For many people, self-improvement becomes somewhat of a hobby. These people know that by challenging themselves they stand to gain personally, professionally, financially, and spiritually. But why do other people stop trying to improve themselves? With so much to gain, what is it that prevents some folks from moving forward in life? When you get right down to it, there are three major bumps on the road to self-development. You need to know what they are and how to overcome them so you can reach your highest potential.
1. Fear- This one emotion can stop someone before they ever get a chance to begin. Fear comes in many forms. There’s the fear of failure, the fear of rejection, the fear of change, the fear of success. The list goes on and on. Every time you step out of your comfort zone you’re going to feel fear. The problem is that the only way you can grow and improve is by stepping out of your comfort zone! A little fear can be a good thing. It lets you know you’re moving in the right direction.
2. Despair- This little bugger is often a side effect of failure. It’s that feeling that you’re no good, that you can’t do it, and that you were a fool for even trying. Whereas fear prevents people from ever trying, despair prevents people from ever trying again. In order to avoid despair, you need to embrace failure. When you try something new, you need to realize that you’re going to fail at first. In fact, you’ll probably fail a lot! Take these little failures as learning experiences that you can build into great successes! Don’t despair. Every time you fail brings you one step closer to your goal.
3. Fatalism- Fatalism is a way people rationalize despair. After a particularly hard failure you’ll hear people say thinks like, “I guess God just wants me to be a ditch digger.” Or, “This must be my lot in life.” These people see their destiny as fixed. The problem is, if you think your destiny is determined by someone or something else, you’ve lost all power in your life. You’ll never improve because you don’t think anything you do will help. This way of thinking can lead to depression in a hurry. Don’t think for a second that you deserve any less than the very best in life!
The best thing to combat fear, despair, and fatalism is knowledge. The more you analyze a fear, the more you realize how irrational it is. Then the fear loses power over you. The more you know about why you failed, the less likely you are to make the same mistake again. Failures become learning experiences. Finally, if you take time to learn about yourself and think about why you deserve to succeed, you become less and less likely to accept your “lot in life” and demand more.