A couple of months ago I wrote a blog post about 100 Ways To Live A Better Life. The post got featured almost instantly on Delicious, Reddit and StumbleUpon. Since then, it gets a few hundreds hits every day and a new comment every once in while (although it’s more than 2 months old now). But re-reading it the other day I spotted a slight imbalance. Couldn’t tell at first what it was, but it was an imbalance. Like a picture with too much pink.
Then it hit me: life is not pink. It’s rough and challenging and filled with tests and temptations. And this is what makes it beautiful, after all. Living a better life stems most of the time from making a lot of mistakes and learning from them, rather than from avoiding challenges. Better try and fail than isolate yourself in a sea of delusion and non-action. As pink as that sea might be.
So, I realized I know at least 100 ways to screw up your life too. And I also realized that this list would make an honest companion to the first blog post. Like a mirror or something. Oh, and if you wonder, the following 100 ways to screw up your life were personally verified at some point in my life by yours truly. And now I’m pretty happy about that 
.
[Update: There is an ebook based on this. Go to the downloads to get a free preview, or scroll to the end of it for more info.]
Without further ado, let’s start:
1. Regret Stuff
Feel sorry about what happened to you. Spend time and energy on things that aren’t even there, but you feel are “unsolved yet”. Keep your focus on the past and ignore the present. This is what regrets do: they tie you down to things in the past that doesn’t matter anymore. Well, you can’t do anything about them anyway: accept and move on.
2. Accept to Be Lied To
Even if you know you’re lied. Accept to be told lies in the name of something “bigger” than you: a family, a career, anything. Eat it up every day while knowing the truth and still accepting that other, twisted reality, hoping at some point things will go better. They won’t. And there is no such thing as something bigger than you.
3. Stay in the Wrong Partnership
Wrong partnerships may be both personal or professional. You may think it’s just temporary or even “it might be good for you” but you’re just deluding yourself. Wrong partnerships are nothing but swamps: they’ll slowly drag you down. If you don’t get out of them the moment you realize they’re wrong for you, you’ll become one with the swamp.
4. Succumb to Addictions
Make them “bigger” than you. Call it alcohol or just an addiction to fight. Call it work, as in workaholic, or eating much more than you need. Call it drugs or just an addiction to a person (co-dependence). Giving in to addictions is a conscious act of surrender. You accept to lose a battle. And then another one. Slowly, you’ll going to lose the war.
5. Dream Without Taking Action
Daydreaming is good. It opens your heart to new universes and goals. But daydreaming without action is useless. Sitting on your fat ass while waiting for all your intentions to manifest, without taking the smallest action for moving things forward, won’t change anything. Oh, sorry, it will change something: you ass will be fatter.
6. Sleep More Than You Need
Because you’re too tired of doing the same stupid things again while you’re awake. Or because you’re avoiding your real life, searching for a shallow refuge under the pillow. And, of course, lose all the opportunities you could embrace while you’re sleeping. Becoming an early riser, on the other hand, is more than often priceless.
7. Play The Guilt Card
If you did something wrong, instead of a) assessing what was really wrong, b) learn the lesson and c) move on, play the guilt card. Feel guilty for all the bad things you did, until you start feeling guilty for all the things you did. Playing the guilt card is closely related to religion, but it can occur outside religion too. Just get over it. Guilt can’t pay your rent.
8. Victimize Yourself
If you lost something, act like you’ve lost everything. Be a victim. Ask for other people’s compassion. Play like every people you meet makes whatever omelet he wants from you. Victimizing yourself in exchange of compassion is far more common than you think. It’s contagious too. Just remember you may lose a battle, but that’s not making you a victim.
9. Avoid Introspection
As difficult as it seems, every once in a while you should step back and interview yourself. Bite the bullet and ask yourself a bunch of tough questions. Better give a wrong answer now to a difficult question, but move on with your life, than ignoring what’s going on with you and remain stuck. Introspection always pays forward.
10. Work Harder Than You Can
And ruin your health while pretending you’re sacrificing for the good of the … (fill in the blanks: family, friends, boss, career, planet). You have physical limits and usually that’s a good thing. Breaking up your physical limits in the name of a stupid cause will screw up your life faster than you think. And for a long time. Work smarter, not harder.
11. Don’t Play
Because it’s stupid, it wastes your time and energy and it doesn’t give you any measurable results. Don’t play and lose the only divine thing that you get for free. Don’t play and let your inner child become a gray adult with heavy topics to discuss every minute. Don’t play and watch how your life gets seriously screwed up.
12. Stop Learning
Because you already know too much or because what you will learn will not give you any competitive advantage in the narrow niche you’re playing now. Stop learning because there’s so much to discover that you won’t cover it even in a dozen lifetimes. Stop learning because it gets so difficult and it takes you out of your comfort zone. Yeah, why bother? Screw it!
13. Gossip
Talk bad about other people. That’s a 100% sure way to screw up your relationships, your social credibility, your personal values. The way you talk about people often determines the way you act towards them. Gossip is a heavy weapon and, no matter how skilled you get at using it, it always destroys its owner. Do it often. It will accelerate the decay process.
14. Aim To Be Famous
And do all the stupid things other people expect from famous people in the process. Beg for attention, hunt the hype, dress like a douche. Cheat your friends for the sake of some media visibility or discard your personal life. Being famous is not at all a guarantee that you will automatically live a fulfilling life. Most of the time, the opposite is true.
15. Follow The Money
While this could be a very precious advice for an entrepreneur, living your entire life in a continuous chase of money will most likely screw you up. Hunting money is difficult because money is a very volatile concept. A big part of it lives only in your mind. And money can only buy things. See what you can do with a bank check in a morgue. Pretty much nothing.
16. Don’t Make Friends
Stay alone. Don’t connect. Because you’re ashamed of something in your behavior or look. Or because you think you’re too good for them. Whatever the reason, just stay away for people, and, by all means, don’t make new friends. And you will get the most exquisite place at your own drama movie, in which, you guessed, your life eventually gets screwed.
17. Fight Your Enemies
Which comes down to first make and then keep some enemies. Which is all round stupid. Enemies are a mental construct. You can’t have enemies unless you’re ready to give away your power to somebody else. Nobody can really hurt you unless you allow this to happen. Fighting your enemies is in fact feeding your enemies.
18. Be Lazy
Like in not doing any type of work. Totally avoiding responsibilities. Waiting for others to do stuff for you. Staying away from anything that might remotely put you in the position to actually do something helpful for other people. Laziness is a disease in itself. Allowing it to spread into your life is like inviting an illness to take over your body.
19. Don’t Take Risks
Live a cozy life and always keep it into your comfort zone. Don’t get out of there. Taking risks is… well, risky. You can get hurt. You can lose your money. You can fail. But taking risks is also the only way you can grow. There is no real growth without risk. There is no victory without even starting a battle. There is no better life without challenges.
20. Be Selfish
Do things for yourself and for yourself only. Act like you’re the only one in the Universe. Don’t share anything. Aim to be the richest, most powerful and influential person in the world. Selfishness is an incredibly effective limitation factor. You will become the richest person in the world, if you really want to, only your world will become incredibly small: you’ll be its only inhabitant.
21. Gamble
Start fighting with randomness. Hope that one lucky hit will end up all your troubles. Gambling is really funny as an entertainment activity, but once you make it the core of your life, you’re sinking into a swamp of despair. You can’t use gambling to solve your problems, you’re simply not designed like this. You’re designed to create and enjoy the process.
22. Be Stuck in a Job You Hate
Because it pays well. Or because you’re too scared to look for another one. Or because somebody told you when you were a kid that you have to have a job. You spend more than half of your lifetime at your job so if you chose to stay in a job you hate, you’ll surely end up hating your entire life. In my experience, it happens rather sooner than later.
