If something’s not going as well as you’d like it to with your business the first step is usually to look deeper into it to establish what that something might be. However, what many business owners often don’t anticipate is that they could be the source of their own issues. From the wrong mindset to bad working practices or approaching the situation like you’re still working for someone else, there are many ways in which you could be getting in your own way when it comes to the business.
Dreaming too small
It’s always good to be realistic, especially when you’re first starting out in business. However, there is always a danger that you’re dreaming too small when trying to apply the ‘realism’ filter – and this often holds business owners back. For example, you may believe that there is too much time/effort or resources involved in achieving the level of profit that you’d really like for your business and so you don’t aim for it. If your goals are too tame then you could be restricting growth.
Self-sabotage to stay stuck
All of us self-sabotage sometimes but this can be very dangerous in a business context because it can seriously hamper growth. You might be creating the most impressive plans and positive goals but when it comes to putting these into action you’re just not getting there. Self-sabotage is basically colluding with yourself to justify doing – or not doing – something so as to avoid reaching your true potential. It may sound like something that no ambitious business owner would ever want to do but the reality is that many of us don’t even realise we’re doing it. There could be any number of reasons for self-sabotage, from fear of success to fear of failure.
How to get out of your own way in a few simple steps
- Ask yourself what you might be doing to self-sabotage – and why. Often all it takes is identifying the issue for the obstacle to dissolve.
- Take it one step at a time. If you have ambitious plans that are overwhelming you just remember to take it one step at a time. You don’t need to achieve everything in one day – every journey starts with a single step.
- Just do it. You will always be able to find reasons not to do something but your reasoning may not always be correct. Sometimes you just have to take the leap and get started.
- Reset your view of failure. The fear of failure can undermine even the most confident of business owners. As failure is inevitable at some point for anyone putting themselves out there, change the way you view it. Instead of a loss look at failure as a chance to learn and grow.
It can be a shock to realise that the one thing standing in your way is actually you – but this is also the first step towards moving past whatever is holding you back.
