IDENTIFYING THE CAUSES OF FAILURE – PART I

His first reason is Poor People Skills – This blind spot is number one for a reason we fail. Maxwell believes it is the single greatest obstacle to success in any area. He states that a person’s inability to effectively relate to others is why everyone from top executives to every day individuals fail to achieve many of their goals.

Most careers, goals and all our relationships involve other people. We can be very intelligent academically, but still lack social intelligence, meaning the ability to be a good listener, to be sensitive to others, and to be able to correctly provide healthy criticism, while also being able to accept criticism well.

#2 is A Negative Attitude – How you react to the circumstances in your life has everything to do with your well-being and your success. This is why two people can experience the exact same situation and view it in a completely opposite way.

If we find our circumstances getting us down, perhaps we need a change… not in our situation, but in our attitude. Learn to make the best of any situation, and you can remove obstacles that stand between you and your dreams and goals.

#3 is A Bad Fit – Sometimes we may need a change in our situation. First, we always need to examine our attitudes, but at other times a mismatch in our abilities, interests, personality or values can be a major contributor to chronic failure.

Perhaps we need to re-evaluate the people we hang around. If your friends are toxic, they’re dragging you down. As the saying goes, “You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with.” Another good statement is, “Show me your friends, and I’ll show you your future.”

#4 is A Lack of Focus – Nothing goes right when our attention is divided. Anyone can make an honest mistake when things are hectic, but people lacking focus don’t have trouble because they’re too busy, but rather because their priorities are out of whack. I’m sure you’ve heard it said, “If you want something done, give it to a busy person!”

A lack of focus ends up wasting much needed time and resources. If you run from task to task to task without making any progress, or you can’t seem to reach a goal even with good effort, examine your focus. No one can move forward without it.

#5 is A Weak Commitment – Until a person is truly committed, there remains a hesitance, a tendency to draw back. If you have doubt built in before you even begin, it renders you ineffective. This is so relevant to weight loss. Once you definitely commit yourself, a whole stream of events come out of that decision in your favor.

What was your level of commitment? Did you give the task everything you had? Did you go the extra mile? Did you put enough of yourself on the line to guarantee that you would give your very best? If you’re committed, a failure doesn’t mean that you’ll never succeed. It just means you will take longer.

Next week we will cover John Maxwell’s other 5 reasons that we fail.