If you want to achieve great things in life you have to grow personally. It’s a necessary part of the process, because your dreams will only be as solid as you are.
In the pursuit of your dreams, you’ve likely thought about all of the ways you need to grow, but have you ever given thought to areas that need to ‘go’?
As a personal development coach, I work with countless people on the areas in which they need to grow in order to achieve the pinnacle of their success, but what surprises them each time is the amount of attention we give to the areas that need to go.
They quickly learn that no matter what areas you grow in, if you don’t get rid of these 11 things, your dream life will remain just a dream.
- Negative mindset. Everything that you do and everything that you are starts in your mind. Letting go of a negative mindset is more than just thinking positive thoughts, it’s about retraining your brain to think differently all the time. In my book Build a Beautiful Life Out of Broken Pieces I walk you through how to overcome the negative thought patterns that run over and over again in your mind and set you free to live the life of your dreams.
- Unrealistic expectations. Perfectionists are some of the most miserable, unproductive people on the planet. Let’s face it, perfectionism is impossible. It doesn’t exist, so why are you trying so hard to attain something that can never be attained? Instead step out in what you know and fix it as you go.
- Victim mentality. There are few things that will hold you back from personal growth more than a victim mentality. A victim mentality is basically saying that nothing is your fault and blaming someone else. When that’s the case, there is no personal responsibility. You may not be responsible for what happened to you, but you are responsible for how you move forward.
- Excuses. I’ve always lived by the saying, “Don’t make excuses, make an effort.” Excuses keep you trapped in your reason for why something won’t work. Instead, ask more appropriate questions that will get you to think about solutions. For example. Instead of saying ,“That’s the way my father always does it and he won’t change,” ask “What can I do to either convince him or find another way to do what I need to do?” When you ask good questions, your mind searches for the answers.
- The magic solution. Just like magic weight loss pills, there is no magic solution for quick personal growth. It takes time, energy and perseverance. When you stop focusing on a quick solution and take the necessary steps, no matter how small, you begin to move in the right direction.
- The destination. Personal development truly takes place on the journey. On the journey, you discover, develop and design the life you love. There will be stops along the way, but there really is no ‘destination.’
- Control. In order to head out on the journey of personal growth, the first piece of baggage you will need to check is your control. Control may seem like a strength but in the long run, it only serves to keep you trapped and small-minded about the way you think things should be. Instead set out baggage-free and be open to whatever God has for you.
- Multi Tasking. Our society has labeled multitasking as a strength, but it is not possible to ‘focus’ on too many things at once and do them well. Take off the multitasking badge and call this for what it is: unfocused.
- Time vampires. When I work with clients, I guarantee that they will find at least two hours a day to apply toward achieving their dream life. By the time these women are done calculating the amount of TV, social media, driving kids, talking with friends over nothing, etc., they are amazed at how much time they truly do have to devote to their own personal growth.
- The ‘all things happen for a reason’ mindset. I’m a firm believer in God’s will but let’s face it, often times we say this because we are unhappy with the outcome and we need to feel better about it. Instead of attributing everything to God’s will, perhaps you also need to take a hard look at what you may have done to contribute to that outcome.
- Acceptance. There is nothing more dream-squashing than trying to live up to everyone else’s standards and expectations. To live the life you love you must let go of the need to be accepted by anyone, much less everyone. There are a lot of unhappy people out there and they are not going to all of a sudden get happy simply because you’re trying to be. Stop trying to get a balloon from a tree. There’s only two people you should be concerned with being accepted by—God and yourself.
Living the life you love is not out of reach. If you need help creating the life you want, I invite you to download your FREE copy of Create the Life You Want – Uncover and Unleash Your God-Given Potential to start designing your dream life today.