23. Don’t Listen
Pretend you know everything. Or act like you don’t need any advice, suggestion or feed-back. Don’t listen to your partner, to your friends, to your intuition. And lose all the new perspectives you can get, all the fresh answers you never thought of and all the opportunities that could arise. Don’t listen and be prepared to face failure really fast.
24. Lie To People
Because you want to get something from them. Because you find pleasure in deceiving them. Because you think it’s just an innocent play. Or because you can’t stand telling the truth. Lying to other people is an addiction because it gives you a temporary feeling of relief: you passed this challenge, now you can move on. Only you can’t, really.
25. Lie To Yourself
Don’t believe what you’re feeling or experiencing. Avoid facing the truth and delude yourself. Live in a land of fantasies and hope everything will be great (or worse, if you’re a pessimistic by nature). Just don’t listen to your inner voice and succumb to social pressure, bad habits or negative emotions. Lying to yourself is a suicidal activity.
26. Don’t Ask For Help
And live like on a desert island, isolated and alone. It’s ok to ask for help every once in a while. It’s ok to be taken care of every once in a while. Just don’t make a habit out of it and you’ll be fine. But remember: you won’t be able to cope with everything in your life just by yourself. You’ll get by with a little help from your friends.
27. Don’t Exercise
No need to become an athlete but if you’re not taking care of your physical body, it won’t take care of you either. Avoiding physical activities, as small or insignificant they may seem, it will slowly degrade your physical performance and make you prone to illness. And if you just think how easy it is to take a walk in the park…
28. Eat Junk
From the same category as the one above: feed yourself crap and you’ll produce crap. And I’m not talking about the residual crap we’re all producing in the process, I’m talking about the direct result of the process. We’re very much influenced by what we eat and any imbalance in this area will be visible instantly. Junk food creates junk life.
29. Don’t Spend Time in Nature
We’re pretty far from creating a perfectly balanced artificial living environment. Our cities are sucking up our power instead of feeding us energy. We’re still children of the nature. Avoiding nature in the name of a super-civilized lifestyle will subtly deprive us from one of the most forceful sources of energy, slowly weakening our strengths.
30. Don’t Clean Up Your House
How not cleaning up your house can screw up your life? Well, it will not screw you directly, unless you chose to have a date with the love of your life in your messy house, in which case your chances will dramatically decrease. But, generally speaking, it will set up the field for other bad things to happen, like procrastination or just plain, old laziness.
31. Procrastinate
Postpone tasks. Avoid doing stuff. Daydream. Procrastinate and delay everything you have to do. That will surely help screw up your professional relationships, your personal life and your self esteem. If you want to became a master in procrastination, here’s a small tutorial which will even help you procrastinate in a more productive way.
32. Spend More Than You Can Afford
Because you don’t have any idea what money is or just because you want to keep up with the Joneses. Spending more than you can afford will not only sink you in debt, but it will make it really difficult to get out of there. It’s not how much you have but how much you are. Not to mention that spending more than you have will never make you rich.
33. Limit Your Social Life
Stop going out. Isolate yourself in the safety of a job, a limited family life or a perpetual and meaningless daydreaming. We’re social animals, even though sometimes we’re not that good at it. If you stop going out you’re cutting up your feed-back loop, slowly going down in a spiral of self-sufficiency and mediocrity. Get out, see people!
34. Chose a Career Instead of a Lifestyle
Too often we’re planning our life career-centric. We’re making all the necessary steps for acquiring skills, titles and diplomas. We try to fit in a more or less guaranteed career. What we forget in the process is that a career is not identical with our life. At the end of the day we often ask ourselves who was the person who talked with our mouth…
35. Treat People Like Assets
Instead of treating them like human beings, with their own lives and expectations. This is especially true if you live by the one above, judging your own life expectations in business terms. People are not assets, like a computer. They have lives and hopes and ups and downs. Assets are dead, people are alive, with all the good or bad that comes with being alive.
36. Chose (And Stay In) The Wrong Friendships
You know they’re the wrong ones when you have to do things you don’t really want, just to be accepted in their circle. You know, drinking your life every night or just dressing up in a certain way. A real friend will never put any condition on your relationship. If you don’t have the courage to step out of this bad circle, expect the circle to eat you.
37. Reject Criticism
You don’t know everything in the world. So, instead of rejecting criticism, you should accept it. Maybe they won’t be always right about you, but at least you’ll have a feed-back loop. Many people fear criticism but in my experience this fear is not justified. Be thankful for your critics, it means you’re still worth something. And it also means you’re improvable.
38. Buy Your Relationships
Substitute the warmness of a normal relationship with the practical coldness of money. While this will certainly ease your day to day living, it will deeply affect your emotional level. Many marriages are putting so much strain on this aspect that they succeed in destroying any trace of true emotional bond between the partners. Just live and let live.
39. Follow The Rules
Eat everything they feed you, talk like they teach you and, by all means, don’t swear when you feel like. Just don’t exercise your own choosing abilities and you’ll soon become a perfect social puppet, ready to be manipulated with invisible strings by the first puppeteer who finds you. Following rules should always be backed up with your own judgment.
40. Don’t Manage Your Money
We still live in a world where money plays an important role. Several generations from now maybe money won’t be necessary, but, until then, you should be able to manage it now. That means making day to day living up to investing or building a lifestyle. Just pay attention to it and manage it, that enough will save you from some nasty troubles.
41. Promise More Than You Can Do
Because you’re ashamed to admit you can’t do more, or because you hope things will magically get better. Promising more than you can cope with is often perceived as a way to push the destiny to obey your wishes. I think it’s the other way around. The more your promise without cover, the more you piss off your fate.
42. Don’t Keep Your Promises
Not keeping promises is another way to say to the world: “I’m not a reliable person, please go away from me. I may be very good at promises and make you believe I can offer a lot, but instead, I’m just lying to you.” Better not promise at all than not keeping your promises.
43. Overdo
Improve where there’s no improvement needed. Strive to do things nobody really wants. Do more than you have to just to show off. Many people think that going way over what they are expecting to, in order to impress or just hunt for a promotion, will make their life easier. Too bad that when you get that promotion you’ll be too dried out to enjoy.
44. Quit
Quit doing what you’re doing best. Quit your friends when they need you. Quit your partner because you got bored. Just quit. Instead of staying there and do what you have to do, just run away, cover your eyes and pretend it never happened. Being a quitter is one of the most relaxing ways of living. It’s also the safest way to screw up your life too.
45. Say Only Yes
Be submissive even if you don’t agree. Accept others around just because you’re too scared to tell them they are annoying.. And, by all means, don’t you upset anyone. Saying only “yes” it’s incredibly disempowering. You can’t say “yes” to anything in your life. At some point you’ll have to disagree. Be happy about it: it’s a healthy thing.
46. Say Only No
Be a naysayer. Disagree no matter what. Tell them you know better. Or just don’t accept anything around you because you have such “high” standards. Playing the “No” card every time will create higher and higher walls around you. Being a naysayer will be as bad as being a yes-man. Balance your “No”‘s and “Yes”‘s with your own judgment.
47. Be A Control Freak
Try to control everything in your life. Your happiness. Other people happiness. Your colleagues or employees. Your emotions. The weather. Being a control freak will eliminate any trace of authenticity in your life. It could drastically improve your discipline and self-awareness, but without authenticity you’re as screwed as a robot.
48. Walk Your Life In Somebody Else’s Shoes
Be somebody else. Chose a role model and stick with it until the boundaries of your own personality are melting and you don’t know who you really are. When you answer you will speak his answer. When you chose, you will make his choices. Chose to be somebody else and leave your true life behind. While totally screwing it, of course.
49. Be Cheap
Try to bargain everything in your life. Negotiate while shopping up to the point every salesman will be pissed off and give you stuff for free. Do this for your relationships too. And, in the end, without even noticing, you’ll become cheap too. Things of value requires value. Looking only for cheap relationships will lower your market value too.
