Are you having trouble reaching your goals and achieving the things you want in life?
Don’t worry. You’re not alone. There are many people in the world who struggle with getting things done. Even when it looks like they’re working hard it seems they never make much progress.
It’s easy to get stuck in a rut where you spin your wheels and never seem to get anything done.
So, what keeps you stuck there, knowing there has to be something better?
Here are five common stumbling blocks that might be holding you back.
#1 – You believe your negative self-talk
Have you ever noticed how your default self-talk setting is mostly negative?
We say such hurtful things to ourselves about ourselves… things we would never say to a friend or loved one. So why do we say it to ourselves? And worse, why do we believe it?
Negative self-talk can be attributed to wiring of our brain to a certain extent, but the first thing you should realize is that most of it is entirely false.
It’s way too hard to stay positive and reach your goals if your mental soundtrack is stuck on the negative setting all day long.
No one will ever be as hard on you as you are on yourself, so it's imperative that you pay attention to your self-talk and replace the negative messages with positive ones.
#2 – Your sticking power has come unstuck
It’s pretty hard to accomplish anything if you don’t have the perseverance to actually finish it.
Some people call this grit and define it as the determination to keep pushing until you accomplish what you set out to do. The key here is that regardless of setbacks, you stick to the goal and never give in or give up on it.
I could spout sayings about not giving up all day long, but in the end, you have to decide whether what you want matters enough for you to figure out how to achieve it in the face of obstacles.
The good news is, grit and perseverance can be developed. Having a purpose and passion for your work is a good place to start. And it helps if you’re good at what you do. If your work has both of those elements it’s easier to get your sticking power working again so that you can achieve your goals.
#3 – You’ve let your dreams go
People let go of their dreams every day, and there are a million reasons why this happens.
I’ve done it, and if you’re not accomplishing what you want in your life, you might have done this too.
One common reason people give for letting go of their dreams is that they’re too old to go after them. Unless there’s an actual physical reason you might have to let a dream go, then don’t let your age hold you back. Lots of people achieve things later in life, and there’s no reason why you can’t be one of them too!
#4 – You believe other people’s negative opinions
Sometimes people tell you things can’t be done because they think they’re protecting you and keeping you from getting hurt when your ideas don’t work out. Other people are just plain jealous and mean, and don’t want you to succeed because they’re not successful. Either way, listening to other people’s negative thoughts about your dreams and goals can stop you in your tracks if you believe what they say.
If this is you, you need to learn to trust your own instincts, listen to your intuition and shut out other people’s negative opinions. Finding a coach or mentor to help you with this is a step you can take if you have trouble ignoring the naysayers and “Negative Nellies” in your life.
#5 – Your motivation is not really YOUR motivation
I’m sure you’ve heard it said that the most important thing for your success is to “know your why.” Your motivation for working hard, and for persevering in the face of negativity can be the one thing that propels you to success more than any other.
The lack of that motivation, however, can stop you from accomplishing your goals and achieving your dreams. If your motivation comes from outside yourself – for example more money or validation from others – then it’s a lot easier to give up when the going gets tough because you’re not really invested in the outcome.
If the work you do doesn’t “light your fire” any longer, then maybe it’s time to rethink and find out what does motivate you and drive you to accomplish your goals.
I went through that earlier this year. The one thing I’m really good at doesn’t really excite me at all anymore. I almost dread when someone asks me to do some work for them because I’ve found that creating journals and coloring kits is something that does make me happy and I’m extremely motivated to get up in the morning and fire up the Photoshop. Digging into archival resources, not so much anymore.
Final Thoughts
We all have our own stumbling blocks that keep us from reaching our goals and living our best life. Whether it’s fear, negative opinions, or just a general feeling of malaise with your life, you can overcome it if you’re determined to accomplish your goals and achieve your dreams.
The first step is recognizing what holds you back and taking steps to change that.
