obstacles to success

Success can feel like an elusive concept. It’s also one of the most desirable things in the world, period. We all want to have success in our lives.

We want to soar in educational, vocational and interpersonal matters. We want to lead lives that are enriching, well-rounded and full of purpose.

Success has so many definitions that part of feeling achievement and success is giving it a personal definition. Some people want a 401k, a Mercedes-Benz, and a fancy watch. Others want a family and a van to live in.

Material success may get a bad rap from some people but it’s usually those who don’t crave that type of success.

If you do, go for it and work hard!

If not, choose to work hard at your kind of success, the key is to define it.

However, it can be incredibly disheartening to come across obstacles that interfere with doing well in this world.

Most people are not living their dream life not because they have no idea what they want, but it is because of the roadblocks that prevent them from succeeding.

There is just way too many things in our lives can stop us from living our best. Below are the 10 most common examples.

1. Destructive habits

The use of drugs and alcohols as an escape are big destructive habits that prevent people from achieving what they want in life.

You can get addicted to all different kinds of drugs from cocaine and crystal meth to painkillers that are available via prescription. It can make you act in ways that are unfamiliar to you.

If you are addicted to drugs you may often be unable to focus on things that go beyond your dependency.

Drug abuse has ruined many careers.

It’s ruined many otherwise strong marital unions. It’s destroyed many relationships between family members as well.

Drug rehab has been a great path for many addicts. It’s helped addicts push forward and get past their thoughts and actions. It has helped them see the reality of the things that have been taking place right in front of them, too.

If you or a loved one have a problem with addiction, consult a professional to get the help that’s needed. There are a variety of programs available.

For example, if you want to be treated as an outpatient in Seattle or the surrounding areas, check out Hotel California by the Sea Bellevue, or another reputable treatment center in your area.

Of course, you may not be an alcoholic or someone who is addicted to drug. The point is to get rid of destructive habits that will drag you down.

Solution: How to Overcome an Addiction

2. Too many distractions

Allowing our time, effort, and energy to fall into things besides our goals is common and a form of self-sabotage.

If you spend 1 hour a day on social media for no reason do you realize how many hours that is per year, 365!

If you put half your twitter time into reading, running, or whatever you like to think of what you could accomplish.

Social media is just one example of a time-consuming distraction but what about more abstract distractions like lust, envy, or even doubt.

Climbing your personal mountain isn’t easy, it’s not supposed to be, but stay focused on the path is the only way to reach the summit quickly!

Solution: 11 Efficient Ways To Eliminate Distractions And Regain Focus

3. Mental fatigue

Depression is a major issue for people all around the nation and world. It stops people from getting out of bed in the morning. It prevents them from going after things in life that mean a lot to them. It affects people of both genders, of all ages.

People who suffer from depression know just how debilitating it can be. It can make people feel heavy and like they have absolutely no motivation to move forward in life.

A positive attitude can help, but if it doesn’t help and you suffer from depression regularly, seek professional advice from your doctor. It’s not a condition to take lightly.

Solution: 7 Secrets for Preventing Mental Fatigue

4. Surround themselves with the wrong crowd

Another common reason people fail to achieve the success they desire is that they mix with the wrong people. Most people surround themselves with mediocre people who are unsuccessful.

There is an old saying:

“You can’t soar like an eagle if you are surrounded by a bunch of turkeys.”

When you mix with negative people, your conversations will be negative. You will talk about other people, other things, blames, problems, and make excuses.

This will eventually influence your beliefs that prevent you from achieving higher success in life.

Solution: How To Surround Yourself With Successful People

5. Becoming comfortable and refusing to change

It is good to feel comfortable, but comfort kills. If you are being too comfortable with something, you prone to change. And when you refuse to change, you become less competitive, which can kill your success.

You have to understand that no matter what industry or field you are in, things are always changing. It is just a matter of time before a new method, a new approach, or a new and better competitor enters the market and take away your profits.

