5 Things You’re Doing That Are Holding You Back

Maybe you’ve been stuck in a rut for quite some time now. You feel like the fire in your soul has been extinguished. You lack motivation to carry out even some of the easiest tasks. You are literally asking yourself “What the heck is going on?”. No one wants to think for even a second they’re the reason behind their dreams not being reached, but in some cases, it’s entirely your doing that’s landed you in this mess. If you feel like you’re not making progress, not reaching your goals and simply stalling, see if any of the 5 things you’re doing that are holding you back applies.

Related Post: 10 Signs You’re Stuck In a Rut (& How to Get Out!)

It’s Not Me, It’s You

As much as I want to sugar coat this and make it easier to swallow, I feel like you’ll benefit from the tough love version. Often when we’re in the thick of our woes, we can’t fathom it’s because of our own doing. We blame others, we blame the tides, the universe. You name it, we blame it.

In addition to the 5 things you’re doing that are holding you back, you are also part of the problem. You need to come clean and be honest with yourself. Ask yourself:

Am I doing everything in my power to change my situation?

Am I taking full responsibility for myself right now?

Am I being honest with myself?

Becoming aware of your actions and intentions is one of the first steps in being able to get yourself into a mindset to overcome this.

5 Things You’re Doing That Are Holding You Back

Not Having a Plan

Failing to plan is planning to fail. The plan isn’t the be-all-end-all, but having the plan is the catalyst to get you going. Continuously not having a plan in place and simply winging it is causing your ultimate demise. You become unorganized, you aren’t making use of your time effectively and you’re bound to forget things. Write things down, make a plan, and see how your world changes. Find out what I use to plan here.

Not Making Decisions

You may have heard the phrase “you can do anything, but not everything”. There simply isn’t enough hours in the day to do everything, and not making decisions is ultimately harming you. By making decisions, you allow yourself to filter out tasks, ideas and goals that aren’t related to your priorities. Making a decision creates a clearer path towards where you want and need to be.

Comparing Yourself to Others

Comparison is the thief of joy. You cannot fully reap your rewards and feel accomplished if you’re always comparing yourself to someone else. The only comparisons you should be making are to your past self, and how you have improved from then.

Prioritizing Perfection Over Progress

How many times have you mulled over posting something because it wasn’t perfect? I hate to break it to you, but you’re wasting SO much time. Perfection does not exist, and the more time you waste striving towards it, the more time you’re ultimately wasting. Focus on executing even when it isn’t perfect. Focus on getting started even if you won’t be able to finish. The all-or-nothing mentality is holding you back from getting started on tasks that’ll get you closer to your goals today.

Not Acting on Your Plan

Your plan may look fantastic on paper, but if you aren’t acting on it, then what is the point? Continuously being stuck in the planning phase, the mapping out phase, the what-if phase is holding you back from acting on your goals. And when you aren’t acting on you’re goals, you’re not growing or progressing, you’re just stagnating. Do yourself a favour and start acting on your plans. Take the leap of faith, no matter how scary it may be, and start getting yourself closer to your goals.

What You Can Do

How can you start to fix the habits you’ve created that are holding you back? Start today. Simply start with identifying the areas of your life that need reshaping – what can you do to create a solid, actionable plan? How can you stop comparing yourself to others? What decisions can you make today that will simplify your life? You need to start determining these things and act on them!

The change is going to start with you. You need to be willing to take a small step in the right direction to start to undo the habits you’ve created. You absolutely can – you don’t need to overthink it, you don’t need to get upset, you just need to start.