For many people, success is the elusive goal. 80% of the reason why you may not be achieving your goals is most likely due to internal factors; you’re blind to these barriers, and they may be holding you back from obtaining what you want. There are many habits for success which you can develop, and there are many reasons why you might not be achieving success as well. Below are 4 common ways that you might be sabotaging your success without even knowing it.
1. “I’ll get back to that later.”
How many of your daily actions are proactive and reactive? When you hear about the successes of others, you normally don’t read about everything that happened before that moment. If you do, however, you will find that 99% of those individuals took aggressive action each day to close the gap between where they were and where they wanted to be.You must stay focused and direct all of your efforts and actions towards your ideal outcome. Doing something halfheartedly will bring you half the results. It is common to want to give in to activities that give you momentary gratification, but don’t be ignorant to the fact that they are distracting you from your focused objective. If you want to be successful, you must put results before comfort, and prepare to go that extra mile and make more effort. If you have a goal, take action every day to get you closer to achieving them. Did you know that one of the main reasons individuals don’t obtain what they want is because they get distracted and don’t stay focused? It is your choice whether you want to be committed and focused on achieving your goals or not—it’s that simple. “You can always find a distraction if you’re looking for one.” — Tom Kite.
2. “I’m too scared I will…”
If you don’t take risks in life, you will never achieve all you can. You might avoid certain situations, or perhaps you procrastinate with certain tasks or back away from opportunities without even realizing it. You can achieve what you desire in life, and the only limits you have are the ones that you set for yourself. Everyone is scared, but the difference is whether you allow fear to stop you from living your dreams. You must get out of your comfort zone and do different things if you want different results, so start to get comfortable with feeling uncomfortable. Fear is natural; being ambitious is not about being fearless—we will always have fears at different stages—but rather simply learn how to get over your fears. Did you know that resisting fear actually strengthens it? “Life’s not about waiting for the storms to pass…It’s about learning to dance in the rain.” – Vivian Greene
3. “I quit”
Similar to not moving forward because of fear is giving up because of obstacles and hurdles. At every stage of your personal and working life, you will face different challenges; the key is to not give up, but instead look for another route if it doesn’t work out the way you wanted. Do you really think that you can achieve all you want effortlessly and easily? You will have to overcome challenges along the way, deal with difficulties, and if you can get through that, success will be yours. Do you find yourself saying something along the lines of “I tried to but I couldn’t or “I couldn’t because he/she…” and “What is the point? It will never work out”? If you give up every time you face an obstacle, you will never achieve greatness. Did you know that there are countless cases of individuals who gave up just before achieving success? Perseverance is a key characteristic in all successful individuals. “When you feel like giving up, remember why you held on for so long in the first place.” – Unknown
4. “I want it now!”
It is hard not to get impatient when you feel like you are trying and trying but not seeing results, but being patient is an essential principle for success. Take one step at a time, but take consistent steps and over time you are sure to reach your goals. Remember that change doesn’t happen overnight; you must be firmly committed to achieving what you desire. If you tend to give up easily, it will be a challenge for you to succeed, but it is important to give yourself time, granted you are taking the right action! When you plant a seed, you don’t constantly dig it up to check that it is growing; you trust that a stem will soon appear. Your attitude towards results should be similar—keep going and always remind yourself of the end goal, the purpose for your actions. Did you know that patience is the difference between success or failure? “Patience is a necessary ingredient of success” – Benjamin Disraeli Remember to stay focused, be courageous, patient and don’t give up—success will be yours! What are your obstacles to success? Do you know what you do that holds you back from success?
