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There are a lot of things in life that we take for granted. Things like a warm, sunny day or a shirt on our back don’t even cross our minds. But there’s one habit that’s more prevalent than any of these: thinking of the past or future instead of living right in the present moment. There are some pretty serious consequences when we fail to live in the present, and these 10 habits that distort your thinking might be at the top of your list.
1. Judging yourself and others
This is perhaps the most harmful, yet most common, of all distorted thinking habits. It’s so common that it’s established itself as a default behavior for many people. You might have experienced this when you have a thought or a feeling that you don’t like and then immediately try to change it. Maybe you had some negative thoughts about someone at work and said, “Man, I just can’t stand her,” or you wanted to eat a cookie but thought, “I shouldn’t,” followed by an internal battle between doing what you want or what’s healthy for your body.
This is called “judging.” You’re taking something that you don’t like about yourself or someone else and mentally getting rid of it, which leads to a bunch of problems. For one, you’re focusing on something that’s just a thought and not a fact. If it weren’t a fact, why would you care what others think…
