10 Things to Stop Doing in 2025

0:06Welcome to today's episode of the Mindset Mentor podcast. I am your host Rob Dial. If you have not yet done so, hit that subscribe button so you never miss another podcast episode. I put out episodes four times a week, every single week for almost 10 years now to help you learn and grow and improve yourself. So if you want to improve yourself this year, hit that subscribe button. Keep on listening. Today, we're going to be talking about 10 things that you should stop doing in 2025 to make it the absolute best year of your life. As we go into 2025 and we have this fresh start, we're inspired. We want to aim higher.

0:42We want to dream bigger. We want to achieve more than we ever have. But the truth of everything is this. Growth and becoming better isn't always about adding new goals or new habits or new commitments. The real secret to massive growth a lot of times isn't 100 % about adding. Of course, there's definitely things you should add to your life. There are new habits you should add, new actions you should have, new mindsets you should have. But before you do any of that, before you add anything on, what you need to do is figure out what you need to subtract. You need to make room for the new things first.

1:18It's about letting go of what no longer serves us so that we can make room for focusing on ourselves, on our goals, on our habits, and ultimately what's most important for us and what's going to make our life better. And so these are the 10 things that you should stop doing to make room for a better life in 2025. The first thing that you should stop doing and that you should make room for that you should remove from your life is toxic relationships. We surround ourselves with people. We are tribal beings. And one of the things that I've found over years and years of coaching people, almost two decades now, is that a lot of times we just hang out with the same people just because we've been hanging out with them for a long time.

2:01And we don't realize how some people have such a massive impact on our mindset in our life. And, you know, the phrase you've probably heard it a hundred times is that you are the average of the five people that you spend the most time with. you should really start to pay attention to who you're spending your time with because toxic relationships anybody who's toxic in your life can steal your energy it can steal your self-esteem they can make you stick with negative patterns that you've had for years sometimes if you're on a mission of growth and you're trying to improve yourself but you have that one friend who smokes weed all the time and you're not you're wanting to stop smoking weed but then you're hanging out with your friend who is smoking or drinking or whatever you're trying to get rid of it makes it hard to get away from those things, right?

2:47And so when you remove those people from your life or spend a whole lot less time with them, it creates an environment where you can grow. And so if you have a friend who has some bad habits that you don't want to be doing anymore, you should probably spend less time with them. If you have a friend who constantly criticizes you or your choices without ever offering any support, or if you have a coworker who thrives on gossip and brings negativity into your workspace, or if you have a partner or a relative who tries to manipulate you or disrespect you or, you know, overstep your boundaries, you should probably start to distance yourself from those people before you do anything else in this year.

3:25So that's number one. Number two, second thing that you should get rid of is your habits that don't serve you. We often over our lifetime just accumulate habits without realizing that we have them and not really paying attention to how much they shape our lives and how much they change us. And some habits that we have might feel a little bit harmless because they don't feel like they drain our energy or our time very much. But when we actually take a step back and look at some of these habits, one of the first steps to massive growth is about identifying and removing habits that are no longer serving us anymore to make room for habits that are serving you.

4:04So there might be habits like mindlessly checking your phone first thing in the morning. Or when you go to sit down somewhere, you immediately just pop your phone out and go out on Instagram. Or it could be something like procrastinating on tasks that's just like busy work instead of focusing on what's really productive in your life. It could be overindulging on junk food, which then makes you have less energy to take action for the life that you really want. So really, it's about clearing out those habits to make space for the new habits. And there's a whole other thing. And I don't really have a whole lot of time to dive into habits today, but one of the reasons why habits don't stick for people, new habits don't stick is because number one, they got to get rid of the old habits.

4:47But the second reason why is because their identity of who they think they are doesn't line up with the actions and habits that they want to create in their life. And so really what it's about is like, really, if you're going to change your habits and create new ones, it's about figuring out who you think you are. And so, you know, if you want to learn more about that, I'm doing an entire workshop that's going to be free on how to rewire your brain for your identity and your habits to stick. It's January 15th, 16th. It's absolutely free. If you want to sign up for it, it's habits2025.com. So once again, habitswithaness2025.com.

5:20I'll go much, much deeper into habits with you. So that's the second thing. Number three, we should start getting rid of our limiting beliefs. The stories that we tell ourselves shape the choices that we make and then the actions that we do or do not take in our lives. And so limiting beliefs are like these invisible barriers that keep us from achieving our goals and achieving our full potential. Because it's like, well, I don't know if I can do that. It's these limiting beliefs that stop you from taking the action that you need to. And so we've got to identify these limiting beliefs and start removing these mental blocks so that we can start creating a better life and taking action towards the life that we want.

