POOR HABITS - Part 1

In a couple of recent posts I was talking about the good habits of successful people from this book. Today I would like to comment on the habits of poor people as written in this book. Some of my ideas maybe controversial, some of them you may agree with me.

1. Gambling

I like gambling. I like to have the occasional flutter. I have a TAB* account in New Zealand so that when I go home to New Zealand I might have a couple of bets on the horses or the dogs. (I like the dogs because it is over in about 30 seconds or so.) I also used to like to have the odd wager on a sporting fixture but don't do that much now. I think that as long as you don't overdo it then you are fine. As I said I gamble once or twice a year. The most is about $10, so I'm hardly an addict. I do realise that some people see gambling as a get rich quick scheme and this is where problems start. You can educate people I suppose but in the end it is about choices that people make. They can choose to gamble or not. I choose not to most of the time.

2. Drinking too much alcohol

Like gambling, I like to have a beer. I don't drink much, maybe I imbibe once or week or so. Even then I don't drink too much. A couple of beers, a couple of spirits. Other times I might drink more but I always say that if the Prime Minister said tomorrow that alcohol was becoming illegal it wouldn't be a big problem for me. I'd be disappointed for sure but I wouldn't lose sleep over it unlike some people out there. Alcohol impairs your thinking and it can make you really fat because of all the extra calories that are going into your body. So like gambling, everything in moderation but there are always going to be addicts.

3. Watching too much TV

I don't watch as much TV as I used to do but now with the Internet maybe I use Facebook and Youtube more than I should. It is so easy to get home after a long day at work and sit down and watch the TV. It's easy and you don't have to think much. It's perfect, right? It will crush your dreams man. People rely on it too much. I have managed to let go of my television addiction and now I have to let go of my Facebook and Youtube addiction. OK, the first I will do is delete Facebook from my phone. That's done. How can I get rid of my Youtube addiction? Any ideas?

4. Negative mindset

I have been guilty as charged with this one. I have noticed that with a lot of things that I have been extremely negative and it isn't good. The good thing is that I am aware of it and I can change those thoughts. It is quite difficult but as they say the first thing is awareness and I have to change because I believe this is the biggest thing holding me back and it probably is the same for you too.

5. You don't read

This is one that I can say that I do do. I read regularly and not novels either, I read non-fiction books and I do it on a daily basis. I read a lot of self-development books and the like and it has helped me out over the years especially  in conversations. I am able to draw on the knowledge that I have discovered in my reading time and used it to sounds half intelligent which is good right because most people who like to run their mouth do not sound intelligent at all.

This is the first five poor habits. Tomorrow we will talk about the remaining five poor habits and I will give my opinion on them.

*TAB - This is the once government owned betting agency in both New Zealand and Australia.