You’re probably doing pretty well in your career. You did well in college, you’ve got a good job, or you’re establishing a business. But there’s something that is stopping you from reaching your peak. You’re not quite where you want to be. Maybe your career trajectory feels like it’s stalled a little or even plateaued. Maybe your business is not doing well and you feel confused on how to turn things around.
In these last two weeks, I’ve been interacting with business owners through online summits and the overreaching theme is that many are not at their peak, some not even close. They are being overrun by fear and self-doubt or allowing past events in their history to be the director of their life now.
This is why leadership development is needed now – to ensure that the right mindset is in place to carry out tasks that are needed, no matter how hard they seem. I think of the creativity and impact that can be made but, sadly, is not due to self-imposed blocks in the way.
Self- awareness, or having a good look at yourself, is the first step to see if you’re being held back by one or more of these four big things that commonly stop people from reaching their career peak (these do apply in other areas of your life):
- Procrastination
We all do it. Putting off doing mundane or difficult tasks is all too human. But the longer you delay making that phone call or having that tricky conversation, the worse it’s going to get. You know deep down that you should just do it.
The other big area of procrastination is failing to act. How many good ideas have you had, but you haven’t acted on, because you weren’t ready, or you didn’t have the right skills or enough money yet? There will never be the perfect or right time to start a business, launch a project or pitch a new idea. The right time to act is now. And don’t forget: acting on an idea doesn’t mean you leap into the final product straightaway. Acting means doing your research, allocating budget, testing the market.
If you stop procrastinating and start planning, you’ll be ready for success when it comes.
- Fear of failure
Fear of failure stops you from taking risks and seizing opportunities. It can be paralyzing, but only if you let it. And to free yourself from the fear of failure you need to reframe what failure means for you. Failure does not mean disaster. It means you haven’t found out what works yet. Edison famously failed to invent the working light bulb more than a thousand times before he hit on the right formula; Walt Disney didn’t succeed right away, and we wouldn’t enjoy the Harry Potter series if J.K. Rowling had given up after the first rejection.
The converse of failure is persistence. And persistence will out-perform innate talent every time.
- Distraction
Staying focused is the key to achieving success. It’s easy to be distracted by side issues and the demands of your email or phone but staying productive requires attention and focus. Busyness is actually some form of anxiety – it’s easier to distract rather than face the fear. Make it easier to produce high-quality, consistent work by keeping focused on the current priorities and sticking to your plan.
- Self-doubt
Self-doubt can undermine all your efforts if you let it. The best thing you can do to build your confidence is to stop comparing yourself to others. Your success story is totally up to you. Look back, see all the stepping stones that brought you to where you are now. You have the skills, and you have the know-how to get where you want to go. The more you appreciate you, the more your esteem and confidence will rise.
Reaching your peak takes awareness and practice of your strengths and skills, as well as exercising your mind – it is creating a new habit that will set you up for lifetime success. The more you focus on your personal development, the higher you will be on your game to make a bigger impact and enjoy career success.
If you’d like to uplevel your leadership, reach out to start a conversation to get started. We’d love to help you step up your game. https://eliteleadershipsuccessinsititute.com