Success. It’s something that most people strive for in their life. However, it certainly is not easily attainable. If it were, we would all be wealthy, happy and successful without having put forth much effort at all! Imagine that!
As we all know, the world doesn’t work that way. Success isn’t achieved without lots and LOTS of hard work and, often, many failed attempts. For some, the “work hard for what you want” philosophy is innate and comes naturally. Others may need a good kick in the pants from time to time to keep on track with meeting their goals.
If you find that where you are right now is not quite measuring up with your goals for success, check in with yourself and see if you have picked up any of these bad habits that may be inhibiting your progression.
1) Trapped by Fear- Fear can be a very crippling emotion. It may sound silly; Who could possibly be afraid of achieving their dreams? Well, there’s more to it than that. Are you afraid of failure? Afraid of what others will think of your dream? Afraid of making a fool of yourself? Afraid of putting yourself out there? You can’t let fear govern your life. If this is an issue, there are many ways to defeat it, such as counseling, self help books or hashing it out with someone who has conquered the same issue.
2) Not Wanting it Enough- You either want it, or you don’t. It’s as simple as that. If you don’t want it badly enough, you will always find an excuse not to get to where you need to be.
3) Laziness- Nobody likes to cop to this one, but being lazy is a huge issue. Success is simply unattainable without putting in the work.
4) Not Setting Goals- You need a concrete plan for what you’re going to accomplish. You cannot just sit around hoping that somehow, someway things will magically work out the way you are hoping.
5) Wasting Your Time- You should spend a large portion of your time productively working toward your goals. Many of us waste idle time on immaterial things.In the workplace, social media has become a particularly problematic distraction. If social media is seriously impacting your productivity and you can’t seem to stop yourself, you may need to take a break from it altogether for a while.
6) The Blame Game- If you are unsuccessful, it is ultimately your problem. It is not his/her/their/its fault. There may be circumstances out of your control that may get in your way from time to time, but we all know that when it comes down to it, our success is in our own hands.
7) Denial- You think you’re working super hard when you’re not. You put in your 8 hours a day, take a little overtime when you can get it, do what’s asked of you, and you’re shocked that you’re not getting ahead. Guess what. So does everybody else. Ask yourself, “Am I really doing everything I can to set myself apart and get ahead?”.
8) Self-Pity- One of the worst things you can do for yourself when things don’t go your way, is throw yourself a pity party. On your journey to success, you will have failures. In fact, you will probably have quite a few. DO NOT wallow in your own self- pity! Fall down, pick yourself back up, brush yourself off, learn from it and move on! Quickly! You’re probably going to fall down again! The good news is, you will grow thicker skin and learn more and more each time.
Most people will fall into a rut at one point or another. It’s alright; we’re all human! Just don’t get stuck!