50. Abuse Others
Overuse. Dry out. Obtain things by twisting people arms. If possible, make it in the name of a higher cause. Take other people resources. Doesn’t make any difference if the resources are emotional or material, just take them without asking. Only because you can. And before you’ll know it you’ll become the first target of your own abusive behavior.
51. Accept To Be Abused
Be somebody else’s toy. Because you “can’t do better”. Or because “you deserve it”. Or because “this is how it is and it can’t be changed”. I know you won’t agree but accepting abuse is on the same vibration with abusing. Although in certain contexts it seems you can’t escape being abused, you always have a choice. Always.
52. Try To Please Everybody
And lose every single trace of authenticity and originality you have. There are billions of people on this Earth and during your lifetime you will meet several dozens of thousands. How can you possibly imagine you will be able to please each and every one of them? Unless all you need from this life is a perfectly numb mediocrity.
53. Feed The Trolls
At some point in your life you will meet the trolls. People who live to disagree no matter what. People who make a living by talking bad about other people. If you’re up to something in your life, they will spot you. The biggest mistake you can do is to feed them, to talk to them and make them believe they’re important. Don’t. Let them talk and starve.
54. Don’t Look People In The Eyes
Eye contact is fundamental for relationships. How do you feel about people who are talking to you while looking in a completely different direction? Well, this is exactly how they feel too about you, without eye contact. Without looking in the eyes of your conversation partner, you’re talking to the ghosts in your head. Sooner than you think, you’ll talk only to them.
55. Don’t Believe In Signs
The universe is giving you hints. All the time. With patience and trust you can learn how to read them. It’s nothing supernatural, just a way of living in the flow, instead of feeling disconnected and powerless. Ignoring the “signs” it’s like going to a live concert with your ears clogged. You may not get a cold, but you’re also going to miss all the fun.
56. Don’t Travel
Stay at home. Don’t leave your city, your country, your continent. Don’t expose yourself to new situations, to new cultures, to new people. Don’t experience the thrills of discovery, don’t risk your life among perfect strangers. Without traveling, you’re limiting your possibilities and completely screw your life by total and undeniable boredom.
57. Don’t Read Books
No. They’re evil. They can open your mind, challenge your creativity and feed your curiosity. Don’t touch them. Reading books can be extremely dangerous for anyone settling for a boring, limited and tasteless life. So, if you plan to totally screw up your life, stay away from books. In some occasions, they alone can change your life completely.
58. Live by Assumptions
Don’t verify what they tell you or what you think it’s true. Just assume it’s right. Living by assumptions is a sign of weakness and lack of courage. Have the courage to face the things and find out the truth. If you don’t do that, your reality will be affected the same way a house is affected by a faulty row of bricks. At the next earthquake, it will crumble.
59. Be Shy
Don’t express yourself because you fear other people reactions. Shyness is a social disease. And, as any other disease, it may be cured. If you think this is how you are and you can’t be changed, you’re letting your shyness to control your life, your opportunities, your relationships. It takes courage to use courage, so all you have to do is the first step.
60. Live By Habit
Spend your life on autopilot. Don’t get out of routine. Create a new habit for everything in your life, from eating to making love. And then give your consciousness away to those habits. Live outside new challenges. Sleepwalk from the second you wake up to the moment you go to bed. And you won’t even recognize how screwed you are.
61. Avoid Mistakes
Chose the fool proof way. Don’t try something that could potentially lead to a mistake. Because, you know, your position may be compromised, or your career could suffer from it. Mistakes are in fact disguised opportunities. It feels bad when you’re wrong, I know, but it feels even worse to realize that you didn’t learn anything from it.
62. Pay Yourself Last
Sacrifice your time, money and energy in a totally screwed altruism. Ignore your own needs and try to fulfill others needs just to receive some appreciation. You can’t really give something unless you have it first. Becoming an altruist when you don’t even have your own house or income is a sign of delusion. Pay yourself first.
63. Hate
Use all your energy to hate others. Because they have a different skin color, a different religion or just more resources than you. Hating uses the same process as love: it connects you with somebody else. But at the end of the connection hates puts destruction, while love puts union. Whenever you’re hating, you’re using your own power against you.
64. Be A Perfectionist
Try to reach perfection instead of just being better. In the process, screw up everybody around, including yourself. Perfection is a mind concept, it doesn’t exist in real life. Perfection has everything you have, minus real life. All perfect things are dead things. So, aiming to be perfect in what you do or want to become is a dead end too.
65. Sabotage Yourself
Self-sabotage is more powerful than you think. It works in such a subtle way that you may even take it as a normal act of thinking. Whenever you’re close to a big achievement, watch your self-sabotaging reactions: are you ashamed of success? Afraid of it? Do you think successful people are bad? Congratulations, you’re sabotaging yourself.
66. Waste Your Power On Useless Stuff
Ok, you gathered enough power to do something great, but instead, you waste it on meaningless stuff. Welcome to the world of shallowness. Having power is not enough, you got to double it with consciousness and vision. Without these ingredients, your power will most likely diverge and decay, aimlessly pointed at things with no meaning.
67. Be Ungrateful
Like in just avoiding saying “thank you”, or “I’m glad we did this”. Gratitude is a magnet, it attracts a lot of what you’re associating it with. When you don’t use gratitude, you let things floating away in a Brownian motion, totally random and out of your control. On the contrary, when you experiment gratitude, you let things you’re grateful for flow your way. Is that simple.
68. Think Bad About Yourself
Instead of repeating to yourself that you are unable to do this or that, you may as well shoot yourself in the foot. Just by thinking you’re no good, you’ll actually become a person who is not good. You literally are what you think about you. The good news is you can dissolve those negative opinions. All you have to do is to first admit you have them.
69. Fake It Till You Make It
There is this advice of “being in sync” with what you want, largely based on the Law of Attraction. While this is certainly a valuable approach, faking your desired goal will not bring it closer, on the contrary. What you should do is to try to feel comfortable in the skin of you new “you”, not to pretend you’re the new “you”. The Universe always knows when you’re lying.
70. Don’t Manage Your Time
Time is the only non-renewable resource you have. Not managing your time is almost as bad as not managing your money. Only worse . You can make more money later, but you can’t create more time. Each and every second you have is a new chance. But if you don’t stay on top of your schedule, somebody else will use your chances.
71. Solve The Wrong Problems
Keep your focus on the wrong side of the problem. Like in how much you can save, instead of how much you can really gain. Inverse evaluation is one of the trickiest things in our life. We tend to evaluate a thing by its opposite. Like being happy when we eliminate 2 kilos of trash from our house, instead of just keeping it clean day by day.
72. Be Judgmental
Criticize constantly. Focus on the bad stuff. Don’t even think to bring in the bright side of the things. Disapprove, be negative, hypercritical and deprecating. Reject any trace of appreciation or balance. In just a few weeks, your life will be totally screwed. Who wants around a guy who is never, ever able to see the full half of the glass? Nobody.
73. Complain
About everything, everywhere, every time you get a chance. Complaining is another powerful magnet, just like gratitude. But instead of attracting the good stuff, it attracts its subject. Basically, the more you complain about something, the more of that something you are getting. If you want to fail at something, start by complaining about it.
74. Accept Crap
Instead of just rejecting the thing you don’t want, take it up. Instead of making your point, expressing your desires and throwing away everything you don’t really want, accept crap. And you’ll get it. Most of the time the only reason we get crap in our lives is our express authorization: please, give me more. Sometimes, all you have to do is to say “stop it”.
75. Take It Personally
Like you are the center of the Universe and everybody has something against you. Take it personally at the weather, at the politics, at the economical crisis, at everything. Just move forward with this mindset and everything around you will actually start to have something against you. Don’t take more pun than you’re expected to.
