Breaking Through the Glass Ceiling of "Almost" (Part 2 of 2)

In my last entry I discussed how fear/uncertainty and self-sabotage can keep us from achieving success, and how to combat them. Today we will discuss two more obstacles: external oppositions and self-doubt.

• External oppositions: There may be times when you may be working towards achieving a goal, but then "something" happens. That something can be a nay-sayer questioning your strategy, or ability. It can be some unexpected event that causes you to shift your focus, and even question moving forward. These are all external oppositions - peoples actions or events that occur that create a friction against our progress. The way that you handle these oppositions will determine the progress towards your goals.

Solution: Focus less on the problem and more on the solution. By taking your focus off of the issue that is impeding your progress, you free up energy to be able to better solve your problem. Decide on what you want your end result to be, then use your energy to strategize on how to achieve that result.

• Self-doubt: Have you ever thought about doing something, but then decided against it because you weren't sure of your ability to complete the task? If so, then you have experienced self-doubt. If you thought external opposition was bad, internal opposition -self-doubt is even worse. You are your own worst critic. Internally we are all aiming for perfection. As a result, we tend to look for flaws within ourselves, no matter how small. These flaws give us ammunition for aborting our progress, because now we begin to see that flaw as a definite pitfall to achieiving our goal, leading to fear and the self-sabotage of our success.

Solution: There will never be a perfect time, nor will you have all of the information before you take action. The most important thing is to begin taking action. Even small steps are better than none at all. Once you begin moving, the next steps to take will become clearer. Even missteps will help you to learn how to take a better next step.