Three Roadblocks to Motivation and Success
Success and motivation is something which all of us want. We all want to be successful, prosperous and motivated. However, often, success eludes us and we struggle with being motivated.
Do you know why?
We all have three powerful roadblocks that lower our to motivation and impacts our success. Most people assume that these roadblocks are external- the economy, lack of opportunities, not enough finances etc. However, the key roadblocks to success are all within us, it is internal.
The three roadblocks are self-sabotage, self-doubt and self-image.
Let us look at the first roadblock: SELF-SABOTAGE.
We frequently self-sabotage ourselves by our critical thoughts about ourselves. This inner critic can be detrimental and even dangerous to our wellbeing and can bring down our motivation to dangerous levels.
Let me share an example:
Say, I am in my first job and am excited to try a new idea and share it with my boss. I prepare well and start to work on a presentation. But while preparing, I start being critical of my idea and slowly the critical thoughts grow in intensity. I assume that my idea is not good enough and finally I shelve the whole idea and abort the thought of sharing it with my boss. However, after a few weeks, I find, to my dismay, that my colleague presented the same idea and got a lot of accolades for that.
My inner critic has successfully sabotaged my idea and my chances to be successful.
The second roadblock is SELF-DOUBT.
Self-doubt is almost like a disease. This reduces our confidence and our self-doubt pokes holes in all our efforts.
An Example: I have successfully pitched my idea to my boss and he wants me to make a presentation to the board. I get the presentation ready. But a few minutes before the presentation, I start having doubts about myself and my capability. I question, ‘What am I doing here now?’ ‘Do I even know what I am talking about?’ Soon, I find myself apologizing to my boss and I tell him that I don’t think I can do this.
My self-doubt has successfully sabotaged my opportunity to succeed.
The third roadblock is SELF-IMAGE.
Self-image is the way we perceive ourselves. Self-image is connected to our perception about how we look, how we talk, how we work and so on. Our own self-image can be a major roadblock to both success and motivation.
An example: If I perceive myself as a hard worker and a problem solver, I will gladly accept challenging projects. However, if I perceive myself to be a poor speaker, I might hesitate to make presentations and shy away from public speaking. If I perceive myself to be good with people, I might willingly choose team projects. But if I perceive myself as someone who cannot get along with others, I may hesitate to do team work and prefer solo-projects.
As you can see, the three roadblocks of self-sabotage, self-doubt and self-image can individually impact our motivation levels and our opportunities to succeed. However, together, they can completely de-motivate us and success only appears like a distant mirage.
So if you are wanting to be more motivated and have greater success in life, reduce your self-sabotage by practicing more self-compassion; reduce your self-doubt by using affirmations and reminding yourself of your capabilities. Also work on your self-image and start looking at yourself in a kinder and more loving way.
Self-Love and self-compassion is a powerful way to overcome all the three roadblocks. Do read my article on 'How can I love yourself when I make mistakes.'