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10 Things Holding You Back And How to Take Control of Them

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It’s no secret that we all have far more potential than we could ever imagine. Well, it may be a secret for some. Why is it then, that so many people never get where they want to go in life? Why do so many lack simply being able to visualize what they want their life to look like? It’s because they’ve been held down. We all have things holding us back to some degree and often we’re completely unaware of many of these things. The great thing about being human is that we have the ability to control our circumstances and create change, which is exactly how to break free of the shackles holding you back.

Here are 10 things that can hold you back and how to take back control from them:

1. Dependence

What is a tell-tale sign of someone who is not in control of their life? Dependence. Whether that be dependence on family, friends, or even the government, it is you and only you who is in control of your life. The sooner you realise this, the sooner you reclaim your independence and take back control.

2. Indecisiveness

How many times have you gone to a restaurant, only to be plagued by having to decide on ordering one of the one hundred items on the menu? If you’re like most, chances are you’ll take 15 minutes before making up your mind. Even then, you might still question your decision! 

The most successful people in the world make decisions fast. Develop your decision making muscles by being conscious every time you have to make one – think fast and trust your gut.

“The way to develop decisiveness is to start right where you are, with the very next question you face.” – Napoleon Hill

3. Friends & Family

Oftentimes it’s the thing we least suspect that’s holding us back the most. One of the biggest factors of people not succeeding is friends and family. Whether it be their own limiting beliefs, negativity or lack of belief in you, it is critical to distance yourself from anyone or anything that will bring you down. Sometimes you have to be ruthless about this, because you’d rather cut someone out of your life, than be stuck in the hamster wheel forever with them.

4. Lack of Discipline

Will Smith notably stated that “self-discipline is at the centre of any kind of material success in the world” – which I 100% believe to be true. Are you waking up on time? Are you exercising? Are you eating the right foods and going to bed on time? If the answer to any of them is no, then you’re holding yourself back. Fortunately, discipline is transferrable and by taking more control of discipline in one area of your life, you will be able to bring it across to others.

5. Your Phone

On average, people check their phones every 12 minutes, which is quite disturbing when you really think about it. Our phones are perhaps the greatest hindrance of them all, as we have them on us at almost all times.

The fastest and easiest way to take control of your phone usage is to set your intentions. Remind yourself to only use your phone for important tasks, and to turn it off when you don’t need it. The less time you waste on your phone, the more success you’ll be able to achieve.

6. Social Conditioning

Now this one isn’t really our fault – we are all conditioned by society and its expectations from a young age. As our journey of growth continues however, it is necessary to break free from the chains holding us down. It’s far too easy to fall back into these patterns of self-doubt and lack of self-worth that are imposed upon us, which is why it is vital to practice discipline in this area daily. Whether it be through affirmations, visualisation, or meditation, we must only feed our minds with information that will help us grow.  

7. Vices

If you’re a human being, then there’s a strong chance you have some kind of vice. Whether it be alcohol, binge watching TV, pornography or excessive eating. These are the things we know are bad, but they somehow continue to draw us in. We become addicted to the dopamine rush the vices provide us, except we’re usually left feeling down and depleted. 

I’m a big believer in removing anything in my environment that will hold me back. Whether that be turning the TV off at the power, blocking certain websites or not keeping bad foods in the house. Our willpower is limited, which is why we need to make it as easy as possible to steer clear of our vices.

8. Fear

Some of the biggest fears that most people experience fall into these three categories; fear of failure, fear of rejection and fear of embarrassment. I like to refer to fear as ‘False Evidence Appearing Real’, to which I analyse and make the choice to no longer acknowledge it as real. A great way to break out of certain fears is to remind yourself that one day, you will die – and all those decisions and things you did, or didn’t do, will no longer matter.

“You’ll always miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” – Wayne Gretzky 

9. Lack of Awareness

Self-awareness is one of the biggest keys to happiness, purpose, and fulfillment. From my own personal experiences, I realised I lacked awareness for a long time – who I was, what I wanted to do, and what was possible for me. It wasn’t until I began to implement deep work on myself that I began to develop my self-awareness. This truly helped me regain control of my life and see exactly who I was along with who I wanted to be. 

See yourself from the outside, looking in. Take a step back and reflect upon your actions, who you are, and what you want to be. 