76. Don’t Laugh
Be serious. Grave and sober. Don’t smile and, by all means, don’t allow yourself to laugh. Because laughing will bring down your walls, it will crush your entire black edifice of a stony-faced, serious person, preoccupied with important issues. Not laughing is the stupidest thing you can do to yourself. Laugh is for free, everything else in life is not.
77. Envy
Look up to everything other people have and feel bad you don’t have it too. Envy their lifestyle, their richness, their freedom. If possible let them know that as often as you can. Envy is a form of worship: only instead of praising its object it’s diminishing its performer. Every time you envy somebody you’re in fact lowering yourself.
78. Leave The Passion Out
Don’t put your heart in your life. Leave it away and try to get on with cold calculus or with bare logic. Leave the passion out of your life and become an empty carcass, walking only by the law of physics. Passion is the only thing that can completely shift your life. Leaving passion out of your life is living a life of a walking dead man.
79. Be A Follower
Don’t start anything by yourself. Don’t do anything without asking permission. Be a follower and always look for somebody ready to carry your responsibility too. That’s a perfect way to live a dull, gray and futureless life. Being a follower will amputate your bravery and guts, leaving you at the mercy of some mediocre role model.
80. React Instead Of Act On Things
Be always a second late. Don’t initiate. Don’t start. React instead of acting. This attitude, although providing a little bit of safety, will put you at the mercy of events. Too often, people who are acting instead of reacting are successful people. And those who are barely responding to stimulus, instead of jumping ahead, are the self-proclaimed victims.
81. Live Outside The Present Moment
In the past or in the future, doesn’t really matter. Just stay away from the present moment. That will be enough to live a life of no meaning, always in search of something that doesn’t really exists. The present is the only time we got. The past is just a mark in the sand and the future an uncertain promise. All you have is now. Don’t waste it.
82. Be Averagish
Not too much, not too little. Not too talkative, not too silent. Be in the middle. Talk in the middle. Live in the middle. An averagish life is a wasted life. You don’t really live, you’re barely acknowledging a statistical model of the reality. There’s not such thing like the average in real life. You’re either up to something, either not. Chose to be exceptional.
83. Be Revengeful
Wait for the “right” moment and pay back that insult. Carefully plan and implement your revenge. And you’ll soon become a predictable and much too easy to manipulate machine, ready to be used by anyone smart enough to push the right buttons. Revenge will never make things even. It will make things worse. Forgive and forget.
84. Be Resentful
Even if you don’t use revenge, keep some bad vibe about that person who insulted you. Resentment is like drinking poison while waiting for your enemies to die, Nelson Mandela said. And I totally agree with it. No matter at whom your negative emotion is directed, holding it long enough inside yourself will eventually screw up your life.
85. Don’t Create Value
Do something that is either repeating somebody else’s work, either of no use for anyone. Do things that are not valuable. Be a copy cat or a useless clerk. Creating genuine value is at the core of our life purpose. If you chose to create value for others, as small as that value might be, you managed to be in for something. You’re not screwed yet.
86. Avoid Confrontation
Don’t you ever confront your fears, your opponents or your critics. Leave, run, hide and don’t face your phobias. Avoid your rivals. That’s one way to lose the most valuable feed-back you can get. Confrontation requires courage, that’s right, but without it, you’ll never really know what are you up to. Living only in “potential” means not living at all.
87. When Going Through Hell, Stop Walking
And you’ll get stuck forever. Every time you bump into some hard times, just keep going, as Winston Churchill said. If you stop, you’ll get sucked. Every hard time you encounter is a test, as undeserved at it might seem. The only way to get out from it is to keep going, otherwise you’ll get burned. Even hell can be passed, if only you keep going and don’t stop.
88. Don’t Clean Up Your Lenses
Your life could be blurred at times. Happens. Your life lenses got stuck or you have some dirt on them. If you keep them dirty, you won’t change your perspective and will keep stumble until you fall. Cleaning up your lenses should be a habit for anyone who really wants to adapt to change. Because the only real thing we have in this life is change.
89. Fall For “Free Stuff”
There is no such thing as a free lunch, they say, and they say that for a reason. Nothing really worth having is free in this world. We tend to value things based on how much we “spend” for them. Hence, a freebie will be worthless. Anything presented as “free” is in fact a trap, a trap which will require more from you than you are willing to pay.
90. Race Against Others
The only real competition is with you. The others may serve as a comparison at times, but you can only win against yourself. Chasing your goals the same way dogs are chasing mechanical rabbits at a dog race is just stupid. Once the race is over, what would you chase next? Do you really want to live a life of a racing dog?
91. Be An Information Junkie
Live by the news, sleep by the news, wake up by the news. Information is supposed to be useful. How much are you really going to use out of what you’re exposing yourself to? Being an information junkie will give you the illusion of control. You’ll be much better if you master the art of ignoring, instead of practicing information overload.
92. Talk More Than You Have To
And piss off everyone else in the process. Talking should be a way to connect, to express your feelings and creativity. Talking too much, as harmless as it can seem, could really cut off from your social circle, not to mention that it will shift your focus from what you’re doing to what you’re … talking about, of course. Do more, talk less.
93. Be Late
At your job. At your social gatherings. At informal meetings. Show up later and you’ll slowly get out of touch with everything else around you. Being punctual is an art. It’s not too much about reliability and respect, as it is for spotting and grabbing opportunities. A belated person will never catch an opportunity: he’ll be there too late, of course.
94. Accept Frustration
Yes, life can be a bitch. Yes, it can make you want to cry out loud. But there’s no need to give in to frustration. If something went bad, acknowledge and move on. Frustration is from the same family with regret and share one very nasty family trait: it will dry you up and puts you in a no man’s land territory. Don’t be frustrated it went wrong, be happy it happened.
95. Reject Joy
Don’t enjoy because joy is a silly way to behave. There are people who are making a living out of rejecting joy. Because it’s a useless emotion. Because it could make you vulnerable. Yes, it will make you vulnerable. But being vulnerable is the only way to really experiment life in all its dimensions. Life is not safe. But it’s full of joy.
96. Give In To Pain
At some point in your life, you’re going to be hit hard. We all do. Pain is unavoidable. But suffering is optional. If you give in to pain, you’re creating an attachment and from this attachment suffering will grow. I know it’s way more difficult to do this than it is to write about it. I’ve been there too. And I really know that suffering is just another choice.
97. Be Jealous
Do like many other people and think jealousy is a form of love. And totally screw up your life in the process. Jealousy is a variation of the “control freak” syndrome, with a little bit of panic disorder. Controlling the one you love or limiting his or her choices by constantly nagging him or her, will have only one possible end: you’ll get dumped.
98. Think Happiness Is A Goal
Happiness is never a goal. It can’t be your new car, your new house, your new career. It can’t be your family, your kids, your friends. Happiness is a process. It’s a continuous state of mind. Whenever you step out of this state of mind, you transform happiness into an object. And objects are inconsistent, fluctuant and unstable. Happiness is the journey, not the destination.
99. Panic
Give your power to circumstances. Whenever something is out of your normal routine, just panic. Lose your head, follow the crowd and think the world will collapse. Panic is the ultimate form of submission. You let some unexpected events to control your response. Yes, unexpected stuff can happen. Be happy: every unpredicted event in your life it’s an opportunity.
100. Don’t Love
Turn your soul into a stone. Frost your heart. Don’t allow any feeling of love to reach to you. You won’t need months to screw up your life when you do this. You won’t need weeks, or even days. The moment you forbid love to reach to you, your life will be useless.
***
Update: After more than 70.000 100.000 125.000 people have read this post, after it has been shared on all major media outlets and passed on via email or instant messaging countless times, I decided to take it even further: I wrote an ebook based on it. Get it instantly by following one of the links below. Thank you!
| Read it as PDF | Read it on iPhone / iPad | Read it on Kindle |
 |
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Or you can order it printed (from Amazon) $6.99
Tags: life, Personal Development
Awesome list Dragos, it will take a while to really absorb it.
