Just about everyone has aspirations, but not everyone turns their aspirations into reality. Introverts are no exception to this and you may have a few unrealised aspirations too. What are the reasons you tell yourself late at night that you can’t turn your aspirations into reality? These reasons are beliefs that you have, but that doesn’t mean they are valid reasons as to why you can’t achieve your goals.
As an introvert, you have unique strengths that can help you succeed. But the road to your success is paved with obstacles — some internal and others external.
Here are some beliefs that may be holding you back:
- Not Enough Time
Everyone is busy these days. When someone asks how you are doing, you probably respond with “Busy.” But that might not be the truth. Everyone has the same twenty-four hours in the day.
For a week or maybe two, keep a record of how you spend your time. This includes sleeping, preparing and eating meals, social media, watching tv, getting ready for work, cleaning your house etc.
The problem is that we all tend to get caught up in the routine of life. We can get so busy with the many things in our lives that we don’t even realise how much time we spend on them. But if you look closely, it’s likely that you will discover you do have some time you could use more wisely. It’s just that until you check you’re activity you don’t know how much time you waste on less productive activities.
Take a good look at your findings, be honest with yourself and you might realise you have more time than you believed you had to work on turning your aspirations into reality.
- I’m Not Naturally Good At ‘X’
It doesn’t matter if you want be more decisive in your leadership or develop the skills needed to help your team grow in their roles, you have as much talent as you are willing to work for.
It could be argued that natural talent makes things easier and more enjoyable but even though you may not have been born with for example natural relationship building talent, it doesn’t mean you can’t learn and practice it well.
It is important for you to take charge of your own success and your own destiny. You don’t have to wait for the situation, talent or anything else to be perfect. Believing you’re not naturally good at ‘X’ will only hold you back.
- After I’ve done ‘X’ I Will Get On With ‘Y’
“Once I get through this project, I’ll start focusing on my own development.” “After I move office, I will tackle the the team’s attendance issues.” Why are you waiting? Maybe that personal / professional development will help you work through the stress of that project at work. Perhaps dealing with your team’s absence issues will provide the clean sheet your office move needs to make a great new start. “Procrastination is the thief of time” so if you have a goal, don’t procrastinate, get on with it now.
- I’m Not Good Enough
What evaluation process are you using to measure your “good enough”? You are always good enough to pursue your own goals. If this is an internal dialogue, then you need to work on believing in yourself first. If this belief is coming from external sources, then consider those sources and why they are holding you back.
i. Be patient with yourself. Don’t make it a race. Patience allows you to stay focused on your goals and helps you to develop good habits.
ii. Get to know your strengths – the things that energise you and that you’re naturally good – celebrate and strengthen them – use them to achieve your potential.
- It’s easy for them
Don’t judge a book by it’s cover. The grass is greener where you water it. Walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. There are many sayings that sum up that we really don’t know what someone else is going through. So don’t assume that someone has it easier, and therefore can achieve their goals more easily than you can. That person may be thinking the exact same thing because they see your strengths better than their own.
Avoid comparisons to others and their achievements. It’s your choice to start something and important to recognise that it can take time and patience to achieve your goal.
Self-limiting beliefs can be a slippery slope. They can also keep you from even trying to reach your goals. Take time to examine your reasoning and come up with better beliefs to oppose the negative ones.
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Photo by benjamin lehman on Unsplash