- [Amanda] Hey, Psych2Goers.
Do you have big goals and dreams?
Despite how challenging and lofty
some of them may sound,
once you have an ambition set in place
and a vision of where the finish line will be,
you're dead set on making it.
If this is you, then you're likely to be a high achiever.
While it may sound like a grand title to have,
being someone so dedicated to reaching success
can also cause you to pick up
a couple of not so healthy habits
and practices along the way.
But by acknowledging them
and understanding their consequences,
you can use what you know
to help change any harmful behaviors you have.
So here are five toxic habits of high achievers.
Number one, you find it hard to say no.
Is it difficult for you to decline someone's requests?
If you are a high achiever,
then it's likely that people know you
to be hard working and reliable,
making you everyone's go-to
when there's a favor to be asked or done.
Whether it's your boss handing you
an almost toppling paperwork stack to complete
or a friend asking for homework answers,
you might find yourself saying yes.
This difficulty to decline and say no
might be due to a need to please other people,
which may stem from a fear of disappointment
or wanting to avoid conflict,
especially with superiors,
like teachers or bosses.
But being unable to voice a genuine answer
prevents you from defending your needs,
like your time and energy
and doubles any stress you already have,
making you prone to burnout.
Number two, your too independent for your own good.
Do you see yourself as your best teammate?
While being an independent worker is great,
everyone has times where they aren't able to shoulder
everything they wanna take on.
If you struggle to seek help
when things get overwhelming,
it's unhealthy to force yourself to try
and get the tasks done anyway.
Whether you do so because of pride
or because you think you'll be a burden to others,
it's important to know
that asking for help is more than okay,
and doing so doesn't mean
you're any less capable as a person.
At the end of the day, you have a limited amount
of energy and can only take on so much.
This is why sometimes two heads can be better than one
when you're in need of a helping hand.
Number three, you are a perfectionist.
Are you someone who never settles
for anything less than an A+?
When you set high standards like this for yourself
you may also set yourself up for disappointment
since even the slightest fall from your standards
can result in a big blow to your self-esteem.
If you are a perfectionist,
your self worth may be reliant on your performance
or you may only feel validation from your achievements.
If so, high achievers like you
might often find yourself dealing
with self-doubt, feelings of inadequacy,
and difficulty coping with failures.
By striving for perfection,
you disregard the fact that you are human
and you're bound to make mistakes.
This needless to say is not a healthy approach
to doing your best.
Number four, you are highly self critical.
Are you your own worst enemy?
Even when you do a job well done
you might still find something to criticize.
Because of this tendency to fixate over your weaknesses
instead of your strengths,
you might be always selling yourself short to others.
Being so self critical may be a result
of low self-esteem and possibly
because of growing up around parents
or guardians who placed unrealistic standards on you.
Being hyper critical can cause you
to blame yourself for every mistake
and failure that happens.
And also make you someone unable to accept
compliments from others as is
by always responding with a flaw
of yours to bring yourself down.
We all have our moments of self pity and self blame.
when things don't go our way,
but it's important to remember
even the most well accomplished people
have had their fair share of failures too.
And number five, you neglect self care.
Do you believe that you always
have to be working hard to achieve your goals?
If so, you might also believe that the fastest way
to success is to work constant,
long, hard hours each day.
Because of this, you might skip well needed breaks,
have a poor sleep schedule,
and not make time for activities you like to do
for the sake of entertainment.
Being fixated on making the most of your time
by only doing work can also lead to feelings of guilt
when you do spend time with your family
or friends or doing activities to relax.
By neglecting self-care, high achievers like you
are likely to work yourself to the point of burnout,
which you might only realize once it's too late.
So are you a high achiever?
Let us know in the comments below.
If you found this video helpful,
be sure to like, subscribe, and share this video
with those who might benefit from it.
And don't forget to hit the notification bell icon
to get notified whenever Psych2Go post a new video.
The references and studies used in this video
are added in the description below.
Thanks for watching.
And we'll see you in the next video.