.-= Oscar – freestyle mind´s last blog ..Last Time I checked, 1 Step Per Day… =-.
Just don’t DO any of them
)
I would love to come and do a forensic review of how you have lived your life thus far. Seriously this list is so egotistical– maybe tolerable from someone who is 100 years old and is happy and can back it all up. I definitely think that creating a list like this and putting it on your blog should be somewhere in this 100 ways to screw up your life.
That’s a very interesting proposal, that forensic review. I would be really happy if someone would take this task seriously enough. As for making this blog post part of my 100 ways to screw up your life, well, I don’t agree. I think it would be part of a list called 101 ways to screw up your life. Simple math, you know
…
That’s a brilliant blueprint for how to live well or live better! Nothing to add I don’t think – you’re passionate about this and you do it well. Thanks!
Thanks for the comment and welcome to my blog. I’m sure there’s a lot to be added, it’s just my personal experience here
Wow! This is an exceptional blog post, DragoÈ™! Congrats!
Oh, I did so many of these, many I still do! I’ll add my personal 101th way: Beat yourself up for giving in to all the other 100 ways to screw up your life.
Relax, I’m still doing a lot of them (my last checkup revealed around 20% of my life is totally screwed
) so don’t worry…
Damn… This is one hell of a list Dragos! How did you come up with that? It’s simply amazing. And what’s more amazing is that each and every one of them makes sense! It’s apparent that this takes a tremendous amount of effort. Thanks so much for this post! Awesome!
Cheers~
Mark
Hey Mark,
Of course each of any one of them makes sense, since I’ve actually done each and one of them
It takes a lot of effort to acknowledge that some of them are mistakes and move on, that I agree 
I’m definitely guilty of sleeping too much and sometimes getting caught up in the money. This is a massive post dude. Nicely done
.-= Henri´s last blog ..henrijunttila: Success is simple. Do what’s right, the right way, at the right time. (Arnold H. Glasow) =-.
Oh, you’re “definitely guilty…” are you playing the guilt card on me, mate?
I will take this post as a sign
. Thank you for sharing this impressive list.
.-= elebele´s last blog ..Protest anti-comunism =-.
Yeap, it might be a sign. I’m curious what it tells you…
Dang! There are a lot of ways to screw up your life. And a lot of them are very popular. Consciously developing some healthy life habits becomes an important practice these days.
Eduard
.-= Ideas With A Kick´s last blog ..Personal development ideas I can do without =-.
Lol, I didn’t know how popular were them, but some of theme were certainly appealing at their time. Until I realized I’m heading towards a wall
Although I appreciate that you too finally admitted to having about 20% of your life “screwed up” according to this list:-)), I still want credit for being such an inspiration for you to write this entire list:-D
And my favorites are:
-dream without taking action
-sleep a lot (because I need it:-))
-gossip
-fight those enemies & hate them– and it’s only natural:-))
-be lazy, selfish & trying to please everybody
but then who’d want to be perfect, huh?
.-= Diana Roua´s last blog ..I Don’t Understand You; But Do I Really Have To? =-.
I never denied that my life is “screwed”, on the contrary, I positioned myself as an “expert”, hence a list of 100 ways…
As for admitting you were the undeniable, perennial and ubiquitous source of inspiration for this article, how could I hide this?
Great list Dragos, I am guilty of many of those, but one thing I learned – I am not going to feel guilty about me being that way putting another layer of negativity on top. I’ll better accept myself and move on:)
.-= Lana-DreamFollowers Blog´s last blog ..Finding Your Life Purpose: Do You Know What You Stand For? =-.
That’s a really smart move, Lana
[...] 100 Ways To Screw Up Your Life. [...]
HI Dragos,
Only kidding…
Really really….come on you could actually come up with 100!!wow
I am so screwed u just reading this…that it will take me some time to get out of it
But on a more serious note..youve hit some really really important points in this post. My personal fav is #100….just give up on love and that hollowness inside of you will freak you out!!
I am gonna come back to re think this list again later.
ohh…hopefully next week will interview myself through your questions
Regards,
Z
.-= Zeenat{Positive Provocations}´s last blog ..RAOKA:Beauty-The Beautiful Smile Experiment =-.
Thanks for being around, Zeenat. And yes, I actually came up with 100 ways and to be honest, I had to stop at 100 because this is what I planned. But just before I finished the post, I realized I know even more
Looking forward to reading your interview
Nice list, however I do have to take exception to ’59. Be Shy’. It is not an unfortunate lifestyle choice, it is a fundamental part of a persons character. I genuinely enjoy being alone, I wish I could do it more and people who think that it needs to be ‘cured’, just because they don’t like it, can fuck off.
However you underestimate hate. It’s a word people should use even more sparingly than love. It is a strong passion and therefore reserved for really deserving causes. If you can list the things you hate on more than the fingers of one hand then you have no passion, you are just being a poser.
I used to hate my job, I got another one. Now I have nothing to hate. I have plenty that scares me, but nothing to hate.
You also missed out ‘Have an opinion on everything’. This is an incredible waste of energy and tends to tie people in knots trying to reconcile a mass of opinions that they have formed into some sort of consistent ideology. It’s like lying, whenever you say something you have to make sure you don’t contradict yourself. Better to not lie, better not to have an opinion about something that you know nothing about.
For me shyness is not seclusion. If someone would be called shy because he likes to withdraw from the world, I would the shyest person in the world: after 10 years of being in the middle of the action and having my own business, I isolated myself from most of my social contacts and work from home. I barely get out in the wild and I find it very comfortable. For me shyness is the lack of courage in telling people what you want, who you are and what you stand for because you fear rejection. This is the shyness I am seeing as a social disease. Nobody should be disempowered because of fear of rejection.
As for hate, it’s the same energy as love, only at its end you find disconnection. If your goal is to become disconnected, hate is your best friend. If your goal is to be connect, hate, despite its energy, won’t help you at all.
The last one of yours: “have an opinion on everything” is absolutely gorgeous. It deals with our deep needs for identity: we think if we can formulate on opinion on something, we would be “somebody”. Not an expert, but would be identifiable, out of the crowd, somebody…
I liked your comment. I do like comments which are challenging my writing. I’m not always right, I’m just always honest.
You have a wonderful list here! It should be printed out and hung up on everyone’s wall so their can read it daily.
Thank you for taking the time to write this.
.-= BunnygotBlog´s last blog ..Black Friday Shopping? =-.
Thank you for the comment, Bunny. Printing it out seems to be a common suggestion among commenters here. I might be doing an ebook out of it
You would need a big wall that’s for sure! I just printed it
. Will be my TODO list for future.
It is impossible not to have lived a lot of the above sins in Romania as communism was founded on about 1/3 of the above and encouraged them big time. Like Fall For “Free Stuffâ€, Don’t Create Value, Accept Crap, Be Stuck in a Job You Hate and so on. My parents are so into this stuff still and raised me in this “values”. And since most children adopt their parents view of the world as it is, no questions asked, we continue their sins.
I know I have still many of the above. I cured myself of some due to contact with the outside world: new people I met and talked to, new books I read, YouTube, TV, internet etc.
I have still one big sin on my soul: “Be Stuck in a Job You Hate” because it pays well. I’m taking small steps for fixing this but it is hard. This is related to lack of trust in myself embedded in my brain by my parents. Trying to fix that too.
An ebook is a better idea. But don’t make a brochure kind of book … “don’t do that, don’t do that … the end”. I really hate those ones. Also would be nice to include other people point of view regarding each screw up method and how did they cured themselves of them.
