Little Things That Get In The Way Of Achieving Your Goals

You don't get what you wish for, you get what you work for. Setting and achieving goals can seem daunting, but with the right plan and motivation, achieving your dreams can be easier than expected. To ensure you reach your goals, make sure you are aware of the little things that can create setbacks or even not allow you to reach your goals at all.

Whether it’s as simple as losing ten pounds, potty training your toddler or something more time consuming such as working towards a promotion or writing a book, all goals need a plan and the right motivation behind them. Keep reading to learn more about what can demotivate you and how to keep persevering in the face of adversity.

Avoid Self Entitlement

Allowing your ego to get in the way of achieving goals is often a difficult aspect most individuals do not realize can stunt their growth and prevent the process from happening naturally. It is easy to become self-entitled and believe you deserve success whether you've worked for it or not. It's a great thing to celebrate accomplishments along the path to success, however always remember to stay grateful and show humility during the process. There is always someone out there who has less than you, but yet manages to remain thankful for what they have. Showing gratitude towards others who have and are helping you in achieving your goals is a great start, as there will undoubtedly be many people who are part of the process in some way, shape, or form. Rome wasn't built by one person, but by many!

Forget About Perfection

If you're a perfectionist, you will struggle with letting this go and going with the flow. Trying to completely control every element of your journey or becoming frustrated when things take an unexpected turn can be disheartening, but keep pursuing your goal anyway. Striving for perfectionism can be stressful, so rather than getting upset at the unexpected, go with it! Take a step back, analyze the situation, and ask yourself: will this stop me from achieving my goal? If it doesn't, adapt and move forward. Not only will this help build creativity and adaptation skills which can be handy in different areas of life, but the unexpected might also create a new pathway for you to take to achieve your goal more efficiently. However, if it does not allow you from achieving your goal, work through this hurdle and set yourself back on the right path.

Learn From Failures

The inevitable step towards success, failure, is not a horrible thing. Most individuals fear failure, and therefore won't even attempt to reach their dreams. However, there is beauty in failure, as it often reveals to you what you are doing wrong, what you could be doing better, and what ultimately needs to change. It's proof you are trying to get what you want and will not give up.

Failure often leads to learning opportunities through experience: whether you learn something about yourself you did not know such as a new skill or personality trait, something about somebody else who is helping you, or how to modify and set better goals within the future. Either way, every failure when achieving goals or in life should be treated as a learning opportunity, not a setback.

Take Small Steps

By creating a plan for goal and dividing it into smaller steps, you eliminate the fear of failure and procrastination. Big steps can intimidate you, resulting in a fear of trying and failing. Dividing goals into small steps and creating a simple list of tasks to complete each day makes the path towards success a lot easier to manage, as well as quick to achieve, so it is impossible to say no to doing any of it. For instance, if you're trying to lose weight but are not quite ready to hit the gym yet, simply eliminate carbonated drinks and junk food out of your diet. This is a small, easy solution, but is also key to reaching your goal. Make a do-to list every day, which will keep you accountable for your actions and also give you a visual of what you are doing or not doing towards reaching your goal.

Make No Excuses

Do you ever hear your internal monologue saying things like this, "I'm not ready, I'm not good enough, it's not the right time, It's too hard, it will take too long, or people will laugh at me." These are just a few examples of typical excuses individuals use to justify why they cannot achieve or ever try to reach their goals. Don't be that person! Your mind prefers you to stay in your comfort zone and not venture out into unexplored territory, hence why it is easy for self-doubt to creep in and make excuses sound convincing. Try practicing affirmations every day to yourself, whether it be in the mirror first thing in the morning or by writing them down in a journal. By silencing those negative thoughts and replacing them with positive ones, you'll feel more motivated to complete your goals and be more confident in your decisions.

Step Outside Of Your Comfort Zone

A significant part of excuses is the feeling of unavoidable failure due to not wanting to take risks and try something new, because well, it can be scary sometimes. As the ancient adage goes, you don't know unless you try! Stepping out of your comfort zone can be a liberating but also frightening experience. Successful people, such as entrepreneurs or magnates, know the only way to not only accomplish simpler goals but to create grander and better goals is to venture out into the unknown.

Stepping out of your comfort zone can bring many rewards, but of course, failures as well. However, it provides a learning and growth opportunity for you to know more about who you are and what you are truly capable of. It could be as simple as taking a lesson in something you've always wanted to try or extreme such as skydiving. Either way, taking risks brings the reward of experience, which makes life worth it.

Banish Procrastination

Also known as enemy numero uno. Don't be ashamed, we all struggle with this one as it's one of the main elements that stop you from taking action. Always try to bear in mind one thing: now is the best moment to do what you want (and needs to get done), as any other time is later than the present moment. The present is the best time to work towards your goals and take those little steps to succeed. By putting things off until later, you're giving up on doing what you genuinely want to do: achieving your goal. The only cure for procrastination is to start doing something immediately to try and avoid the excuses and fears your mind will produce. Start off slowly by making a to-do list, and avoid or turn off any distractions, such as social media, when you are doing something worthwhile to you.

Manage Your Expectations

Setting your expectations too high is a destructive behavior that can bring disappointment into your life. It's okay to expect positive things or actions from others, however expecting people to behave or circumstances to turn out the way you believe they should could cause you deep disappointment, frustration or anger with the situation, and lose all motivation to keep striving for success. Acceptance is vital when it comes to managing expectations, as by accepting things won't always turn out the way you planned them, you can better manage the situation. As mentioned earlier, take any setback or the unexpected as a learning experience and a time to reflect on what needs improvement throughout the process.

Eliminate Distractions

Between social media, YouTube, and the numerous apps on our smart devices, distractions are everywhere. The best way to try and eliminate distractions is to find yourself a comfortable space, where you can really focus and reflect on your goals and try to achieve them. Of course, this works best if you actually have work you need to do. Other ways to decrease distractions are to surround yourself with like-minded individuals who will keep you grounded and focused on the activity you are doing and to silence or turn off notifications from Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or your phone altogether.

Create Consistency

This is the main point with the ability to either make you or break you. No matter what you do, if you don't practice or do something each day that gets you a little bit closer to your goal, you will not see any progress. Consistency is a common trait amongst successful individuals, and once it has been practiced enough, along with a little help from self-discipline, it becomes a habit.

As mentioned earlier, break bigger steps into smaller, more manageable actions, make time each day to achieving something on your list and plan ahead, so you know what is expected of you. Don't become impatient with how long it might take you to achieve your overall goal or just a small step. Even the slightest action made to better yourself and to get you closer to achieving your dream is better than doing nothing at all!