TLDR
We don’t necessarily need to try to identify what exactly is holding us back, we need to try to figure out where we’re trying to progress to and WHY. Not having a clear outline of where we want to get to and WHY we want to get there is what’s actually holding us back 99.9% of the time. Figuring this out will be the shortest path to taking action, achieving results and obtaining victory.
Why Should You Push Through?
The reason that most people find that something is “holding them back” is that they simply don’t have a strong or compelling enough WHY to drive them past that thing. Past the discomfort or pain. They have no deep and burning desire to want to overcome whatever is holding them back, so they simply don’t. Makes sense, right?
They go about creating random goals and random ways of trying to achieve them and then get crushed when random resistance comes along and challenges them.
What Will Drive You to Push Forward
However if someone has actually reverse engineered their desired outcomes and is 100% in tune with WHY they MUST get something accomplished, their ability to overcome random obstacles (aka things that are holding them back) and achieve their desired outcomes will be tremendously greater. Those things that were holding them back simply become opportunities to create separation and win.
As Nietzsche said “He who has a why to live can bear almost any how” or 2019 vernacular “If you have a strong enough why, you’ll be able to overcome any how”.
Expect Pain and Fear
Every forward progression in life is going to be met with varying levels of resistance. Wether it be fear, stress or pain. That’s life. So the question is, what is your thought process when faced with something that is holding you back?
Don’t Do This
A very common and inefficient way to think about obstacles:
“I have an issue that’s holding me back. How do I figure out exactly what it is? What should I do about it? How should I get over it?”
Do This
Compared to a more effective and outcome-driven thought process:
“If my desired outcome is X, then how should I choose to proceed? Should I spend my time figuring out what exactly is holding me back or should I choose to move forward towards my goals knowing that uncertainty is a part of life and progression.
Which one of these two thought processes do you feel will help you win more in business and in life?
Next Steps
Spending time trying to figure out exactly what is holding us back is just another form of analysis paralysis and is an excuse we give ourselves to not take action. It’s easy to lean into the comfort of inaction if there’s not a clear cut outcome that will propel you take action.
Figuring out your “why” is a challenging task and it requires time and effort, but once you have it clearly defined it will make overcoming your obstacles tremendously easier. Invest time in figuring it out.
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