I would buy something like that. Please notify me if it will be done. My Kindle starves for a new good book.
be carefull…
being stcuk in a job you hate is a faulty assumption …you are not stuck..but it is also folly to abruptly define your new courage and convictions with ‘leaving’ gainful employment that puts food on the table….
be wise young man….take steps to enrich your existance internally and externally…but do so in the knowledge of your own power..not in rebellion of society or status……these are such transitory things….being self known is true power….regardless of riches or status…you may not enjoy many awareness of inner self from time to time….but allow yourself to seek new directions patiently….
dont fuk it up…..
Is there any evidence that doing these 100 things will screw up your life?
What I found out is that everything that you do has a balance between a cost and a payout. So humans cannot really do something to screw their life (pay a cost) without a payout (a reward or something to make their life better). In other words we always do what we do for a reason. Is any gambler ever deciding to throw away his winning lotto ticket because he wants to keep playing and loose all his money?
Nope, it’s no evidence that doing any one of those things will screw up your life. It’s only my direct experience with them. They may not screw up your life and I wouldn’t know about it. All I know is about my life.
Your approach cost/reward is surely working but it also needs a values system. You can’t define reward outside of a values system. So yes, if in my internal values system the pleasure of gambling is ranking higher than my shelter security I would gladly gamble my home, lose it, and feel good (as in not screwed) about it.
This is something everyone, and I do mean EVERYONE, should read and act on. Anyone of these can derail a life, but most people are struggling with way more than just one. Extremely insightful and valuable. Dragos my friend, you continue to amaze me. Thank you for publishing this!
.-= Jonathan – Advanced Life Skills´s last blog ..28 Things You Probably Never Knew About Me =-.
Thank you for your comment, Jonathan. I still struggle with some of them myself
Awesome list. It can sometimes be really fun to list out all the things we shouldn’t be doing. Some of the “positive thinkers” out there get hooked up on focusing on the bad but I find it to be a very conscious-raising experience. I especially agree with “9. Avoid Introspection” – I notice many people are afraid to sit by themselves in a dark room and just inspect themselves. Even though we are only observing our own self, it is still an “unknown” to us – and that can create fear and aversion. Just like all other fears it is something that needs to be faced. We are made out of beauty anyway so we should have nothing to hide from ourselves.
.-= Steven Handel´s last blog ..Grudges And Forgiveness =-.
I’m not focusing on the bad here. It’s not an invitation to do anyone of those. I know that saying things in this way is more likely to attract people and, to be honest, that was part of my plan. People screw up their lives all the time. So, why not seeing how other peoples screw up their lives. It creates curiosity and a desire to identify.
As for introspection and fears, totally agree. We do a lot of stuff in our lives based on fear. Some of this stuff, as in avoiding keeping our bodies in fire, for instance, is fundamental for survival, while other stuff, socially twisted, is used to manipulate us.
Oh yeah, I don’t think you are focusing on the bad here at all – just bringing it into awareness.
.-= Steven Handel´s last blog ..Grudges And Forgiveness =-.
Another great ’100 list’ post Dragos and so very needed in todays troubled times. This must have taken a while.
.-= Steven Aitchison´s last blog ..Top Ways To Stay Motivated =-.
Thanks for the comment, Steve. The list in itself took far less than actually experimenting each of those ways
Dear Dragos, Holy mackerel!! This should be handed out to every kid in their last year of high school. Again this is one you could base a whole book on. It just ROCKS! It’s a very solid look at what can bring about our downfall, make us fail, make us unhappy, make us waste our lives, and so on. I think it is even more powerful done this way than if it was a list of all the things to do so as to NOT screw up your life. Great title; draws the reader in right away. At least it did me. I was very curious. To see the negative just spelled out like this leaves the reader reeling…in a very good way. No escaping. I am enjoying these lists. So much fun!! Hugs, Robin
.-= Robin Easton´s last blog ..Lifting the Lid on Age and Death =-.
We do all those things, they are part of our life experience. So, why not write about them? Just because we don’t write (or talk) about them, that doesn’t make them disappear. You can’t avoid something if you can’t define it first. Hugs back to you
I already commented on this but I just wanted to comment #4000 per your TweetDeck post. So, here you go my friend.
.-= Jonathan – Advanced Life Skills´s last blog ..Is Your Integrity For Sale? =-.
Well, my blog will always remember your comment. He seems to remember only the comments with 3 zeroes or more in the back
excellent article. after reading it i emailed a copy to my step daughter. she needs alot of “tough Love” right now.
Glad I can be of any help. And hope your step daughter will take some shortcuts from it
I Love your article Dragos – very inspirational this will be my homepage.
I hope you don’t mind but this is the first TO-DO list of yours I won’t be following.
.-= Jonny | thelifething.com´s last blog ..3 Months In The Life Of A Travelling Entrepreneur =-.
Very useful extensive list with outstanding tips ;Each one surely serve and set its purpose . Inspirational and worth revisiting . Thanks for sharing and keep writing..
.-= Fatima Da´s last blog ..Life Choices; As we Start the Month Of December. =-.
[...] Toward this end I find the posts of Dragos Roua to be among the most thought provoking. His latest, 100 Ways To Screw Up Your Life,is one that I’ve been reading and re-reading. When I get around to posting on the top [...]
Great article, mailed it to a couple of friends, could be a real eyeopener for some of them
.-= Bob´s last blog ..Searching for a new hosting company? =-.
[...] person to follow on Twitter: @kikolani. It was a link to the following post by Dragos Florin Roua: 100 Ways To Screw Up Your Life. Wow – there’s a million self-help blogging gurus out there, but this list opened my [...]
Just when I’m mad as hell (over nothing really) and blaming the world for everything I come upon this list. Sunshine!
[...] 100 Ways to screw up your life 07.12.2009 — ubercom 100 Ways To Screw Up Your Life. [...]
Uugh, just reading this list is depressing. I’m going to go read your other list (the positive one)
Nice list Dragos! I never want to be average. Average is just too boring.
This list reminds me I need to do some situps too, as there’s only 23 days left in the year to get/stay fit!
.-= Financial Samurai´s last blog ..The Public Loves Wall Street Again! Group HUG! =-.
[...] 100 Ways to Screw Up Your Life (Dragos Roua) [...]
Little wake up call… #10 is my biggest problem right now, with christmas coming soon and all my clients getting slightly paniced.
I wish I can download these stuff in pdf..
but thats just so lazy , I rather do it. Thanks for the nice article
[...] @tomwhitby: RT @Larryferlazzo: 100 Ways To Screw Up Your Life http://www.dragosroua.com/100-ways-to-screw-up-your-life/ [...]
I guess the best way to screw your life would be to go as a peace keeper to Iraq or Afganistan and try to do few of your steps.
[...] recently read this list of 100 Ways to Screw Up Your Life and passed it on to a friend, who also discovered a list of 33 Ways to Get and Keep Yourself [...]
So difficult to maintain even one blog. Prepare content, do SEO and stumbleupon, reddit, digg….so much to do. When can I do this full time?
Sfaturi valoroase. Sper să pot ține cont de ele.
.-= Claudiu´s last blog ..Alte vremuri =-.
Terrific post! I’m going to have to go back and read the other list now.
“Introspection always pays forward.” nice statement!
[...] 100 Ways to Screw Up Your Life Prev: Giving ALL you have… Next: [...]
[...] 100 Ways To Screw Up Your Life de pe aceelasi site, e ironic cum te trezesti k faci destule lucruri inconstient@ screwing up life __________________ It is mostly a lonely emotional roller-coaster with very little to pursue other than personal financial enrichment. [...]
what a piece of absolute shit. get a life, dude.
nice one!!! light and interesting! sir, may I link your website in my blogsite. my friends will really like this (and probably your other blogs). i write blogs too but not yet as beautiful as yours.
By all means
Feel free to link my blog in yours if you want. 
thanx a lot! more power!
