3 Things Stopping You from Reaching Your Goals
You’ve set big goals for yourself, or New Year’s Resolutions, or you’re chasing a big dream, and you’re prepared for the hard work ahead. But there are obstacles between you and your dream life.
The good news is, once you’ve done the first step of goal-setting, your chances of success are quite high. Positive thinking, a perfect plan, and taking action toward a better life are also important. But first, you need to make sure you have a plan of action to deal with the 3 things stopping you from reaching your goals.
Even with the best intentions, these are the most common obstacles to achieving your new goals. In this post, we go through how to set healthy habits, take manageable steps, and give you the right tools to equip you so you can reach the life you want.
3 Things Stopping you from reaching your goals
The journey to crush your goals and set yourself up for success can be long and hard. To achieve your key goals, we need to talk about the things you need to leave behind before you start. The 3 Things Stopping you from reaching your goals, which l dare you to leave are:
- I dare you to leave the past in the past
- I dare you to leave the unnecessary baggage behind
- I dare you to leave negative people in the dust
1. Leave the Past in the Past
I want to encourage you to quit looking at your past to determine your future. You can’t change it, so why dwell on it?
I know it’s harder to do than it is to say, but successful people learn from their past and use it to propel themselves forward. They choose not to stay in the past or wallow in the “what ifs.” They take the past and the life lessons they learned and use them as launching pads for their future successes.
Being stuck in the past is one of the key factors that results in a lack of motivation so it’s a real potential obstacle to your performance goals.
Did you know that dwelling on the past can keep us from our Promised Land? The Israelites wandered the wilderness for FORTY YEARS because they were stuck in their past, and that trip should have only taken them about forty days to make.
They began looking back at their time as Egyptian slaves, and they began to justify the brutal life they survived. They started seeing their old life through rose-colored glasses rather than remembering the reality of their slavery.
The Israelites’ minds tricked them into remembering the past as more pleasurable than it was rather than taking responsibility for their future and stepping into God’s call and promises for their lives.
These self-limiting beliefs, negative self-talk, and negative thoughts became part of their downfall. Sometimes it’s easier to be stuck in the past than to have to face our futures.
In the past, lack of clarity, lack of resources, and poor planning may have been the barriers to your success but that doesn’t mean you will never succeed again.
The good thing is, at the end of the day, our past doesn’t have to dictate our future! Don’t forget where you came from, but don’t stay there. Step into TODAY and your FUTURE knowing that the facts – your circumstances – can change. Don’t wander in the wilderness for 40 years when your Promised Land may only be 40 days away.
Practical tools to help you leave your past behind:
- Choose to learn from your past, but don’t let it determine your future.
- Refuse to listen to that small voice that pulls you to become an inner critic. Replace every negative thought with a new thought that is rooted in the truth of the word of God.
- Step out of your comfort zone, set large goals for yourself, work hard, and grow from your mistakes. Choose to make progress every single day in the direction of your goals.
- Remove the wrong perception of what failure is from your mind. Failure means you’re trying and taking risks and that’s a good thing.
- The past CAN’T change, but you CAN change your future. Focus on the finish line and trust God that it’s brighter than your past.
2. Leave Unnecessary Baggage Behind
Don’t take that baggage of the past along with you on your journey to the future. It will only drag you down.
Have you ever traveled with someone who thought she needed to pack her entire bathroom and closet? She’s slow and weighed down by her luggage. It’s hard for her to get on the airplane or into the shuttle, and she’s stuck carrying multiple bags over her shoulder because she thought she needed all that stuff.
When you’re traveling with someone like that, it’s annoying to have to wait for her to check her luggage in, or wait for it at the baggage carousel. It makes the trip longer and more tiring. You begin to get annoyed by the luggage they are dragging with them, and it becomes a barrier to a quick and easy journey to your destination.
We need to carefully select what we will bring with us on our journey. Determine if what you choose to bring will be a hindrance or a resource for you. If it’s a hindrance, if it keeps you feeling unworthy or stuck, leave it behind!
