If your career isn’t taking off, unfolding or progressing how you want it to we can start to wonder why and doubt ourself. Usually it is not intelligence, it can be being in the wrong profession or business or a lack of clarity about where we want to be. Other than that a big thing that slows us down is our mind set and psychology. Here are 6 of the most common things that hold us back.
1 You lack clarity
If you are not sure if you are in the right career or job, it make it very hard to progress, after all what is the point of moving forward, if you are not sure if you are moving in the right direction? This lack of clarity can be an energy drain too. Feeling like we are in the wrong place can rob us of focus on what we are doing so that we focus more of the challenge of finding something we feel would be right for us rather than the job at hand. It can also prevent us from knowing where to start if we are wanting to find a new job or are in between jobs. If this is you, go and talk to a career coach, work out as quickly as possible where would be a better fit for you and then change direction. This is important because fulfilment in your career is about being in the right arena; if you are doing a job you aren’t suited to or that make you miserable, it’s a recipe for unhappiness.
2 You are not coming from a place of strength
Feeling a lack of confidence in yourself or your abilities can really hold us back at work or in our business. We have all had triumphs and failures, choosing to focus on our successes: where we’ve done well, our strengths and what is great about us helps us feel more secure, motivated and able to move forward in our career with more ease. When we feel positive about ourselves and know our value, we are likely to feel happier and more confident too. With this inner confidence, it’s easier for other people to help you, easier to get ahead, easier to attract opportunities and easier to create the life that you want.
3 You’ve taken your eye off your why
Building a successful career takes a lot of effort; we need to keep ourselves motivated for the long term. You have to really want it so you can find a way to get through it. A great way to stay motivated is to remember our why – why is it that we do what we do. Many companies have a mission statement, why not have a personal mission statement for your career as well? Remembering too the personal reasons why we are building our career can be helpful i.e. so we can become financially independent or so we can go on that great holiday with our partner…
4 Fear
Fear can really prevent us progressing in our career i.e. fear of failure - when you have failed before that it will happen again. Inner negative self-talk can also hold us back – we can give that voice a little too much power. Make sure you keep the inner self talk constructive i.e. Rather than I hope I don’t mess this up; keep it positive like i.e. I can do this. As Henry Ford; said whether “Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right.”
5 You lack focus
You aren’t focused enough or you aren’t focused on the most important things at work i.e. are you focused on being helpful and doing the admin stuff for projects that others are avoiding or are you focused on really doing the things that will fast track your career like taking on that high profile project or offering to lead that new program? Keeping focused on the things that matter most can really make a difference in your career.
6 You aren't hungry or driven enough
Everyone wants the golden ticket. Most people to be successful, but not everyone is prepared to do what they need to do to be successful. Do you have the necessary drive? Are you prepared to work the necessary hours, make the contacts, build the relationships, do what you need to do to have the success that you want?
What do you need to change to move forward in your career?