Energy and Motivation for Success

It takes constant, focused energy and motivation to carry out all of the projects and plans necessary to complete a designated goal, which is why the idea of success can feel intimidating for most people. Here are some barriers and action steps to help you ignite your energy and motivation for success.

Barriers to Success
Realize that you might be dealing with success barriers like procrastination, perfectionism, and fear. These barriers have the power to keep you stuck and unable to move forward on your goals.

The Procrastination Barrierr
For some, procrastination is a problem because they might be dealing with one of two possible inner conflicts: the need to sabotage their success, or the need to avoid imagined failure.

The Perfectionism Barrierr
There are multiple reasons for perfectionism. For some adults, being raised in homes where they experienced high doses of disapproval, ridicule, or rejection created the need to be perfect. Another reason might be because of their innate hardwiring; meaning, they are highly methodical and factual and perfectionism is part of who they are.

The Fear Barrierr
Fear has the power to stop you in your tracks. Fear can keep you locked in a cycle of failure by forcing you to continually relive your negative experiences. Worst of all, fear can keep you from living the life you were meant to live.

Action Stepsr
Here are some ideas to overcome the three success barriers and move forward to complete your goals and become successful.

• First, you know you are procrastinating when you feel like something has got you by the throat and you can’t move forward—you are stuck. Unfortunately, the best advice is to do the very thing you are putting off. And, do it now. Take a moment to decide if it needs to be done at all and if not, decide not to do it. Remove all escape routes. Finding a partner to check in with can help as well.

• Second, when you are perfectionist, tell yourself to go right, go left, but pick something. In other words, get in the boat that is heading toward your future. Strive to be productive not perfect. If your innate personality is to be a perfectionist, accept that about yourself but tell yourself to complete something and revise it later if need be.

• Third, think of fear like a machine that operates outside of you. Imagine this big, rolling machine rotating in a circular motion that yells, “Feed me, feed me, feed me!” Don’t feed into the fear machine; starve it by taking action. Focus your mind on what needs to be done. As you begin to take action, there’s a good chance you will notice that your stomach feels weird. That is your inner critic trying to get you to stop and feel the fear. Don’t give in; keep doing what you need to do. Trust me, eventually, your stomach will return to normal and you will complete your project.

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