What’s Holding You Back?
The popularity of Raphael Cushnir’s book, The One Thing Holding You Back[1] is built on an interesting premise: fix this “one thing” about you and the rest of your life will fall into place. It’s an appealing notion. In Cushnir’s book, that “one thing” is Emotional Connection.
Whether you agree with Chushnir that his solution is THE solution or not, there is wisdom in the idea of tackling “one thing at a time.” What are the biggest barriers to success and/or fulfillment that you struggle with? Here are a few of the most common:
Self Confidence
Confidence is the combination of trust in yourself and courage to stick up for that trust. If either of those ingredients is missing, you can find yourself feeling like you’re treading water despite hard work and even positive results. Alexandra Ostrow, founder of WhyWhisper, calls self-doubt “noise” that drowns out her own voice.[2]
For those whom confidence is a barrier, the good news is that confidence can be practiced and developed, like any skill. Click here for a list of 63 Ways to Build Self-Confidence
Procrastination
Human beings are so good at procrastination, that clinical psychologist Dr. Linda Sapadin has identified at least six styles of procrastination and authored multiple books on the topic including: It’s About Time, Procrastination Busting Strategies for Perfectionists, and Procrastination in the Digital Age. By identifying and breaking the destructive patterns of chronic procrastination, those for whom procrastination is their biggest barrier can develop new, more productive ways of thinking, speaking and acting.
Fear
Fear is a topic that deserves its own column. While the barriers that can be attributed to fear are well-labeled – Fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of the unknown, fear of success (yes, that’s real, too) – conquering them may be among the hardest of all barriers to hurdle, but it’s not impossible. Like developing self-confidence, courage – the best antidote to fear – can be practiced and developed.[3]
What’s holding you back?
[1] http://www.cushnir.com/enter-the-library/books/the-one-thing-holding-you-back
[3]http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/15/conquering-fear_n_3909020.html