Habits are the foundation of our lives. As a result, in order to live our dream life, we try to emulate the habits of other successful people. However, it is not always easy to see the results. The reason for this is that you are doing things, consciously or unconsciously, that are preventing you from achieving the success you desire.
We think, “Why am I not getting the results even though I’m doing everything right?” Well, here’s why. Even if you are practicing all those healthy habits, you may be stuck on some negative traits that are difficult to overcome and are holding you back. Here’s a list of such habits,
1. Fears Holding You Back From Success
Feeling fear is natural but a lot of times when you give into fear, you are actually giving up on your dreams. We have this fear of unknown, which makes us hesitant to try new things and have new experiences when we are unsure of the outcome. And therefore we choose to remain in our comfort zones. We are afraid to share our work, projects, or ideas with the world because we fear that we might get judged. A lot of people hold back because of the fear of being judged.
Also, we are afraid to work on our dreams because we don’t want to fail (fear of failure), so we quit before even getting started. On the contrary, we also have the fear of success, where we are so afraid of achieving something big that we sabotage our own success.
2. Waiting for the Perfect Time
There is no such thing as “the perfect time” for you. It’s just an excuse for your procrastination. We just want to stay in our comfort zones and avoid the discomfort of hard work. So, we keep settling for our ‘good enough’ lives. You can make a million excuses, but none of them would bring you the results.
I, too, have fallen into this trap before. But it is in those moments of inspiration when you decide to simply follow your dreams, without overthinking, that you have your breakthroughs. In fact, a lot of successful people preach the ‘start before you’re ready‘ mentality. Because the more you’ll overthink, the worse it’ll get. Your fears would start to paralyze you.
That’s why, it’s better to just start before you think you’re ready because a) It’s not that you’re not ready, you’re just overthinking it. b) You’ll figure out the rest on the way. You can never learn everything about the game from the side stands. To be a player, you have to enter the game. When you start working on your dreams, you start learning things you had no idea existed.
3. Having a Fixed Mindset
A lot of people have this “I can’t change” , “This is who I am” mentality which becomes the biggest hinderance in their growth. Alan Watts said,
“You are under no obligation to be the person you were five minutes ago.”
You always have the option to grow and change, or stay as you are. It’s up to you to make the choice. Your past experiences or failures do not define you. In fact, you grow through the experiences you have. A lot of the time, we create these limiting beliefs in our heads. Example, if we failed in math in 5th grade, we believe we’ll suck at math for the rest of our lives. I mean, how’s that fair.
We attach ourselves to these labels without realizing that we have the ability to change them at any time. Sometimes, people dim their success because they fear that if they succeed ‘too much‘, it will make their peers uncomfortable.
You owe it to no one to remain the same person they once knew. Similarly, no one owes it to you. In fact, change is the only constant in this world. Have a growth mindset and always look out of opportunities to learn and grow in life.
4. Negative Mindset
You cannot experience positive outcomes when you have a negative mindset. How can you achieve good results if all you’re focusing on is ‘what’s wrong’ or ‘how you can fail’? It’s one thing to be analytical, but it’s quite another to focus solely on the negative and ignore everything that works in your favor.
“What you perceive is what you receive.”
A lot of this depends on your environment, the people you hang out with, the conversations you have, the food you eat, and the information you consume on the internet. Everything determines how you think and feel.
On her podcast, Katherine discusses how she noticed that most people’s conversations revolve around gossiping and blaming others. Whereas, successful people usually lift each other up, discuss ideas and focus on learning new things.
5. Not Practicing Gratitude
“You can’t be grateful and negative at the same time”
Both these things go hand in hand. Only when you start counting your blessings, are you able to cultivate a positive mindset. I get it, you might be dealing with a lot of problems right now, but can you think of 3 things that you are grateful for in this moment? The fact that your heart is still beating can be a good point to start at.
Successful people are able to see the good in everything, and therefore gratitude helps them to get out of situations most people would have given up in.
Start with writing down 3 things you are grateful for today, preferably in the morning. This helps in setting a positive intention for the day. Next time you find yourself in an uncomfortable situation, instead of complaining, focus on finding one good thing about it.
6. Comparison Hampers Your Success
Comparing yourself to others can seriously undermine your self-esteem. It’s easy to hop on Instagram and start comparing your life to someone else’s. But it’s wrong in so many ways. Everyone has a different journey and pace, that you know nothing about. We often forget to recognize the amount of hard work required for someone to achieve success.
I find myself comparing myself to people who are unrelated to my field. Stop comparing there highlights with your low points. If anything, find joy in other people’s victories, celebrate them and learn from them.
7. Be Compassionate With Yourself
Value yourself, your work, and the time and effort you put into it. Maintain your integrity by doing what you say you’re going to do. People who fail, are often the ones that beat themselves up for their mistakes and quit instead of learning and growing through the process. Don’t compare yourself; your only competition is you. To be successful, you need to have faith in yourself and the process. And take your time as you go.
Related Post : 5 Effective Habits Of Successful People
8. Failure to Prioritize Continuous Learning
Leaders are Readers, I’m sure you’ve heard that. A study done in 2015 states that the average American reads about 1 book per year. Whereas, the average CEO reads 60 books per year. That’s because they know learning is a continuous process. It isn’t something that spots once you’re out of school.
You can always learn something new, no matter how busy, knowledgeable, or successful you believe you are; there is always room for development. Read books, attend conferences and workshops, have mentors, or listen to podcasts and audiobooks.
What is Holding You Back From Success?
Comment here on how you intend to break the habits that are holding you back from success. Start growing yourself one habit at a time.
