No.1 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 can vent 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 erase 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.

No.2 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 bothered a practice or learn the fundamentals. So what happens? Your product ultimately suffers. You’ll be immediately out-classed by all the people who invested the right amount of time and effort. They’re the ones who struggle, practice, 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 sent 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 diffusing your ego, or it’ll keep you from realizing your dreams.

No.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? 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 1500 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 dehydrate 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 or 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 fight a popcorn, just think about how your snacks are affecting your goals, your motivation, and your lifestyle. Enough of these poor dietary judgment calls can destroy your chances of being successful.

No.4 Fructose Overload

Alongside most 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 is in grate 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 it is converted into useless fats. As you might have guessed to 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 reduce 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 exercise significantly less after switching to a high-sugar diet. They’re 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 sodas damages your brain. Dozens of sodas also contain a chemical called bromanated vegetable oil, or BVO. In small amounts BVO doesn’t really do anything, it just helps your soda keep its orange or cherry flavor. But if you drink sodas all the time, BVO can build up in your brain. Too much of this substance will cause memory loss and nerve dysfunction. The cognitive effects are so significant that many companies have begun removing BVO from their products. In most European countries, BVO has been banned completely. So the next time you sit back and relax, just pay attention to what you’re drinking. After a long days 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.

No.5 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 contemporarily 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.

nasty adj.恶毒的；令人厌恶的；恶性的；污秽的；（外表）丑陋的，（气味等）难闻的；
on its own 单独地，本身
unproductive adj.非生产性的；徒劳的
fade v.逐渐消失
dwindle v.（逐渐）减少，变小；使缩小，使减少
vent v.表达；排放（烟、煤气等）；给……一个出口，给……提供排放口
grueling adj.艰辛的
uphill adj.上坡的，向上的
slippery adj.湿滑的
slope n.斜坡，斜面；山坡
erase v.抹去，擦掉；删除；忘却
quiz v.询问，审问；<美>测验
nail v.（用钉子）钉住，钉牢；抓住，证明……有罪；戳穿，揭露；（尤指体育运动中）获得，赢得；
roll your eyes 翻白眼
admit v.（勉强）承认；招认，招供
plague v.困扰，折磨；烦扰，纠缠
ego n.自负，自尊，自我意识；（心理学）自我
cut corners 偷工减料
bothered adj.费心的；烦（恼）的；感到讨厌的
out-classed 被超过
struggle v.奋斗，努力；搏斗，扭打，挣扎脱身；争夺，争抢；奋力前进，艰难行进
trial n.试验，试用
fast track 快车道
scenic adj.风景优美的；观光的
paid off 取得成功
popcorn n.爆米花，爆玉米花
shoving v.推开，挤浆（shove 的 ing 形式）
handfuls of 一把，一小撮：指一只手可以抓住的数量
goodness n.善良，美德；（尤指食物中的）营养，精华
typical adj.典型的，有代表性的
milligrams [计量] 毫克
sodium n.钠（一种化学元素，符号为 Na）
saturated adj.（溶液）饱和的，（有机分子）饱和的；充满的；
intake n.（食物、饮料、空气等的）摄取量
salty adj.咸的，含盐的
snacks n.[贸易]小吃；快餐；零嘴（snack 的复数）
cracker n.薄脆饼干；彩色爆竹
snack v.吃点心，吃零食
crave v.渴望
gobbled v．狼吞虎咽地吃
disastrous adj.灾难性的
dehydrate vt.使……脱水
osteoporosis n.[外科] 骨质疏松症
stomach n.胃；腹部
neurologically adv.与神经方面有关地
foggy adj.有雾的，雾气茫茫的；迷糊的，朦胧的；模糊的，糊涂的
sluggish adj.缓慢的，迟钝的，懒洋洋的；性能欠佳的
a variety of 各种各样的
inflammation n.发炎，炎症
drastically adv.（动作或变化）猛烈地，力度大地 ；极其，非常
suffocating adj.令人窒息的；使人呼吸困难的；憋气的
inhale vt.吸入，吸气；<美，非正式>狼吞虎咽，大吃大嚼
dietary adj.饮食的
fructose n.[有化] 果糖；左旋糖
alongside prep.在……旁边
towering adj.高耸的
detrimental adj.有害的，不利的
syrup n.糖浆
glucose n.葡萄糖；葡糖
diabetes n.糖尿病，多尿症
sweetened 含糖的
correlated v.（使）相关联；（使）相互对照（correlate 的过去分词）
notably adv.明显地，显著地；尤其，特别
candy n.糖果
pastries n.点心；甜点；酥皮糕点（pastry 的复数）
wears off 逐渐减少、消失或停止
impair v.损害，削弱
bromanated adj.溴化的
flavor n.情味，风味；香料；滋味
nerve n.神经；勇气，胆量；神经紧张
dysfunction vi.功能失调；出现机能障碍；垮掉
indulge v.沉湎，沉溺；纵容，迁就；满足（情感、兴趣、欲望等）
contemporarily adv.当今；时下；眼前