.-= Mheng´s last blog ..My 2009 Thank You List =-.
Thanks for this amazing post!
It was such an eye-opener for me in showing how far I’ve grown over the past couple of years since really getting into personal development. I use to be the epitome of #5 (which left me stuck on a bunch of the other bad habits since I didn’t take any action!) Still working on #93, which has been a trait of mine since birth
[...] Luciano, from Lite Mind, was such an inspiration this year. His structured blog helped me to better organize my ideas and also made me ponder a lot. Thought provoking and neat, this is how you could describe his very popular blog. Not to mention his crazy challenges, like crafting lists of 100 items. [...]
So many people are on a path of self destruction. Your website is like a blueprint to build a happier and healthier lifestyle. Bitterness, greed, anger,selfishness, addiction. All lead to an empty existance. Wow, I am really impressed with your ability to grasp so many of the “vices and sins” that drag us down. Great article. Will recommend it to others!
[...] is the fastest way to screw up your life. And yet, so many people are doing it. And they do it for a reason: because it’s easy. It’s far [...]
Great list. The title is a little strong, but removing these things will definitely improve your life.
I studied 4 years for this, and read many books about the subject, but this is the best shortlisting of all mistakes people ( me included!) I ever saw. Great job, and I admire your work (Blog).
Keep it up!!
I tweeted this I liked it so much. great stuff!
.-= Deb (Smoothie Girl Eats Too)´s last blog ..Musings on the "Last Ten Pounds" … And random photos =-.
Great list, thanks for posting.
[...] my feed. So far I wrote 4 “100 ways to” kind of lists: 100 Ways To Live A Better Life, 100 Ways To Screw Up Your Life, 100 Ways To Improve Your Blog and 100 Things I Did In 2009. All of them got featured on delicious, [...]
Will this sure depressed the hell out of me. Like the idea a whole lot though a real downer to read.
Thanks
I was successfully on the way to screwing up my life completely :O
I’m just glad you said something before it was irreversible.
:]
Kudos to you good sir. One of the better posts i’ve seen.
it must have taken you a long time to write this, however I believe it is just what I needed this morning. I am reorganizing my thoughts and i needed some inspiration as why I am stuck in past regrets and such, my biggest life sucking process. so thank you….
.-= butterfly´s last blog ..Changing Your Thoughts =-.
Whu r u dude??? whr u cum 4m ??? wat u do? I’v been a loser by nature , tried lots of self improvments books, but none hit as hard this post man…. Awesome post dude… no other words to describe it….
dear poster,
thankyou for warning me hehehe i do a lot of these things , esp daydreaming, now i can help myself a lil better than i have been doing. cyaz!
steph
THIS IS AWESOME
A nice read. It’s a good idea how you have given the Ways To Screw Up Your Life as a title, instead of Ways To Make Better Your Life or something like that. Gives a sarcastic effect and sets in more effectively.
[...] But it’s exactly the “pay-off†that makes a an actor to dive again in the next Script. Ok, I screw it up, but next time I’ll do better. I know where to start. I’ll strive and this time I won’t miss [...]
[...] http://www.dragosroua.com/100-ways-to-screw-up-your-life/ [...]
Good stuff, keep up the good writing. I’ve read up to fifty, and upon some serious reflection on each one I can’t help but realize where I’m headed if I don’t change these habits.
[...] Similarly, 100 Ways to Screw Up Your Life Another repost from Dragos Roua, and more great [...]
[...] started fresh for many times in my life, and, hopefully, I’ll start fresh again. Because, like it or not, change is the only permanent [...]
[...] started fresh for many times in my life, and, hopefully, I’ll start fresh again. Because, like it or not, change is the only permanent [...]
no one finds this list a bit pretentious? 100 ways to screw up you life? preach on…
[...] 18. 100 Ways To Screw Up Your Life [...]
what an incredible list! great work. I included this in my weekly top 30…
It would seem that a person could do three or four of the 100 but in reality you people tend to touch a little of all the points in one way or another… Thanks… this made me look up and stir things up in my life.
[...] You don’t like your life? Change it! Change your life for the better! Don’t have any clue on how to do it? Here’s a list of 100 ways in which you can improve your life. Feel free to add yours in the comments. This post is a response from a challenge I got from from Mike King in this great post 100 Ways To Be A Better Leader, which in turn got inspired by this one Tackle Any Issue With A List Of 100 , from Luciano Passuello. [Later edit: you may also be interested in this sequel 100 Ways To Screw Up Your Life.] [...]
Great stuff! I’m glad I found this before the job fair I’m attending tomorrow… very motivational. :]
[...] in a sea of delusion and non-action.” And I’d like to share that with you here: link. This entry was posted in The Daily Grind. Bookmark the permalink. ← Opening day: August [...]
I have but one question for you: “Do you really believe in this whole list?”
Sarcy yet effective! good piece!
It’s funny how this is meant to screw your life up, yet we do the opposite.
We learn from this, this is great man, lot of things that ring true for me.
this is the most fuckin bitchin thing i have heard.
sorry about the swearing
i have a ton of drama and i just want to shove some of these down those girls throats. in a nice way lol
keep it up:)
ha ha, like this post!
[...] 100 Ways To Screw Up Your Life [...]
…too horrible… i can’t even read it… :’(
What a wonderful list for self reflection. Makes you think twice about what is important and how to be happy in life.
Awareness that one is “doing” these things is the trick.I practice lots of these on a daily basis.Thanks for making this list to help me identify some of the F’d up ways in which I sabotage my life and happiness, and the ways In which I could help myself out too.The way you present these makes for a different processing of the info.Made me think, made me feel alive too
I absolutely loved this!
Disagree with #89. Also, your articles are absolutely wonderful, but you really need to learn the difference in spelling between “chose” and “choose”.
I like especially #32 and 65
hi,k
I don’t know what’s your real score why did you write this but it is amazing you point out the negative side of life. But one thing I know you are doing this because it has a reason or I’m thinking that you are just tightening the awareness of the people in this chaotic world…..
Keep it up;;;;;;;
[...] Like this list? Check out 100 Ways To Be A Better Leader, Tackle Any Issue With A List Of 100, and 100 Ways To Screw Up Your Life, this post’s [...]
Wow, that’s a lot of life lessons on one page! Very useful to take a step back and reflect on the way you live your life.
“Nothing really worth having is free in this world.” lolwhut?
Its already screwed up everything in ma country…so, am fine .no more steps I need to take…LOL
By the way, nice leading to hell… haha
[...] bad feelings we had disappeared. And in this process we create tons and tons of reasons for hating our life. And we forget that we don’t need reasons for being happy. Happiness is an unreasonable state of [...]
Great list yet again. Thank you.
[...] started fresh for many times in my life, and, hopefully, I’ll start fresh again. Because, like it or not, change is the only permanent [...]
#4-Succombing to addiciton-I have a problem with this. As a recovering addict, I don’t believe anyone really “succombs” to addiction or realizes it is happening. I have spoken to enough addicts to see that even as this disease is progressing, most don’t even know it until it has consumed their every waking moment. It is not a moral failure or weakness-it is a disease that most cannot “control” or stop on their own without help.
100 Ways To Screw Up Your Life…
. Regret Stuff Feel sorry about what happened to you. Spend time and energy on things that aren’t even there, but you feel are “unsolved yetâ€. Keep your focus on the past and ignore the present. This is what regrets do: they tie you down to thin……
Great article! Very well done (subject to point 85).
I really find useful the underlined quotas where the point is further explained.
To me point no.100 could be easily number one
[...] You don’t like your life? Change it! Change your life for the better! Don’t have any clue on how to do it? Here’s a list of 100 ways in which you can improve your life. Feel free to add yours in the comments. This post is a response from a challenge I got from from Mike King in this great post 100 Ways To Be A Better Leader, which in turn got inspired by this one Tackle Any Issue With A List Of 100 , from Luciano Passuello. [Later edit: you may also be interested in this sequel 100 Ways To Screw Up Your Life.] [...]
