What's Holding You Back?

Sometimes when we're getting started in business or looking to take things to the next level, we become stuck. Being stuck can be characterized as feeling scattered, unproductive, being in "vacation mode", and not feeling motivated to do and accomplish what we need to. When this happens, we must ask ourselves "Why am I here and what's holding me back?

There are several factors that can cause us to become stagnate:

1. Lack of focus
2. Feelings of anxiety, depression, or being tired and overwhelmed
3. Personal difficulties
4. Fear

Things We Can Do To Begin Moving Forward:

1. Let go - When there's too much going on in our lives, we can become scattered and unproductive. You must begin to prioritize. I suggest you categorize your life. For example: business, personal, recreational, social, etc. Then determine what's getting in the way and what is most important right now. Are you spending a lot of time networking and going to professional meetings but not seeing the results you want, such as more business, profits, or viable leads? Maybe you're serving on a number of boards, are doing a lot of volunteer work, but feel like you're spinning your wheels. If you have a lot of activities, look for ways to manage your time more effectively or find alternative ways to accomplish your tasks, i.e. phone conferences vs. face-to-face meetings, more strategic networking events, limited volunteer work. You have to determine how much time you realistically and how to best use it. In the end, you may have to let something go!

2. Take time for self - It's okay! Go to the movies, on vacation, to the park, or play a video game. No one said adults can't have fun and no one said we have to go non-stop to be successful at what we do. We are our own biggest critics and often put too much pressure on ourselves. What often starts as a passionate commitment to your business can soon become overwork and stress.

3. Humanize yourself - We can get so caught up with business, getting the sale, and pushing the product and service that we forget we are human beings --- people that care, that dream, that feel, and have a life outside of the business realm. It's not okay to bring personal problems into your business, but it is absolutely necessary to recognize when you are having difficulties and to understand that personal stress may be effecting your professional life. When this happens, you may have to decrease your workload and give yourself some time to regroup. Here's a good example: I was subscribed to an electronic newsletter but hadn't received a copy in a while. After some time I received a copy. In it the publisher shared that he'd been away for 4 months grieving the death of his father. He took some time away from his business and decreased his workload (he realized that publishing his newsletter, in this instance, was less critical than taking the time he needed to grieve). He was very professional, yet showed his subscibers that he was also human. If you are emotionally overwhelmed, recognize it and take the steps necessary to preserve your health.

4. Embrace failure as well as success - How many times have you heard a client or an interviewer say, "Tell me something you've really failed at"? Pretty rare, huh? No wonder we're so afraid to fail. If you try something and fail, it's disappointing and maybe even heart breaking, but at least you know you tried. If you're going to fail, the sooner the better. Regroup and keep going. We often see and hear stories of successful business people, but rarely do we hear or take the time to find out how they got to where they are. The struggles, pain, and failures are less likely to be highlighted.