Does it ever seem like some people in the personal growth arena have lives that started as a bowl of cherries (and then just got better and better)?
The thing is, when you read a little about any of them, you’ll find that they, like everyone else, had to overcome a number of challenges and personal growth barriers to attain success.
Some of the biggest luminaries in the personal development field–folks like Jack Canfield, Lisa Nichols, Tony Robbins, and many more–began on their road to happiness, health, success, and abundance by first overcoming lots of obstacles.
5 of the most common barriers to personal growth and how to get past them
1. Negative Self Talk
This is probably the single most significant barrier to personal development for the majority of people.
We’ve been so inundated from such an early age to focus on what’s not working in our lives or the world, that shifting our thoughts demands vigilance and commitment.
If negative self-talk plagues you, here are two simple things you can do to get past this barrier.
Create a positive self-talk recording
Listen to it every night before sleep. Do this for 90 days, and you’ll see a major shift both in your thought patterns and your ability to catch yourself when you fall back into negative thoughts.
Stop complaining
Choose to look at every annoyance, challenge, or difficulty as a chance to get a better idea of what you really want. Instead of complaining about what is, speak an affirmation of its opposite.
Learn How to Bend Reality and Make the Impossible, Possible in this FREE masterclass>>
2. Lack of Support
If there’s no one around you who even understands or supports your desire for personal growth, it can be pretty discouraging.
Thankfully today, we have so many positive, virtual communities that there’s no need ever to feel alone.
If a lack of support from family and friends is one of your personal growth barriers, you can:
Get more involved with FinerMinds!
Comment on posts you like, offer feedback and encouragement to others who comment here, join our Facebook page and ask us questions.
We’re here because we want to help you overcome barriers to personal growth, and to offer a community for anyone interested in personal development.
Find or found a group in your community
Check library bulletin boards, community events calendars, or meetup.com to find groups that share your common interests near you.
3. No Clear Goals
Until you know what you want, you can’t make a map of how to get there.
Clarify your goals in the key areas of your life: Health, Relationships, Spirituality, Career, Money, and Creativity (at least). By doing this, you will quickly overcome one of the significant personal growth barriers.
If you haven’t done this yet, here are some tips:
Keep a journal
Make sure that several pages dedicated to each area of your life. Take the time to meditate on goals you want to achieve in each area and write them down.
Set key steps you want to take in the next 3, 6, and 12 months to achieve each of the goals.
Affirm your progress
Every time you’ve done something to move a goal forward, write it down in your book, and then honor your achievement with an affirmation or small reward.
4. Playing the ‘Blame Game’
Until you take full and total responsibility for every aspect of your life, your chances for personal growth success will be limited at best.
Blaming anyone or anything (life barriers examples being: parents, kids, spouse, boss, circumstances, even health) might give you a little temporary relief; however, in the long run, it’s disempowering because everyone else has the power to control or limit your dreams.
Here’s what you can do: Umm… stop. ‘Nuf said?
5. “I am my Ego”
This belief that we are our thoughts, that our ego needs always to be right, better-than, more successful than, more beautiful than, less afraid of, etc. etc. has caused more trouble in the world than probably anything else.
Holy wars, famine, community strife, family conflict, disappointment, expectation, and of course, fear… all of it stems from the ego’s insecurities.
What do you do to move beyond your ego? Try these things:
Treat the ego like a tantruming child
Just observe with some compassion and neutrality the non-stop, nonsense chatter of the ego, but don’t ‘own’ or identify with the thoughts.
Learn how to master your ego
Go here some great tips on how to put your ego in its place (and learn about the lies your ego tells you).
Your Turn!
Have we missed anything? What are the biggest barriers to personal growth for you? What, if anything, are you doing to overcome them? Leave a comment and let us know.
