaborate on some of the bad habits that could be hindering your success in life.


1. No Punctuality


Time management is essential for success. If you are always late and have a disoriented time schedule, you are making it tough to achieve success. Success is tied to the smart work you accomplish in time. Adapt time management habits to achieve your goals.


2. Procrastination


Shed your habit to leave certain tasks for tomorrow if you want to be successful. If you find yourself overwhelmed with too many tasks, instead of procrastinating, use time and task management techniques like Eisenhower’s Urgent-Important Matrix, Pomodoro Technique and so on.


3. Lying


Lying isn't an acceptable way to save yourself in case a mistake is committed. Lies can destroy your own path to success as you might need to weave more lies to cover the previous ones. Be honest and accountable to the responsibilities assigned to you.


4. Losing Focus


Lost or no focus towards your goals is a sure way to end up under-accomplished. Maintain focus on your goals and don’t let them slip away from your goals. Seek ways to change and strengthen your focus to get out of the quicksand before it impacts your life significantly.


5. Undefined Goals


You are not going to achieve anything without a firm plan and a clear vision for well-defined goals. Create a clear and purposeful roadmap for your life with careful planning and thoughtful reflection. Start taking consistent efforts every day in your life according to the roadmap, you will start to get more success.


6. Shifting Blame


Conflicts are inevitable in personal as well as professional life. If any mistake happens or conflict arises, instead of putting blame on some other person, seek reasonable and logical ways to find a peaceful solution. If you find the fault was on your side, make amends by asking for an apology. In case the other person is at fault, then forgive them.


7. Holding Grudges


Stop holding grudges and just let it go. Holding a grudge eats up your valuable time and energy, which detracts you from doing meaningful things for your goals. Instead of holding grudges and plotting revenge, practice gratitude. Showing gratitude develops deeper connections not only with each other but with the goals and actions too.


8. Cluttered Life


Clutter distracts you from your life goals and reduces the impact of your efforts towards achieving them. Excessive clutter causes stress, invites chaos to your life and affects every major aspect of life including physical, mental, professional and personal aspects. Declutter and simplify your life; you will be happier, more confident and more successful than before.


9. Self-Doubt


Self-doubt, negative thinking and fear of the unknown can be detrimental to your efforts for success. Self-confidence is vital for strengthening your passion for success in this highly-competitive fast-paced world. Overcome self-doubt habits, and build your self-confidence for achieving success.


10. Bad Work-Life Balance


You could have all the success in the world, but it won’t mean much for long if you don’t have sufficient time and energy for taking care of your own health and embracing your personal relationships. Learn effective habits to create a good work life balance for a healthier and happier life.


11. Fear of Feedback


Fear of criticism can really hold you back from becoming a better version of yourself. By regularly seeking feedback, you give yourself the opportunity to learn about the things that need improving. It becomes very crucial to give (and receive) feedback at your workplace to enhance your and your team’s performance.


12. Overspending


Money is an important resource as it aids your efforts for success. Careless spending can easily lead to financial disaster, which will hamper your chances for success. Break the habit of overspending for long-term success. It may take a bit of willpower and discipline but don’t give in to the temptation.


13. Bad Body Language


Your body language defines the way people perceive you and is more important than the words you speak. Bad body language habits, like poor eye contact, uneven voice tone and slumping posture, can sabotage your opportunities even before you open your mouth. Carry confident body language and speak with confidence to make an impact on your listeners.


14. Staying in Comfort Zone


You will never know what your potential is unless you try and keep pushing your boundaries. If you want to keep achieving new heights of success, take radical leaps out of your comfort zone. Great risk comes with the possibility of great reward. Harness the power of dreams to gain strength and hope for the future. Leave your comfort zone to utilise your potential wisely to achieve success.


15. Egoistic Behaviour


An ego is something we all have. It is intrinsically linked to our expectations, belief system and self-centred perspective. By letting go of your ego and by being more open-minded, you open yourself up to more perspectives and new possibilities. This open-minded and selfless approach redefines your perspective and increases your chances of success.


Incorporate Good Habits While Shedding Bad Habits to Change Your Life in a Big Way


Since the state and quality of our lives are a direct reflection of our daily habits, try applying some good habits to your simple life routine. Along with shedding bad habits, you should incorporate some good habits in your life to improve your life and attain more success.


Here are 25 simple yet powerful habits that you can adopt for a happier and more productive life.


1. Practice time-blocking

2. Set daily goals

3. Eliminate distractions

4. Avoid multitasking

5. Reward yourself

6. Begin each day with gratitude

7. Limit your screen time

8. Set work limits

9. Remember to laugh

10. Learn to say ‘NO’

11. Exercise every day

12. Get adequate sleep

13. Limit artificial sweeteners

14. Eat a home-cooked meal

15. Drink enough water

16. Spread positivity

17. Appear confident

18. Foster relationships

19. Initiate conversations

20. Spend quality time with loved ones

21. Manage your time smartly

22. Prioritise your tasks smartly

23. Communicate effectively

24. Give the right feedback

25. Create a fulfilling workplace


Start your analysis by looking within. Assess yourself and reflect honestly on your life. Give some thought to whether you are guilty of any bad habits. Check your behaviors, habits, and attitudes to determine if there are some things that need tweaking in your quest to achieve success.


Your tweaking might include banishing the success-hindering habits and incorporating some good habits. Giving into bad habits is easy while breaking them is challenging. But, overcoming this challenge is where you will find long-lasting success.

Learn smart and effective ways to make your life better with expert guidance. Get a personal life coaching session from Smita D Jain to manifest the dream life you want for yourself.

Not sure whether you can benefit from a life coach or not? Take the free quiz to find out the answer.

Smita D Jain is a Certified Life Coach, Executive Coach and NLP Practitioner. Smita’s ‘Empower Yourself’ Personal Clarity Coaching Programs enable busy professionals unhappy in their jobs to tap into their passions and transform them into professions so that they work because they want to, not because they have to.


Prior to her journey as a coach, Smita had extensive experience of 14 years as a corporate and business strategy professional with Fortune 500 companies. She is also a speaker at various public forums, a published writer, and an Amazon bestselling author.


You can learn more about Personal Empowerment Life Coach and Executive Coach Smita D Jain’s ‘Empower Yourself’ Coaching Programs by visiting www.lifecoachsmitadjain.com and


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