hey everyone and welcome to top think today we're gonna learn about five bad habits that
will destroy your success now let's begin number one procrastinating health procrastination is a
nasty habit on its own it's unproductive it's frustrating and it leaves you feeling anxious
for no good reason but there's one particular kind of procrastination that really stands in the way
of success people procrastinate their health more than any project or PowerPoint maybe you put off
going to the gym or you just stop getting a full eight hours of sleep it's easier than you think
to ignore or forget about your personal health for many people maintaining a healthy body and
mind doesn't really feel like a goal unless you're trying to lose weight or change your diet mental
and physical health often fade into the background over time you pay less and less attention to your
healthy habits you might notice your clothes getting tighter your body getting weaker your
motivation starting to dwindle yet you convince yourself that nothing is actually wrong one off
day turns into an off week and that turns into an off month and then an off year suddenly you wake
up and realize that you haven't been caring for yourself like you should now you're staring down
a grueling uphill battle with your own bad habits but it doesn't have to be that way you can stop
yourself from falling down that slippery slope the trick is to quit thinking about your health as a
project that you need to finish or a race that you need to win your health is something you should be
working on every single day for the rest of your life no matter how much knowledge or potential you
have you need your physical and mental health to provide a solid foundation number two the amateur
ego imagine you're studying for a final exam you're pretty sure you've got the information
memorized so you ask a friend to quiz you right away you nail a few of the harder questions
naturally you're feeling pretty confident until he throws you an easy one instead of answering
you roll your eyes and say come on obviously I know that one but do you what happens the next
morning when that question shows up on the test you'll get it wrong all because you couldn't
admit how much you didn't know this is a terrible habit that plagues newcomers in every field once
you start learning a few skills your ego takes over you start thinking you're an expert you skip
steps and cut corners because you're convinced that all that beginner stuff is way too easy you
never bother to practice or learn the fundamentals so what happens your product ultimately suffers
you'll be immediately outclassed by all the people who invested the right amount of time and effort
they're the ones who struggled practiced and learn from their mistakes they slowly but surely develop
their knowledge through careful trial and error they're the best because they didn't take the
fast track they set their ego aside and they chose the long scenic route and it paid off to
be successful you need to accept how much you don't know 99% of the time you don't have it
all figured out you don't have all the answers and well let's face it you probably never will
so work on defusing your ego or it'll keep you from realizing your dreams number 3 detrimental
snacking think about the last time you went to the movies if you're like most people you sat
down in the theater with a warm bucket of popcorn mmm few things are more satisfying than shoving
handfuls of that salty goodness into your mouth while enjoying a great movie but when it comes
to success this tasty treat includes two of the most harmful ingredients out there the typical
medium popcorn contains up to 1,500 milligrams of sodium and 60 grams of saturated fat in case
you didn't know your daily intake should be less than 2,000 milligrams of sodium and about 13 grams
of saturated fat even a small bag of popcorn will take most people way over their daily limit most
salty snacks aren't quite as terrible as movie theater popcorn but this is just one example of
a bad habit that so many people struggle with in the world today do you usually eat one piece of
popcorn and then stop how often are you satisfied with a single chip or a cracker the more you snack
on something the more you crave it and before you know it you've accidentally gobbled down three
days worth of salt and fat these two substances sodium and saturated fats are physically and
mentally disastrous excess sodium dehydrates your body it increases blood pressure and it promotes
diseases like osteoporosis and stomach cancer neurologically salt limits the amount of blood
that flows into your brain that means you'll have a harder time focusing and storing new memories
too much salt will make you feel foggy and sluggish which hurts your chances of accomplishing
much of anything saturated fats on the other hand are a bit of a double-edged sword if you
keep your fat consumption under control it's a great source of energy a healthy amount of fat
gives you a boost of productivity and performance but most people don't pay attention to how much
they're eating excess saturated fat can raise both cholesterol and the risk of heart disease and they
aren't doing your brain any favors either a study from Harvard University found that people who ate
large amounts of butter and red meat scored lower on a variety of cognitive tests all of those extra
saturated fats were actually causing inflammation of the arteries in the brain their problem-solving
skill drastically decreased because they're bad snacking habits were suffocating their brains
so before you habitually inhale that next bite of popcorn just think about how your snack affecting
your goals your motivation and your lifestyle enough of these poor dietary judgment calls
can destroy your chances of being successful number four fructose overload alongside most
tubs of popcorn you'll find a towering cup of ice-cold soda the good news is that salt and
sugar taste great together but the bad news is soda consumption is even more detrimental to your
performance and lifelong success nearly every popular brand of soda contains a significant
amount of high fructose corn syrup unlike sugar which is primarily glucose high fructose corn
syrup contains about 50% fructose fructose is much harder for your body to utilize and digest
normal sugar isn't great for you but at least that excess glucose can fuel the trillions of
cells in your body fructose on the other hand doesn't really do anything for you your body
doesn't know where or when to use it instead of turning fructose into fuel most of its converted
into useless fats as you might have guessed a diet containing too much high fructose corn
syrup increases the risk of obesity high blood pressure and diabetes but that's not why so to
hurt your chances of being successful a study from 2017 found that drinking sweetened beverages
could have long-term psychological effects soda consumption has been correlated most notably with
depression in both men and women and it isn't just soda researchers discovered similar results for
other foods containing excessive amounts of high fructose corn syrup a study from 2015 found that
consuming less soda less candy and less pastries reduced the likelihood of depression especially in
women even if you don't experience depression soda lowers your general energy levels after
the initial sugar rush wears off of course a 2009 study revealed that people exercised significantly
less after switching to a high sugar diet there less motivated they're less productive and they
care less about accomplishing their goals and if that wasn't enough a couple of recent studies
claim that fructose reduces brain function it can impair memory and learning ability which
are both essential for success high fructose corn syrup isn't the only way soda damages your brain
dozens of sodas also contain a chemical called brominated vegetable oil or B vo in small amounts
B vo doesn't really do anything it just helps your soda keep its orange or cherry flavor but
if you drink sodas all the time B vo can build up in your brain and too much of the substance
will cause memory loss and nerve dysfunction the cognitive effects are so significant that many
companies have begun removing B vo from their products in most European countries B vo has
been banned completely so the next time you sit back and relax just pay attention to what you're
drinking after a long day's work it's tempting to indulge yourself with a little sugar or maybe you
rely on sugar highs to wake you up in the morning either way the wrong drinks and the wrong snacks
will keep you from performing when it matters most number five the validation expectation
success isn't designed to give you validation many people mistake these two very different things as
one in the same you should never chase success just to earn the approval or admiration of the
people around you a good definition of success is unique to you as an individual it's important to
take other people's wants and needs into account but ultimately success is something you define
on your own if you rely on external validation you'll find yourself going down the wrong path
your goals and motivation will feel shallow you'll crumble in the face of failure you'll never make
it to the top because you don't have the intrinsic drive to get there so why doesn't validation work
validation is a purely short-term reward it gives you a burst of self-worth that can temporarily
improve your mood and self-esteem validation obviously feels really good so good that many
people jump from one source of validation to the next don't make this same mistake if you want to
be successful then you need to concentrate on what you want not what others expect hey thank you for
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