5:56And so if you have a thought pattern, like believing you're too old to start something new or thinking you're too young for people to start listening to you or thinking that you're not smart enough to be able to learn a new skill or that you're too old to be able to pivot careers or that you're assuming that success is only for like the quote unquote lucky people or the ones that are special or the ones that are smart or the ones that were given all of the things in life and you weren't given enough whatever it might be you need to get rid of those limiting beliefs. You need to assess them and figure out what do I need to remove?

6:30What habits of the way that I speak to myself do I need to remove to make space for the new way that I want to speak to myself? So that's number three. Number four is being a yes man or a yes woman or being a people pleaser or over committing to activities. A lot of people that come to me as people pleasers are constantly busy doing things for other people that don't help them in their own life. And so if you're over committing yourself, you're spreading your energy thin and it leaves very little room for what actually matters in your life. And so try cutting back on your obligations so that you can focus on what really moves the needle in your life.

7:09So you don't have to volunteer at every PTA meeting or, you know, just saying yes to every single thing that your boss or your coworker asks you to do without looking at your bandwidth or you don't need to accept all of the social invitations that people give you out of guilt or not having really any genuine interest in them or taking on extra projects that don't align with your goals. And we will be right back. And now back to the show. And so really you need to start saying no more often and stop being such a people pleaser and a yes man or yes woman. So that's number four. Number five, which is, you know, you've heard me talk about this a million times in this podcast.

7:53You need to get rid of your negative self-talk. How you speak to yourself might be the most important thing in the world. Negative self-talk erodes all of your confidence and holds you back from taking action. If you don't have confidence in yourself towards something, then it's gonna be really hard to go, you know what, I'm gonna step off into the unknown and do this. And so if you're holding yourself back because you're talking negatively to yourself, you got to get rid of it and you've got to replace those with more empowering thoughts that can change your outlook on who you think you are and what you can actually do so stop saying stuff like i'm always failing i never get it right or stop saying stuff like i'm an idiot i was at a friend's house a couple weeks ago and their mother was there and i heard her say over the course of two days i'm an idiot or i'm dumb or i'm stupid like four or five times i was like i don't think she really understands how that's holding herself back.

8:42And I was like, don't say that. Don't say I'm dumb. Don't say I'm stupid. Don't say I'm an idiot out loud. Don't even think it. Don't say stuff like, oh, why even try? I'm not as good as other people or stuff like I'm a terrible parent or I'm a terrible partner. I'm a terrible friend or I'm a terrible student, whatever it might be. You've got to actually start to get rid of that negative self-talk so that you can talk to yourself the way that you would want a supportive friend to talk to you. So that's number five. Number six, This is something I never really hear people speak about. Get rid of your outdated goals.

9:12Not all of your goals are meant to be with you forever. As you grow and as you change as a person, your old goals don't have to stick with you. Like there may be some goals that don't align with your values or your vision or your aspirations in your life anymore. And so when you let go of old goals, it creates space for new ambitions and ambitions that align with who you are today versus who you were three years ago. So like sticking to a major or in school or a career path that you chose years ago that you no longer feel passionate about is something you should probably get rid of. So if you're not aligned with your job or you're not aligned with your major, it's okay to change because you've made a decision two years ago and you're trying to just push through.

10:00No, you should change. If you're changing as a person, naturally your goals should start to change as well. If you have like a side hustle that is making a little bit extra money, but it's draining your energy and it's not bringing you any satisfaction and it's stressing you out and it's 90 % of your mental energy throughout the day, but you're just like, well, I gotta get it to$100 ,000 a year because I said I was going to six years ago. Maybe it's time to let that thing go. And so that's one thing that I would recommend is like, maybe you should get rid of some of your outdated goals and create some new goals that align with who you are today.

10:30So that's number six. Number seven, please get rid of all of your time wasting entertainment everything that you consume changes you of course if you eat whatever food you eat of course is going to change you it's going to change your energy it's going to give you more energy less energy make you feel good make you feel worse but also the content that you consume the people that you follow on instagram the movies that you watch the videos that you watch the the shit reality shows that you watch the podcasts about people murdering each other all day long. All of these things affect the way that you think about the world.

11:09Watching endless reality TV episodes that don't inspire you or uplift you and make you think that that's just the way that people talk to each other. Or playing video games for hours when it doesn't truly relax you, but you're just trying to mindlessly go off into a new land. Or following these reality TV shows or YouTube channels that are just clickbait and raunchy and reality TV and all of these things that add unnecessary stress. You cannot tell me that watching one TV show does not change your mindset in some sort of way. It does whether you realize it or not. And so what I would recommend is really self-assessing how you entertain yourself, the podcasts that you listen to, the shows that you watch, the movies that you watch, the way that you, the people that you follow on Instagram and TikTok and YouTube and the videos, all of those things.

