We all have barriers that are holding us back from a higher level of success.
At least monthly, we should be asking ourselves the following three questions, and then taking actions to break through our current barrier.
1) What action am I not taking because I am waiting for something to happen, or the situation to become clearer?
Many times we are held back by the fear of uncertainty, and the fear of failure. Taking action by ourselves is not successful in these situations. We need a team to support our actions, or a coach. Utilization of all of our resources will diminish our fear. The first step is to recognize the fear, and then strengthen our desire to reach our goal.
2) Which goal am I not working on because I don’t know what actions to take?
If we find ourselves struggling to take action because we are confounded by options, or stuck with no options, then we need to get past this knowledge barrier. Some of the strategies include strengthening the expertise on our team, increasing our own knowledge, and seeking outside expertise.
3) Which goal do I never have time to work on?
Time is our most limited resource. We all face the challenge to best utilize the time we have available. If we feel overwhelmed or overworked, it is time to reevaluate our purpose, our priorities, and our agenda. We can get so caught up in today’s issues that we forget to put challenges within the perspective of our overriding purpose. Schedule a day to reflect and plan. Start with vision and purpose and end with actions and a manageable agenda. If there is still not enough time, remember the Law of Sacrifice, a leader must give up to go up. What must you give up, in order to achieve your goal?
If we want to achieve a higher level of success, we should add these three questions to our monthly reflection process.
Recently, I had my own barrier that I had to break through. I had so many projects started that I felt I was not making progress. I never compromised time with a client, but I compromised time on every other project I had. So I had to spend some time just thinking. I finally realigned my project list with my long term goals. I delayed some projects, and focused on those with the highest priority. It allowed me to complete some tasks which then allowed me to again revisit my project list and continue progress against my long term goals. Sometimes it just takes looking at a situation from a very high level to create the breakthrough needed.
What is your current barrier? What action do you need to take in order to breakthrough?