Lack of planning for how we will deal with baggage, disruptions, and hindrances can be a stumbling block on the journey to achieving your specific goals. lt can also lead to a lack of commitment to your goals because you’re being held back by past events.
It’s important to do a self-evaluation and ask yourself a few questions to determine where your baggage is stemming from:
- What baggage are you trying to drag with you?
- What’s weighing you down from going on the right path?
- What’s reminding you of your past failures or circumstances?
- What’s holding you back from a better life?
The fear of failure is real but it doesn’t mean we will fail again tomorrow. Most times you become wiser and stronger and you’re able to deal with a situation differently. The baggage of the past holds us captive from our future.
Small steps you can take to leave the baggage behind:
- Clear out the physical and emotional baggage so you can move on intentionally.
- Choose to get rid of past regrets or painful memories.
- Decide what your core beliefs are. Plant success in your subconscious mind. You can only achieve something that’s in line with what you believe about yourself and what’s possible for you.
- Lack of confidence can be a hindrance and can weigh you down as you plan for your future. Having positive affirmations that you repeat to yourself regularly will boost your confidence so you can move ahead toward achieving your goals.
- Distractions can be the baggage that holds you back from your goals. Whether you have ambitious goals or even small goals, the amount of time you spend on YouTube, social media, watching TV shows, or Netflix should decrease. They steal your attention and focus. Rather spend that quality time taking steps toward your goals and dreams.
- Leave the fear of failure or even fear of success in your past. Fear can paralyze you and be the baggage that drags you down. Put your hope and trust in the Lord, work hard, and have the confidence and courage to reach success.
3. Leave the negative people in the dust
People around you could be the barrier stopping you from reaching your goals. They can cause a lack of focus on your goals.
Quit allowing negative friends, family, or coworkers to influence your life. I encourage you to take inventory of the influences that each coworker, friend, and family member has in your life and if they are having a positive or negative affect.
Pretend the two of you are standing, you on the chair, and your friend on the floor. You are working to pull your friend up onto the chair with you, but your friend is trying to pull you onto the floor with her. Who do you think will win? Your friend, of course, because it’s easier to pull someone down than it is to pull them up. Your association matters more than you know.
You need to quit allowing negative friends, family members, or coworkers to influence your life IF they are having a negative impact. You may need to brush them aside for a season — or for good if they aren’t willing to change.
Maybe you can’t completely eliminate them from your life (especially if you live with them), but you can consider spending less time with them.
Negative people, even if they are good friends or family – maybe especially if they are good friends or family – are toxic to your goals and your life. Fill those gaps with those who encourage and support you, who offer you a positive perspective, and who make you feel better after being with them.
Small steps you can take to leave the negative people behind:
- In your planning process for achieving your goals, decide on the people who will help you. We often think we don’t have enough time to work on our huge goals while we are spending time with negative people.
- Choose to be intentional with whom you say, “Yes,” to spend time with and ensure that time will be constructive.
- Stay open to advice but don’t spend much time listening to the negative voices. Slowly lessen your time with negative people who tell you that your dream is impossible and that you have hard or unrealistic goals.
- Spend more time with positive people who see possibilities and encourage you in your goals.
- An accountability partner is a powerful tool for your success. You can have willpower and implementation intention but you’re having a hard time sticking to your plans. A mentor, coach, or accountability partner gives you the best chance for success. They’ll guide, support, and encourage you to stay committed and focused toward your goals.
As human beings, we are often content in our comfort zone, but it’s time to work on your dream or goal. Whether it’s having your own business or being part of an important project you can do it.
While others prefer the easier way of living, stuck in a life where they’re unfulfilled, you can choose to pursue those huge goals.
There is no right time to crush your goals so what matters is to start. To reach your full potential l dare you to leave the 3 Things Stopping you from reaching your goals.
Leave the past behind, leave unnecessary baggage, and leave negative people in the dust. The best time to take the inevitable step to leave the things stopping you from reaching your goals is now.
When you do, you’ll meet a better version of yourself who’s ready to work hard, trust God, and achieve success. The end result will be working on a daily basis toward your goals and dreams., changing core beliefs, and having enough time to go after what you want.
