Habits that hurt your health and drain your energy

About this Episode

Habits that hurt your health and drain your energy is the topic that will be discussed today on RIOT Podcast, a Christian Discipleship Podcast.

Habits are the foundation of who we are as a person and as a Christian. We are the product of our everyday habits, and we choose daily whether we want to improve ourselves, maintain excellence or contribute to our own discontent. But first, we must be aware of bad habits that drain our energy, so we can take the necessary steps to change them.

It is your daily bad habits that have the most impact on your energy, making you tired and less productive. Energy is the ability to do work. We need a certain level of physical, mental, and emotional energy to work at a high level at any given time.

But energy is a finite resource. It reduces in volume as we use it. This explains why we sometimes feel tired, exhausted, and fatigued. Today we want to talk about a few of these bad habits so we can bring Truth to them.

1. Watching excess TV and porn
The bad habit of TV, where we watch way too many hours per week, is something many of us don't even think about anymore. The TV is just something we automatically turn on, or some people apparently never switch off.

2. Not getting enough sleep
What happens when you sleep less? The symptoms you might experience are lethargy, hunger attacks, reduced focus, and mood swings. Most importantly, you want to go to bed early the night after. That’s great because it means you noticed your lack of sleep. But what if you don’t notice your lack of sleep? What if you’re consistently sleeping less than 7 hours a night?

3.Excessively scrolling through social media
It's hard to find someone these days that isn't on some form of social media. Although Instagram and Facebook can definitely be fun, they can also come with a dark side. Some social media habits can be bad for your health, so it's important to make sure you're using these websites and apps in a way that is benefitting your life and not harming it.

How do we know if we have a bad habit?
Using Social Media at Meals - When you can’t get through a meal without checking your social media, and you suddenly realize that the others at your table are doing the same thing; you’ve created a life for your social media to take over.

Checking Your Notifications When Driving - Twenty-eight percent of all vehicle accidents are attributed to distracted driving from cell phone usage, according to the National Safety Council.

Comparing Yourself to Others - A study from the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology found a link between social media use and depression, but the mediating factor in this link was the tendency for people to compare themselves to others.

Using Social Media When You're Lonely - if you're replacing real-life social interaction with browsing through Twitter, it can have some negative consequences. "Chances are that looking through social media when you're depressed or lonely will only amplify those feelings.

Scrolling before Bed

Ask ourselves the question Why are we on? What is being on doing for you? Do you have a purpose?

4. Eating unhealthy processed food
Buying processed foods can lead to people eating more than the recommended amounts of sugar, salt, and fat as they may not be aware of how much has been added to the food they are buying and eating. These foods can also be higher in calories due to the high amounts of added sugar or fat in them.

God wants us healthy that is why he gave Israel dietary laws in lev 11 to keep them healthy. When we bring God into our healthy eating, it changes everything. Striving to honor Him in our food and drink choices will bring not only a heart change, but it will also change our choices.

5. Relying on other people to make you happy
The problems we’re facing with ourselves and other people are not new. And one of those problems is that we are needy. We often turn outwardly for important things: Happiness, advice, affection, love, approval. We ask experts for advice. We use drugs when we’re in pain. We expect others to solve our problems. It is very easy to fall into the trap of looking to people to make you happy.

Spouse, kids, friends, parents

6. Holding onto resentment and not forgiveness bitterness
Who hasn't been hurt by the actions or words of another? Perhaps a parent constantly criticized you growing up, a colleague sabotaged a project or your partner had an affair. Or maybe you've had a traumatic experience, such as being physically or emotionally abused by someone close to you.

These wounds can leave you with lasting feelings of anger and bitterness — even vengeance. But if you don't practice forgiveness, you might be the one who pays most dearly. By embracing forgiveness, you can also embrace peace, hope, gratitude, and joy. Consider how forgiveness can lead you down the path of physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.

7. Stressing about things that are outside of your control
There's a brutal truth about life that some people refuse to accept — you have no control over many of the things that happen to you. People who resist this truth fall into two categories — control freaks or worry warts. Control freaks believe if they can gain enough control over others, and the situations they find themselves in, they can somehow prevent bad things from happening.

Worry warts, on the other hand, fret about everything from natural disasters to deadly diseases. It’s as if they believe thinking hard enough about all the potential worst-case scenarios will somehow keep them safe. worry warts and control freaks put their time and energy into the wrong places. And ultimately, those strategies backfire and create even more stress.

8. Breaking promises to yourself and to others
A promise is a vow or pledge to take an action or an assurance that something will definitely happen. There is nothing inherently wrong or sinful about making a promise. In fact, the Bible records a great number of promises God Himself has made. As we are imperfect humans, we should only make promises with care and introspection so they do not turn into sin. Promises can be easily broken or made with the wrong motivation, which may result in damage to ourselves or others. Consider the following questions before you make a promise. Is your promise made with the intention of harming someone else? Do you intend to keep the promise? Have you thought through your promise? Do you have the power to carry out your promise?

9. Getting little or no exercise
After a rough day of work or taking care of the kids, it's easy to succumb to the siren song of your comfy couch. And it's becoming increasingly common for people to live a lifestyle with little to no exercise.

10. Not living in the moment
Most of us have a tendency to live in the past or the future. How often do you find yourself thinking about what happened yesterday, or what might happen tomorrow? Living in the present moment means letting go of the past and not waiting for the future. It means living your life consciously, aware that each moment you breathe is a gift from God.