IDENTIFYING OBSTACLES THAT BLOCK OUR SUCCESS

In this post we are going to look at five of her most common traps to see if any ring true to us. Keep them in front of you today, this week, and in the months ahead. They will be a great reminder that you have fallen into a trap!

Number one is “Putting Your Goals off Until Someday.” Someday is not a day on the calendar. You have to make a clear decision about when you are going to begin to move forward on your goals and have a plan ready to implement in order to get there. That’s the structure we often talk about. You will be hard-pressed to achieve any success in any goal without some sort of structure or plan on what that looks like going forward.

Having a start date is critical. It is a dividing line between the old and the new. From that line you can see what was left behind on one side, and what lies ahead on the other. It’s not enough to just dream of reaching that goal, you have to start now, or at least decide when you can.

The second common trap is “Waiting to Take Action Until You ‘Feel’ Ready.” We can change our feelings or emotions on a dime. You have to change your behavior first, and then the feelings are more likely to follow. I hesitate to say “will always” follow, because sometimes it takes persistence… perseverance. We are so used to thinking in the short term, and when we don’t get the instant reward of a good feeling right away, we give up. If that change causes us any discomfort, any stress, or any negative feelings, then we can fail to stay with it long term. But there’s the rub… you have to lean into that discomfort and get past it in order to prevail.

Amy’s third obstacle is, “Not Anticipating the Tough Times.” If you’re trying to lose weight and change your eating habits from dieting to eating for a lifestyle, you are going to encounter some tough times! Know that ahead of time, but don’t let it worry you. Once again, create a plan.

Be proactive. Think about the potential pitfalls you might face and develop a plan for dealing with them so that you don’t give in. When you have a plan, you are going to walk into that situation feeling much more confident in your ability to overcome the temptation and keep going.

Number four… “Viewing Mistakes as Failure.”  This is a big one… HUGE! Progress rarely comes in a straight line. Instead, we often think one step backward means we’ve gone all the way back to square one, and we give up. We fall prey to the thinking that we knew it was going to be too hard, and then once we mess up… we give up. The only failure in this scenario is not realizing that mistakes are going to happen and that they are a learning part of the journey. You gain great insight from them.

So, recognize that you are going to mess up at times. It’s okay. It doesn’t mean you can make excuses – there can be a fine line there – but stuff happens. Instead of declaring yourself a failure, use all the mental energy it robs from you to create a plan to get back on track!

A fifth common obstacle we encounter, is “Not Making Our Goals a Priority.” It’s easy to say we want to change, but actually doing the work is much different. You have to decide what kind of priority you’re going to give your goal. Otherwise, all your good intentions will get lost among all your other daily and weekly activities.

It’s about being organized… structured… and not just flowing with how you feel. If you put something onto your daily calendar, you are much more likely to make it happen if you establish a time. Let’s put it this way – if you don’t work a time into your calendar… something else will definitely come along and fill it up. It’s the consistency and persistency over time that makes things stick, but it all starts with fitting just one decision into your calendar.

There are a lot of factors that come into play when trying to lose weight. It’s actually a very active and dynamic process that requires a lot of focus and determination in order to be successful.