Thus, you must always be changing and improving. The key is to keep your hunger sharp and drive strong. If you don’t want change and you continue to stay where you are, you are dying.

[ctt template=”9″ link=”4lp69″ via=”no” ]”You don’t drown by falling into a river, you drown by staying there.”[/ctt]

Solution: 10 Ways to Overcome Fear and Break Out of Your Comfort Zone

6. Daydreaming too much and not taking action

This is another common reason that stops people from living their best life. They fail to realize their potential because they are all talk but no action.

Having a goal is great, and it is absolutely important to have a good plan. However, if you are not acting on your plan, it is as good as having no plan at all.

In fact, the failure to take action is one of the biggest obstacles that prevent most people from succeeding in life.

Saying that you want to be successful is different than doing it. So don’t just talk, but walk your talk.

Solution: How To Take Initiative And Start Doing

7. Living in fears

Regardless of whatever you want to achieve in life, feeling the fear that stops you is a big one. As long as you let your fear from stopping you, you will never move forward.

There are many types of fear. For instance, you can feel the fear of being rejected by someone else and you stop asking him or her out for a date. Or you can be fearful of failure that you don’t dare to take action.

Some people are afraid of success. They worry that the moment they made a lot of money, their friends and relatives may want to borrow from them. Some are worried that once they are successful, they will have to deal with the additional stress and busyness.

Solution: 33 Powerful Ways of Overcoming Fear… Right Now

8. Self-doubts

Do you know that your success highly depends on how much you trust yourself? If you believe that you can do it and that what you want to achieve is possible, you are already halfway there.

A lot of people are not taking action and they quit because they doubt themselves and that they don’t believe that they can do it.

Like what Will Smith said about success, “The first step is to say that you can.”

Don’t doubt yourself because when you are doubtful or you don’t believe in yourself anymore, it is the moment that you give up.

Solution: How to Believe in Yourself

9. Succumb to perfectionism

Do you always want things to be perfect? Just like if you want to build a blog, you want everything to be the best. It is understandable that you want the best, but if you are paralyzed because things are not perfect, you know that something is wrong.

Remember, when Apple launched the first version of the iPhone, it was not perfect. They then worked on the improvement and kept on upgrading their crafts until they get it there.

There is no way you can achieve perfection. And you don’t need to.

You just need to keep improving and keep making things better. You don’t have to wait for birds to fly in a shape of a cross only to pursue your dreams.

Start now. Today is the day. What Warren Buffett said is so right:

[ctt template=”9″ link=”7cwv8″ via=”no” ]”Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”[/ctt]

Solution: How to Overcome Perfectionism: Your Complete Guide

10. Give up too soon

Do you know that one of the main things that stop people from achieving the success that they want is because they give up way too soon?

A lot of people have the half-hearted mentality. Whenever they try something and if it doesn’t work, they choose to give up and do something else.

They start a blog and after a few weeks and they don’t see any results from their blog, they let go of it.

They build an e-commerce business, but when they don’t see the sales coming in, they quit and decide to build another website instead.

Learn to have more patience, my friend. Be willing to put in consistent effort and let time work its magic.

Solution: How To Not Give Up On Your Dreams: The 7 Steps Process

Conclusion

These are the 10 most common obstacles that prevent most people from living their best life.

If you want to achieve great success and live your dreams, get rid of these roadblocks. Read the suggested articles and learn how to prevent these common obstacles from stopping you.

So, share with me, which obstacle is preventing you from achieving the success you want in life now?

This article may contain affiliate links. Meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. As always, I only recommend products and services I trust.

By Shawn Lim

Hi there, this is Shawn. I inspire people to achieve their goals and dreams and to reach for higher success in life. If you want to learn more about me, kindly go to the About page. By the way, have you downloaded your FREE copy of The 90-90-1 Rule? Don't forget to do so. Cheers. :)

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