[...] You don’t like your life? Change it! Change your life for the better! Don’t have any clue on how to do it? Here’s a list of 100 ways in which you can improve your life. Feel free to add yours in the comments. This post is a response from a challenge I got from from Mike King in this great post 100 Ways To Be A Better Leader, which in turn got inspired by this one Tackle Any Issue With A List Of 100 , from Luciano Passuello. [Later edit: you may also be interested in this sequel 100 Ways To Screw Up Your Life.] [...]
All i can say is wow, very deep thoughts, kind of reminds me of the past . but at the same time it motivates me to do better, your awesome dude.
That is quite a list, it will take some time to get them all. One thing stood out to me how important it is to smile and to laugh. I just listened to a teaching from Dr.Don Colbert where he taught how important it is to have several belly laughs a day and how that would change our life. Thanks!
Awesome list, it has made me aware of what things I need NOT do in order to live a better life.
It’s a great summary of all the problems people can possibly have! Thank you! But sadly not everyone reads things like that, that’s why we have so many who DO screw up their lives. That’ sad!
There’s a book based on this post now, so you can take with you and read it anytime you wish. And if you think not too many people are reading these posts, you can then recommend them the book.
hmmmmm….
very ecumenical advice…..
im 65 of these things. Why do i still have a positive view of life?
My God, I am screwing my life just reading this list…
I need a nap now.
Have a good life… and a little laugh.
Post number 89 is in fact 100% true.
The only “FREE” cheese my friend is in the trap:-)
34 and 36 – you spelled “choose” incorrectly. You used the past tense “chose.”
It’s even funnier when you know people who live by all these rules and you give them the book.
This is awesome!
Great website, I love following (or in this case, not following) the things you put up. Thank you!
I’m really wondering how you put this post together! hahaha I mean, 74. Accept Crap..
You must know that you won’t make it far when doing that. But this article really made me think about my life and see whats on the list that I’m doing too.
Great list!
I’d add another one – don’t rely on Google Adsense for all of your income. They have a wonderful ability to screw up your life.
Cheers.
All of these are so true. I hate to admit that I’ve done so many of these things and still do – especially #45.
Hi Dragos,
Some of the things in the list can be quite obvious but sometimes we just overlook at them. Thanks for the list, it acts like a reminder to me.
Regards,
Wow, I do like all of those. fml.
hello all the best to yous for 2012
alf beilin
[...] Talk bad about other people. That’s a 100% sure way to screw up your relationships, your social credibility, your personal values. The way you talk about people often determines the way you act towards them. Life: 100 Ways To Screw It Up [...]
I personally believe the best way to live your live is in peace, much like the monks. Enjoy everyday, do not think about the past or future, just live in the present.
Well thats aproximately the dumbest thing ive ever read and i now commit the first of sins by the values of your list by regretting it to the absolute marrow of my bones…. i cant mention how many times you contradict yourself in the meaningless ramble… Im not a bealiver but may jesus christ have mercy on your soul….
101 … Don’t be a guru on life unless you got the mental capacety or have indien citizenship…
Of course this is only my personal view but jesus tittyfucking how can you use so much writtin space to say so much obvious shit that everybody thinks but noone does… i would rather be hung by the neck than live by youre rules…. if you were god, i would hail the anti christ, and im an atheist…
We are all born, and we all die, and what ever the fuck u chose to do in between does not matter or make the slightest diffrence… you can chose to be happy or you can chose to be miserable… there is nothing more… u fight for a course to what end? there is non, nor ever will there be… It’s the small joyce of life that keeps me up… you eat the cookie, you fuck the prostitute and you smoke the ciggeret… and ill have a cheese burger with that…
Existence itself is oblivious and i see no other way than to accept how meaningless life really is… if you think being famous makes you happy, then why the fuck not just go for it and have people who u cant really determin what kind of stupid is drool over your dead mutilated body.
I might just be a troubled teenager, who is just as stupid and meaningless as everyone else, but if i had an empty cup, i could show you how many fucks i give…
nice, i haven’t realized there are quite that many ways
cred ca 69 este doar partial adevarata, si anume atunci cand nu esti sincer cu tine insuti; daca esti, crezi ceva simti ceva, oare timpul nu este foarte relativ?
Oh… just now I am realizing how I am (still) screwing my life…
I must take this list as an alarm..
Thanks for such a wonderful post..
Neat list. I read parts of your text at someone’s most recent blog. Plagiarism? :-/
Yeap, most likely. The “100 ways” series is one of the most plagiarized texts of my blog. If people feel it’s ok to do this, who am I to stop them? It’s their choice, not mine.
I really like this list… it’s one of the most thoughtful and valuable lists I have ever read. Thanks a lot Mr. Dragos.
It was tough for me to really appreciate your article because of the grammar. You have a good command of English and ultimately do get your idea across, but your verb tenses are still a little off. “Accept to be lied to” makes me shake my head, like, what???? In English we use Gerund in this instance: “accept BEING lied to” is correct. (I know. English is weird.)
I think you’ve got some great ideas, though, and obviously you have great business sense. Are you interested in working with an editor? As you may have guessed, I happen to be a professional editor.
I really think that with just a little bit of editing, your words would grab the attention of a LOT more people.
this is Batman –> 1, 4, 10, 16, 17, 24, 26, 33, 39, 50, 76, 95
Yeah, I used to coach the guy in this area. Before he got famous and all
He failed his way to success.
There’s still time, I heard they’re gonna make another follow up
.
This is so true and awesome. Really great. Hats off to you.
I just wanted to say after all the shit I deal with a lot of what I read made sense it was nice to actually read something that made me feel better and actually think
I’m a businessman, and I’d like to propose a little amendment to the one about free stuff.
It isn’t true that all free stuff is worthless, or inherently costs you more. Rather, freebies are a way to confuse social norms with market norms. In other words, when you receive something valuable for free, you actually feel obliged to the giver.
The greater the value of the gift, the more you want to repay it. In fact, your own social standards will cause you to pay even more than the gift is worth. This is one of the core principles used in sales.
It’s the same situation when people go out with richer friends: There is a gnawing worry that they cannot repay what the friend can give them.
I propose that the correct reaction to free stuff is to accept it gracefully, without a sense of obligation. Just focus on the fact that it’s a gift, and you aren’t expected to return the favour.
Man you are great >:D<, i read this post and the opposite one and they both are amazing, you are a true source of inspiration and hope to meet you as soon as possible Dragos, until then Namaste my friend
Man this article is awesome. Very very good. I will print this and try to live this, not follow, just to use it as a guideline. Also the other article about 100 ways to have a better life. But my life is screwed, so I better start with this one.
This is my life right now… I practically do almost everything on this list.
Oh my god this is also my life. knowing I can’t take it all when I die, I am very depressed
Thanks for this Dragos. Some good “traps” listed here. I think two that stick out in my mind are this unplanned hope to become famous in hopes that it solves all the other problems we have to face. Also, a more obvious one was dreaming without taking action. I think everyone learns that second one at some point in their quest to find themselves.
.-= Jason’s last blog .. How to Get Over Social Anxiety =-.
This website is changing it. I have messed up! I quit my studies and since then messed up so much. But now I am going to get up. No minute will be spent in the internet in the gym eating fast food masturbating, making shitty music on the computer or doing all this unhealthy stuff. I am going to take walks eat salad and pepper. When living this nothing of a life I lost all my self esteem. But I am twenty one years old and gonna make it know. I am going to move out from my parents where I am treated as if I were air. I decided a few things, not according to their opinion, since then I am the black sheep. To be honest I am just sitting here in front of the computer. That is the other reason I am dismissed. My parents barely talk to me. hope I get it this time.