Three Factors That Keep Most People From Getting Ahead.

Have you ever struggled to be successful?  We all have if we are honest with ourselves.  So many times in my life have I felt stuck, unsure if I would succeed, or had a huge setback that I felt like I would never gain momentum towards the career I wanted.

As a career and life coach, I see many people who struggle to get after what they define as success. I love helping these clients because most of the time, it's a small shift in perspective that can yield them great results.

The surprising thing to me is that almost all of us face the same pattern of perspective. Those who are the top CEOs, athletes, celebrities, or highly successful folks can self-correct when they need a change in performance sooner than most others.

So what are the three factors that keep most people from reaching that upper level of performance?

Uncertainty. When we don't know what to do next, we get stuck and spend too much energy trying to get moving. So how do we figure out the next step? There are three questions we can ask ourselves that generally will get us moving forward:

1. What would my best values lead me to do next?
2. If I was 10x more productive in one year, what would I need to do to now to get there?
3. If I had to choose one project to get done in the next three months, what would be the most important project?

These three questions help you define who you are, and where you want to be in the next year. And if you struggle with these questions, you have an excellent indication on where you need some extra journalling and reflection to get you moving again.

Fear. When we know what to do, sometimes fear of change stops us. What are the types of anxiety we experience, and how can we overcome them?

The first fear we experience is process-fear, or that doing the change will be painful. If you want to train for a marathon, you fear training for the race is going to hurt. Frame the process in learning and as a challenge to move past this first type. What am I going to learn moving forward with this task or project?

The second fear is outcome-fear or that we will not love the new outcome. In our marathon example, this would be the fear that finishing the marathon wouldn't be as amazing or personally significant as we think it will be. Focus on what you gain from completing the project or task to get around this type. What will I learn at the end of this project or task?

The third fear is loss-fear or the opportunity cost of making a change. Again with our marathon example, this would be the fear of losing time with loved ones because of hours of training, or that we would have to give up eating pizza to be healthier for the race. Finding things to look forward to helps mitigate loss-fear, so ask yourself, "what can I look forward to gaining when I make this change?".

Exhaustion. The last big hurdle keeping most people from living their most productive lives is lack of energy. You can be clear on what to do next and ready to press on, but what happens when you feel physically or mentally drained?

Taking great care of your body, mind, and feelings can help keep you motivated. What would you need to do to feel more energetic and vibrant this week?

Some things to consider:

• Drink more water to feel less tired from dehydration
• Get at least 7 hours of sleep to feel energized and well-rested
• Send someone a note of appreciation today to feel more positive
• Take a walk outside for 30 minutes today to clear your mind

You may be doing some or all of these suggestions, and no matter how well you are doing these, the question is, how can you get even more energetic today?