12:02Start paying attention to what your mind is focusing on, because I promise you 100 % it has changed the way that you think about yourself, the world, and other people as well. All right, so that's number seven. Number eight, get rid of your unhealthy coping mechanisms. You know, when you think about life does get stressful, and I get it, But sometimes what we do is we lean on habits that provide temporary relief, but don't really solve the root issue. So if we have unhealthy coping mechanisms, it creates this cycle of avoidance versus actually dealing with what the problem is. And so when we replace these with healthier strategies, it will really help to actually change us.

12:44And so, you know, if you're coming home and you're stressed out and your natural tendency is to reach for a glass of wine or beer every time that you feel stressed, you might feel better temporarily, but you're not changing yourself in any sort of way. So if you get stressed and you go for comfort eating or sugary snacks after a bad day or a bag of chips, it's going to make you feel better in the short term, but in the long term, it's not helping you in any sort of way. Or if you're the type of person that avoids difficult conversations by shutting people out or just completely withdrawing, none of these things are helping you get better.

13:18You know, if you normally go for a glass of wine or a beer, maybe what you should do and just try it out for 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, instead of reaching for that alcohol or reaching for a cigarette or reaching for whatever it is that you normally reach for. What if you actually just do nothing? What if you go and you do some breath work and you do some meditation and you try to learn how to actually self-soothe internally without having to find something externally outside of you? And so that's what I would recommend is try to get rid of any unhealthy coping mechanisms because they're not helping you grow in any sort of way.

13:54So that's number eight. Let's go to number nine. Number nine is the fear of change. What you have to understand is that if you're going to make this the best year of your life, you're going to have to grow. And growth and comfort cannot coexist. They can't. You're going to have to get uncomfortable. And if so, if you have the fear of the unknown or the fear of change, it will keep you in the exact same position as you are one year from today. So either you hold on to your fear of change and your fear of the unknown, and then you know that if you don't change, you're going to be in the exact same position one year from today as you are right now.

14:28Or you get rid of your fear of change, you embrace the unknown, and you say, hey, that's the only way that my life is going to get better. Because if you're afraid of change and you don't change, your life is going to look exactly as it does right now. And so when you let go of that fear, it allows you to step into new opportunities that can change your life in some sort of way. So if you're staying at a job that you dislike because it just feels safe, or if you're avoiding new technologies or tools or whatever it is that might be out there just because they seem intimidating, or if you're the type of person that's declining opportunities to travel or to meet new people or to try new hobbies or to put yourself at your comfort zone because you just want to stay comfortable, I recommend that you change that.

15:13Start saying yes to new things. Stop being afraid of everything. So start saying yes to new opportunities, to meeting new people, to travel, to getting yourself out of your comfort zone. That is how your life is actually going to change. So that's number nine. And then number 10, please stop comparing yourself to other people. It's easy to look at other people and to feel like you're falling short. But comparison to someone else is absolutely pointless. You have two completely different lives, two completely different starting points. And from the moment you were born until today, have had two completely different paths.

15:46It is not fair to ever compare yourself to someone else. So what you need to do is you need to focus on you, your journey, and your goals. Feeling inadequate after scrolling through social media as highlight reels is easy to do. Obsessing over someone else's career success while undervaluing your own accomplishments, that's really easy to do. Resenting someone else for having a great relationship without considering, you know, what they've gone through, what you've gone through is insane. You only can compare yourself to one person and that's who you were in the past. And ultimately that's the only person that it's fair to compare yourself with.

16:24You can't compare yourself to someone else and go, oh my God, they have such a great body. I don't have that body. Oh my God, they make so much more money. Oh my God, they have a Lamborghini. Why don't I have a Lamborghini? You cannot compare your life to someone else's because they might be on chapter 20 of whatever career it is or making money or fitness. You might be on chapter one. It's not possible or even in reality, it's not even fair to you to compare your chapter one to somebody else's chapter 20. And so really, this is just very specific examples in your life that if you want to have the best 2025 of your life, the first thing that I want you to do is figure out the things that you need to subtract and to start removing the things that no longer serve you.

17:09When you clear space, it's not about losing these things. It's about creating room for the things that you can put in place that are absolutely going to transform your life. So that's what I got for you for today's episode. If you love this episode, please share it on your Instagram stories. Tag me at Rob Dial, Jr., R-O-B-D-I-A-L-J-R. Once again, if you do want to join my workshop that's gonna be coming up January 15th and 16th, all you gotta do is go to habits2025.com. Once again, habits with an S, 2025.com. And with that, I'm gonna leave you the same way I leave you every single episode. Make it your mission to make somebody else's day better.

17:43I appreciate you and I hope that you have an amazing day.