9 Things Stopping You From Achieving Success In Life

Let’s be honest, if it were easy to achieve success, then we’d all be Bill Gates by now. But like anybody, it’s freaking hard!

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Success means war! Literally, you’re at war with anything that causes you to fail. I read, here, that this is actually called Resistance, which is more scary than the devil himself! Trust me.

Resistance causes dreams to die. It can cause depression, anxiety, and an overall sense of guilt. This is what happens when you’re not living out your dreams and fulfilling your purpose.

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By choosing to strive for success, you’re choosing to go to war with Resistance. You may win or lose a battle here and there, but it’s ultimately up to you to overcome the war and achieve success.

Some people are obviously better at it than others, but why? Because successful people understand these obstacles and are prepared to overcome them:

1. Procrastination

‘Tomorrow’s not promised, so I won’t live like it is.’
‘I’m going to put in the necessary time NOW to be successful.’
‘Nothing’s going to stop me from mastering my craft because I’m fully committed.’

These are just a few things you’ve probably told yourself before. Yet, even to this day, I’m sure, you still find a reason to ‘put it off until later’.

Trust me, I can relate. 🤦🏽‍♀️

But, as you may know, this is a surefire way to fail. This is Resistance at its finest, because instead of telling ourselves that we’re not going to workout at all. We trick our brains into believing that we’re definitely going to workout… just later.

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Related: The Biggest Thing That May Be Killing Your Dream

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Maybe your job is short a few people and needs more of YOUR time to compensate. Maybe you have a young child and want to put off your dreams until your baby goes off to college.

Now you’re starting to see why I said that Resistance is a son of a gun! There are a truly lot of justifiable reasons to put off your dreams that you can trick yourself into believing. But the truth is, when you put off your dreams until later, later never comes.

Remember that success is a war with Resistance, and you must be prepared to overcome it if you want to prevail. When you feel procrastination setting in, fight back… hard!

Proper preparation prevents poor performance.

~James Baker

2. Lack of Belief

Lack of confidence in yourself will destroy your dream before it even gets out of your head. This form of Resistance is probably the hardest to overcome because it’s inside of you.

Chances are, if you’re doubting your ability to accomplish a goal, then you’ve probably been thinking like this for quite some time now. It’s not easy to change the way you think. But you know what they say…

Fake it ’till you make it!

No seriously, there’s a science behind it. This represents what the principles of the Law of Attraction are based on in as few words as possible.

The thing is that the Law of Attraction is based on neuroplasticity, which is a fun way to say – the way our brain changes, either itself or in response to things that we expose it to.

So, by faking it ’till you make it, you’re actually rewiring your brain to think differently. I’ve found that meditation and yoga exercises are the best ways to do this. Also, by saying positive affirmations when you feel self-doubt creeping in, you can improve the way you think, live, and feel.

Remember, it all starts in your mind with what you choose to believe about yourself.

“Belief is understanding that your goals have already been achieved and it’s just a matter of time before you [physically get there].”

source

3. Fear Of Failing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFf6rhcYkXw

Have you ever looked at a job application and didn’t apply for it because you didn’t think that you met the qualifications? Have you ever wanted to ask for a raise, but didn’t because you already knew that your boss would say ‘no’?

If you’re like me, then you probably have. This form of resistance is what causes regret and depression. You regret letting that opportunity pass you by. The constant thought of ‘what if?’ lingers in your head and drives you down into a deep depression… if you let it.

Failure is where many success stories start, don’t make it where your story ends.

Will Smith

If you’ve ever experienced a scenario similar to the one I painted above, then you can make this a learning experience and shift gears.

Instead of buckling under those emotions, lean into them. Channel those negative feelings (regret, depression, anger, etc.) into a more progressive force to make sure you NEVER miss another opportunity again!

Let this fuel your success. Plus, making mistakes here and there just makes for a great success story!

4. Willingness to Settle

Many times when we’re seeing progress and doing better than we were before, complacency starts to settle in. This is when you’re happy where you are. You’re content with the effort that you’re putting out and the results that you’re getting.

It’s great to be happy and proud of yourself, but you should always be looking to advance in your craft. You may be doing a lot better than you were a year ago, but when your growth stops, then you have a problem.

The goal should always be growth and development. Once you reach a goal, set a new, higher goal to keep the forward momentum going.

5. Lack of Persistence

My job has taught me this lesson pretty well. I’m in sales, so if I’m not persistent, then I don’t get to eat. Period.

When things get down to the wire and you RELY on your ability to be persistent, then going halfway is NOT an option.

Treat your craft like your quality of life depends on it. Technically it does. Even though you may not be making a living from your hobby, your mental health depends on it. As I mentioned above, when we’re not excelling at our goals, we can get depressed.

So stay disciplined, stay persistent, and make sure that the minimum effort you put into it is 110%. Period!

6. A Bad Network

This is one of the biggest external Resistance factors that will hinder your success. Even if you have the willpower of a bull, your friends can still influence you in ways that you don’t even notice. So pick them wisely.

Do your friends…

• challenge you to do better?
• encourage you to take a leap of faith on your dreams?
• give as much as they take?

…or do they…

• laugh at your attempts of success?
• put down your dreams?
• take, take, take, until they’ve drained you?

Use your intuition. It’s imperative that you judge people that you want to add to your inner circle. You want to make sure they’re going to be an asset, not a liability. Don’t just let any and everybody get close to you.

7. You Don’t Educate Yourself

Equip yourself with the proper tools you need to succeed in your field. Read a lot of books in your field, don’t just Google search everything.

As I mentioned earlier, the goal is always growth and development. So do the research necessary to become a master at what you want to do.

8. You Stress More Than You Have Fun

When you forget why you’re pursuing your goal, then it can become more stressful than fun. This sometimes happens when we have deadlines to meet and we’re overwhelmed with things to do.

I’ve been there before.

I used to stress over how much ‘catch-up’ work I had to do with this blog. I would stress myself out to the point where I didn’t even want to work on it anymore, and I almost gave up. But my boyfriend sat me down one day, because he saw how it was affecting me, and he asked,

“Do you remember why you started the blog?”

I stopped in my tracks and remembered that it was because I wanted to help someone that may be going through something that I’d gone through. I wanted to share the lessons I’ve learned from my mistakes and hopefully help YOU avoid having to deal with any of that crap. This definitely got my head back in the game.

What you can take away from my experience is that by simply remembering your purpose – why you do what you do – you can easily get over this frustrating bump in the road.

9. Lack of Focus

How do you focus?

Do you work with music playing in the background, do you have the TV on, or is there complete silence? I personally can’t watch TV AND work, it’s too distracting for me. I prefer working in either complete silence or with music like this playing in the background.

But on a larger scale,

…how do you focus? Do you have a calendar that you put your tasks in or do you keep everything in your head? I think you know where I’m going with this. Writing out your goals and defining a deadline will force you to stay on task and stay focused.

In Conclusion…

Striving for success means that you’re going into war with Resistance.

Successful people understand this and prepare themselves to overcome these obstacles every day. Now that you understand, you’ll be better prepared for battle, too. No more excuses.

Peace.

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Related:

• What Your Life Needs Now More Than Ever Is Balance
• 5 Ways To Protect Your Peace
• How to Clear Your Mind When You’re Stressed Out

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