We are living in the Success Age, when the need for achievement and the pursuit of wealth have become both obsessive and mainstream—and the conversation about success lingers everywhere we go, everywhere we look, on TV and social media, in self-help books and magazines.
But the biggest threat to our achievement lies inside us. It’s those self-defeating habits waiting to reroute us in the wrong direction. As an entrepreneur, I know all too well about those thoughts and habits that threaten to keep us from success.
I’ve summarized four common roadblocks that can stop you from getting to your ultimate destination, success. Are you ready to navigate your way around these major obstacles? You can do it. Buckle up and be vigilant. Success is waiting, just around the corner.
1. Perception
Perception is the lens from which you see. It is how you perceive yourself and your potential, your ability to succeed. And it encompasses these age-old questions: Who are you? What is your purpose? What were you created to do?
Is your outlook grand enough to support your goals? Is how you view your potential in alignment with your agenda? Remember, when your perspective is flawed, your success is, too. Elevate your perception. Let it be an asset, not a roadblock.
2. Confusion
Confusion is about clearly understanding what you want and how to get it. Because knowing what you really want is the only way to get it. Sustainable success never happens without a GPS. You have to know how to get to where you’re going—or your ambitions will get lost.
“It’s a lack of clarity that creates chaos and frustration. Those emotions are poison to any living goal,” says best-selling author and motivational speaker Dr. Steve Maraboli.
So, are you clear on where you’re going? Do you know how to get there?
3. Emotion
Emotions can be syrupy sweet and incredibly beautiful, but they can also be turbulent and quite disruptive. It’s not so much the highs and the lows; it’s the in-betweens that can wreak havoc on your success.
Why? Having aspirations doesn’t always mean you actually want to do the work to reach them. How many times have you allowed emotion to dictate what you do and what you don’t? How often have you procrastinated or flat-out failed to take action just because you didn’t feel like it?
Take action daily, whether you feel like it or not. Be intentional and, at all costs, be constantly aware of your emotions—control them so they don’t control you.
4. Freedom
Freedom encompasses many things, but at its core, it represents the ability to make a choice. It is one of your most precious assets, though it is often improperly and poorly used. Most people can’t handle freedom because it requires a high level of discipline.
When you put freedom in the hands of an undisciplined person, dysfunction ensues. The inability to manage freedom can lead to unwise decisions, poor thinking and success-killing habits. This type of self-oppressive behavior will turn freedom into an imprisonment of mediocrity.
Get ready to play defense against this self-defeating habit and put on your full armor to overcome these obstacles. If nothing else, be prepared to enlarge your vision and transform your thinking. It’s your time!
What does success mean—and not mean—to you? See how Zig Ziglar defines it.
