5 Paralyzing Factors Keeping You from Success

It’s that time of year again. You crossed off another square peg on your calendar, and realized just how quickly yet another New Year is approaching. Yep, that time of year when you face resolutions you’ve met – or not met – head on. Yet another year you promise yourself you’ll do better this time around; you’ll finally work on that special project, mend that broken relationship, start that business or lose those extra pounds. It’s that time of year when you evaluate where you’ve been, where you are and where you’re going.

How’s it working out for you?

If you’re like many, you might be feeling stuck. You know you want to move forward, but you’re not exactly sure how or why?

5 paralyzing factors keeping you from success:

1. Your mind is cluttered. When your mind is messy, it’s pretty hard to get anything accomplished. Organize your thoughts by prioritizing your time. When you allocate time for specific tasks – your mind is not constantly wandering. Training your mind to focus without excessive thoughts cluttering your thought-space is freeing. Granted, it takes practice, but once mastered everything becomes clearer.

“Clear thoughts produce clear results.” – Remez Sasson

2. You simply don’t know what to do. Sometimes, you may have a goal in mind but have no clue where to start. In this case, get help. Find someone who has already done what you want to achieve, and reach out. Getting the right help and direction will allow you to channel your energy positively instead of drowning in self-pity.

“Mentor: Someone whose hindsight can become your foresight.” -Ancient Chinese proverb

3. The pieces just don’t fit. If you’ve ever caught yourself thinking, ‘I don’t have what it takes’, or ‘I wasn’t born into it – so I don’t belong’, you are chipping away at your success. Stop it. Instead, acknowledge whatever it is you don’t have, work on it, and move on.

“If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right.” -Henry Ford

4. You’re learning but not doing. This is a tough one for me! There is so much great information out there, but all the self-help books, articles and blog posts will do nothing for you if you’re not implementing what you’re learning. Just think about it, of all the information and creative tid-bits you’re consuming, how much of it are you really implementing in your work or life? Go out and do – learn through trial and error.

“An idea not coupled with action will never get any bigger than the brain cell it occupied.” -Arnold Glasow

5. You think you don’t have self-discipline. Ah, alas, contrary to the popular belief that ‘some people have it and others don’t’, self-discipline is a habit. A habit that is often the breaking point between success and failure. Just like any other habit, it needs a plan to implement, execute and sustain.

“The first and best victory is to conquer self.” -Plato

What was holding you back and how did you conquer it? Inspire others by sharing below!

Photo courtesy of Flickr.