Hey everyone, and welcome to TopThink. Today, we will learn about ten habits that will change
your life forever. Now, let’s begin.
Many people dream of changing their lives. You may imagine a version of yourself that’s happier, more
productive, or more disciplined—someone who is steadily accomplishing their goals and overcoming
obstacles. You’re hungry to become richer, smarter, and more attractive to the people that
you find attractive. One day, you might experience a burst of motivation to become that person,
to finally change your life, but in a day, or a week, things go right back to the way they were.
How does someone transform themselves and their lives in a way that lasts forever?
Anyone trying to change their life knows it isn’t easy. Change doesn’t happen overnight. You’re not
going to wake up tomorrow feeling like an entirely new person or walking a completely different path.
Many people fail to change because they expect it to happen immediately. When they don’t see
instant progress, they lose hope. Their motivation falters, and they go back to the ways things were.
If you want to change your life forever, it will take time and hard work. You will
be tested repeatedly, but each challenge will shape you into the person you want
to be. That’s how real change happens. It’s not the product of some magical, impulsive
revelation but a gradual process of steadily nudging our lives in a positive direction.
In other words, consistency is key. Day after day, you need to make good decisions, choosing,
again and again, to put the past behind you. But it will get easier. Your new habits will become
comfortable and familiar routines. Obstacles that terrify you will eventually seem simple
and straightforward. As you progress, achieving goal after goal, you’ll look back on your life
and witness just how much you’ve changed. Right now, might be standing at the bottom,
or at least not where you want to be. The road ahead of you seems treacherous, but once you climb
to the top, inching forward little by little, you’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish.
First, you need the right tools to guide you on your journey. In this video,
we’re going to cover ten of those tools. These are incredibly powerful habits you can
practice each day to finally move your life forward. You may not see results overnight,
but if you’re disciplined and consistent, these habits will change your life forever.
1. The Snowball Effect
One small change to your morning routine can boost your productivity for the rest of the day.
The trick is to start each day by accomplishing one small task, like making your bed or taking
a walk outside. These activities take only a few minutes of your time, but they
significantly impact your mood and motivation. Here’s how it works. When you finish one task,
you experience a burst of motivation that encourages you to finish another, creating a
snowball effect lasting for hours. It only takes a few minutes to get that snowball rolling. So,
pick an easy task to accomplish first thing in the morning and make every day a productive one.
2. The 80/20 Principle What is the best way to spend your time?
This is a challenging question for many people to answer. They have goals they want to accomplish,
but they don’t know what concrete steps have the biggest impact on their success.
To answer this question, let’s use a common principle of economics called the 80/20 principle.
According to this idea, 80% of your productivity comes from just 20% of your work. In other words,
certain tasks are highly efficient and productive, while others don’t make much of an impact.
To start massively improving your productivity, practice recognizing which tasks are productive
and which ones aren’t. Steer your day toward the most effective tasks, and you’ll achieve your
goals more efficiently than ever. 3. The Power of Strength
Most people think about exercise as a way to build muscles or increase physical fitness. We
imagine bodybuilders in the gym lifting hundreds of pounds on their shoulders, but exercise has
all kinds of physical and psychological benefits that stick with you for the rest of your life.
For example, a consistent strength training routine teaches you discipline and self-control.
Every time you work out, you are building your body, but you’re also training yourself to
be successful in other aspects of life. Whether you’re familiar with fitness or
never set foot in the gym, a simple exercise regimen can be a life-changing habit. All it
takes is a few minutes of exercise each day to gradually transform how you look and how you feel.
When your body is strong, your mind is strong. Sometimes, it’s just that simple.
4. The Invisible Magic of Chunking
How do you motivate yourself to do things you don’t want to do? Boring, unappealing tasks,
like washing dishes, may pile up after days of procrastination. We say again and again
that we’ll take care of it tomorrow, but tomorrow comes and goes... and the job still isn’t done.
With this life-changing habit, you never have to worry about these tasks again.
