{"id":75672,"date":"2018-01-04T12:00:25","date_gmt":"2018-01-04T19:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/renewsblog\/?p=75672"},"modified":"2024-02-23T16:24:25","modified_gmt":"2024-02-23T23:24:25","slug":"2015-11-23-habits-sabotage-ambitious-millennials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/2015-11-23-habits-sabotage-ambitious-millennials","title":{"rendered":"10 Seemingly Harmless Habits That Sabotage Ambitious Millennials"},"content":{"rendered":"
As a generation, Millennials (myself included) have had more access to opportunity than any other generation in human history. There is an unlimited amount of productive ways toward which we can direct our intelligence, passion, and attentiveness\u2014and an equally unlimited amount of distractions pulling us away from those things that actually<\/i>\u00a0matter.<\/div>\n
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This article will list out ten everyday problems that most Millennials encounter and how they hold them back from success, both in business and the pursuit of their passions.<\/div>\n
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Keep in mind that almost all of us, myself included, indulge in the behaviors on this list at least periodically. There is absolutely nothing wrong with partaking in these activities on occasion.<\/div>\n
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The problem is in habitually<\/i>\u00a0doing these activities, every day, as part of your routine.<\/div>\n
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With that, here are the ten barriers to success that many Millennials allow as distractions every single day.<\/div>\n

10 Seemingly Harmless Habits That Sabotage Ambitious Millennials<\/h2>\n

1. TV\/Netflix<\/h3>\n
Unless you are a better person than me, you\u2019ve gotten home from work and plopped yourself in front of the TV or computer to watch a few hours of Netflix, TV, or movies. I was actually so good at denial once that I even managed to convince myself that this was productive. I\u2019d think that whatever I was watching was ok because it was some documentary or series that expanded my mind or put me more in tune with the shows that “everybody should watch.”<\/div>\n
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Literally thousands of hours of my life have been wasted on this. My goals do not include being the top contributor to a conversation surrounding\u00a0Friends<\/i> or The Big Bang Theory<\/i>. Netflix has almost nothing to contribute to my day, and the off chance that some of the\u00a0content could<\/i>\u00a0actually benefit me is just that\u2014pure chance.<\/div>\n
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No thanks.<\/div>\n
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Netflix and 99.9 percent of television programming have absolutely nothing to offer me in terms of furthering me towards the things I really want in life. They are a distraction, a waste of time, and worst of all, an opportunity cost. I could be doing something better with almost every second. This is especially true in selecting<\/i>\u00a0a TV show or movie to watch. I have in the past been known to spend up to an hour just trying to pick one non-productive movie or TV show over another!<\/div>\n
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I care about my goals, and while I still watch a very minimal amount of television from time to time, it is no longer a part of my day to day life. I believe that I am way more productive, happy, and progress towards my goals more rapidly with this change.<\/div>\n
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TV and Netflix have no place in the ambitious Millennial\u2019s day to day life.<\/div>\n
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2. Sports Entertainment<\/h3>\n
Professional, college, and amateur sports are a distraction. You could be doing something better with that time in almost every situation.<\/div>\n
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Now, the trap that most people fall into is the mindset that sports don\u2019t hurt<\/i>\u00a0us. Unlike other activities on this list, watching sports isn\u2019t actively taking us farther from our goals, especially when we deceive ourselves into believing that they periodically produce connections and conversations with others. However, when we factor in opportunity cost<\/i>, sports become a huge and obvious anchor, slowing our progress toward our goals.<\/div>\n
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This is not to say that you should cut sports out of your life entirely, but it does mean that being a rabid fan of the local NFL team or watching every game in the NCAA tournament is costing you. Big time. For an example from my personal life, we can look back to the year the Phillies won the world series (2008). I remember skipping class; missing social events; getting happy, angry, or sad about things well outside of my control; spending money on merchandise; and ignoring most of the other things that were important to me at the time.<\/div>\n

Related:<\/strong> 3 Negatively Cashflowing \u201cAssets\u201d That Devastate 20-Somethings\u2019 Finances<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

After that year, I decided to let sports go as a part of my everyday life, and I\u2019m amazed at how I ever cared so much.\u00a0Don\u2019t get me wrong; I still like sports and don\u2019t mind going to a game every now and then, especially when I can get free tickets. But at the end of the day, making the Phillies a big part of your day to day life will make you… a great Phillies fan.<\/div>\n
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Is that really who you want to be?<\/div>\n
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Sports entertainment has no place in the ambitious Millennial’s day to day life.<\/div>\n

3. A Luxury Residence Far From Work<\/h3>\n
This is a fun one that many folks can\u2019t seem to wrap their heads around. The luxury residence (read: house in the suburbs or apartment in the happening part of town) can be a massive detractor from most Americans’ wealth, health, and happiness.<\/div>\n
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It bleeds them dry in the form of rent\/mortgage payments that preclude them from building wealth, force them to spend large amounts of unproductive time commuting to and from work, and incentivize them to stay at home\u2014often alone, bored, or at best, tired from a long day or week working and commuting.<\/div>\n
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Luxury living is often expensive to maintain and furnish and encourages other behaviors that further detract from goals. Many folks who choose such living situations also purchase an expensive automobile to compensate for their long commute, divert significant resources in the form of time and money into decorating and maintaining their household, and worst yet, feel compelled to spend time \u201cenjoying\u201d (read: lazing around in or watching #1 Netflix or #2 Sports) their home.<\/div>\n
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Many folks who feel\u00a0stuck and frustrated with their lives compound that frustration daily on the way to and from work in their luxury car (which is stuck in traffic because of their poor choice in the location of their residence). They are also forced to allocate time to maintaining their home, which they fail to see is a distraction to their higher objectives, misguidedly believing that their home is an \u201casset\u201d to their social status or in the case of the suburban homeowners, a \u201cwealth building\u201d investment.<\/div>\n
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\u201cSacrificing\u201d your luxury residence (at least in the short-term) for a downgrade closer to work might just be the single most powerful thing you can do in the pursuit of your dreams, both in freeing up your time AND your money.<\/div>\n
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A luxury apartment and a long commute have no place in the ambitious Millennial\u2019s day to day life.<\/div>\n
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4. Eating Out<\/h3>\n
There are occasions during which meeting someone for lunch can be extremely productive. Catching up with a friend or family member, potential business associate, or coworker over lunch or a beer can be extremely productive. Using reasonable restaurants in the way I describe here is not<\/i>\u00a0a bad use of time.<\/div>\n
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But habitually eating out as a default option in your day-to-day life is killing<\/i> your dreams.<\/div>\n
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Eating out regularly has the following drawbacks:<\/div>\n