Start by dividing your least favorite tasks into brief, almost unnoticeable chunks.
For example, instead of washing 100 dishes at the same time, try washing only the dishes you
make every time you eat. If you’re consistent, your sink will stay clean with hardly any effort.
You can use this helpful habit for all the tedious tasks in your life. Whether it’s cleaning
your room or checking your email, breaking down time-consuming tasks into invisible chunks will
make your life a whole lot easier. 5. The Big Three
Many people fail to achieve their daily goals because they set too many of them. Between work,
hobbies, and chores, your to-do list may be a dozen or more items long. With so
much on your plate, you may feel overwhelmed, discouraging you from accomplishing anything.
If this sounds familiar, try this useful habit instead. Every day, pick just three things you
want to accomplish — three goals that will make your day worthwhile. It may sound like
you’re taking a step back, but reducing your goals makes you more likely to achieve them.
6. Be the Early Bird Many of the most
successful people get up very early in the morning, but if you’re not an early riser,
you may have a hard time following in their footsteps. You can set alarms and force yourself
to crawl into bed early, but what if you’re not tired? If you lie awake half the night,
unable to fall asleep, will you be able to function early in the morning?
Our sleep schedules don’t change that easily. Our bodies abide by
a natural rhythm that tells us when to relax at night and when to wake up in the morning.
So, if you want to adjust your sleep schedule, try changing your sleep in a more natural way.
For example, move your sleep schedule up just fifteen minutes each night. Your body
will hardly notice the difference, allowing you to fall asleep and wake up on time. Over time,
those fifteen-minute increments will add up, gradually transforming you into an early riser.
7. The 24-Hour Detox
The average person spends over 7 hours every day staring at screens. We’re consistently absorbed in
our devices, preoccupied with games, social media, and other virtual obligations. All this screen
time can hurt our energy and motivation, so what can you do to keep your screen time under control?
At least once a month, do what’s known as a media detox. For an entire day, separate yourself from
your technology. Hide your phone, close your laptop, and completely unplug your mind for
24 hours. It may feel a little strange at first, but a total media detox can replenish your mental
energy and boost your motivation. It also reminds us of what it’s like to live technology-free,
giving you a new perspective on how media influences your lives. While there are good things
about technology, a little time away can give you the energy and clarity you’ve been looking for.
8. Automated Organization Studies have shown that visual clutter
hurts our productivity and mental health. Not only does it create stress and anxiety, but a cluttered
workspace ruins your concentration and drains your cognitive energy. In other words, if your
desk is a mess, you may not be able to perform at your best or stay focused when it counts.
Luckily, cleaning your workspace doesn’t have to be a time-consuming chore. Instead,
think of decluttering as a part of your workday, almost like an end-of-the-day routine. When all
your work is done, restore your workspace to a clean and orderly state. That way, you can begin
the next day feeling focused and stress-free. 9. The Brain Dump
Every day you fill your brain with new ideas, stressors, and doubts. By the time the sun sets,
your brain is like a small room with far too many people packed inside.
What you need... is a little bit of room to think. Before you go to bed, try doing what’s called a
“brain dump.” Take all your thoughts and pour them into a notebook. It doesn’t matter what
you write as long as you empty your brain of all unnecessary thoughts. Not only will this improve
the quality of your sleep, but you’ll also wake up every morning with a clear head and an open mind.
10. Supercharge Your Workflow Our days are filled with repetitive
processes and patterns. You know you have to do these things regularly, so why not do them in the
most efficient way possible? Incorporate all those mundane, repeatable tasks into a personalized,
automated workflow. In other words, create a system that does all your tedious work for you.
For example, say you have to schedule a meeting at the same time every day. To save time,
try using an app on your phone to set those reminders for you. There are many productivity
tools out there to help you streamline your workflow. Find a system that works for your life,
allowing you to focus on bigger and better things. Thank you for watching TopThink and be
sure to subscribe because more incredible content is on the way.