10. Perspective

Perception is reality, for some at least. Everything we experience in our own lives comes down to our perception of it. What often separates those who succeed from those who fail, is their perception. Some perceive failures as the be-all-end-all, while others see it as an opportunity to learn and know what to do next time. 

Viktor Frankl, a well-known survivor of the holocaust is someone who we can learn from. Frankl was able to control his perception of everything that was happening, allowing him to remain in as positive a frame of mind as you possibly could in the circumstances he faced.

Your mind is the most powerful thing on earth – and what life boils down to is just that. If you can control your mind, you control your circumstances. There is real power behind positive thinking. Refer back to these 10 tips if you are ever doubting yourself or simply aren’t sure what’s currently holding you back.

What’s currently holding you back in your life? Is there anyway we can be of service to you? Let us know below!

Lewis Schenk is an Australian-based Entrepreneur, Writer, and PR Consultant. His work has been recognized by Buzzfeed, International Business Times, and Thrive Global. Lewis is passionate about sharing empowering stories from people around the world, particularly those in entrepreneurship & business. He has been privileged to work with over 150 business owners and entrepreneurs in 2020 alone, helping them grow their brands and online presence.

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Success Advice

The Courage to Break Free: Finding Purpose Beyond the Paycheck

Sold all my stuff and headed south. Again. Car? Gone. Furniture? Gone. Storage unit? Nope.

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Breaking free
Image Credit: Midjourney

Sold all my stuff and headed south. Again. Car? Gone. Furniture? Gone. Storage unit? Nope. I’m down to what fits in one suitcase (plus a closet in my mom’s house—shoutout moms). (more…)

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Success Advice

Is Failing Really That Important? Here’s the Truth

Failure makes people flexible, receptive, and more accommodating. 

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Importance of failure
Image Credit: Midjourney

Facing failure and criticism is the most challenging task for any human being. Everyone loves success and hates failure. (more…)

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Success Advice

Why You Shouldn’t Discount A Brick And Mortar Store In 2025

We’re constantly told about how stores are closing down and how shoppers prefer online options, but is it worth questioning this theory?

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How to grow a brick and mortar store
Image Credit: Midjourney

In 2024, you’d be forgiven for thinking that physical shopping is a thing of the past. We’re constantly told about how stores are closing down and how shoppers prefer online options. But is it worth questioning this theory? (more…)

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Success Advice

How to Alter Your Business Approach With Technological Advancements

Keeping up with technological trends has become a challenge for almost every business owner.

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altering business approach
Image Credit: Midjourney

Technology’s evolution has impacted everything, and business is no exception. Keeping up with technological trends has become a challenge for almost every business owner. Entrepreneurs unable to do so are being wiped out of the market.

There is no doubt that AI (Artificial Intelligence) and ML (Machine Learning) have taken over the business world. These technological advancements are impacting decision-making, success percentages, and other entrepreneurial aspects.

Adapting to these developments is integral to business success. Let’s explore how you can accomplish these milestones.

Embed the strength of AI and ML.

AI has modified business operations in major ways. For instance, companies have employed bots for customer support. These bots go through an effective learning process via Machine Learning before being able to answer like humans.  

According to CyberGhost (CG) bots can also perform detailed data analytics and make business moves with high success percentages.

ML is used more for the analysis of data chunks and generating successful predictions. This simply means that business owners do not have to worry about large-scale financial losses. 

In terms of deployment and usage, a reputed company like Netflix employs machine learning for decision-making.

Blockchain is increasing the count of business opportunities

Tampering of financial transactions is quite common and causes severe monetary damage to customers. With the rise of digital payments, this risk has increased. 

Blockchain is used to elevate your experience for monetary transfers. It combats penetrating events to extract confidential customer information. 

Most business sectors are using block chain but finance and supply chain management sections have a higher count. These two corporate sections have several monetary deposits and withdrawals taking place. 

In terms of percentage, approximately 72% and 5% of finance and supply chain firms have implemented block chain successfully.

Dedicate Yourself to Continuous Learning and Individual Development

You invest in learning some of the very important skills, including digital marketing, financial management, and how to gain customers as an entrepreneur.

You need to set up your knowledge base about doing business on Coursera and Udemy with the basics that are necessary for the business, building further by networking with experts through webinars.

Besides, Agile methodology will introduce elasticity to your company: this review and feedback system with further correction regularly will allow for enhancing efficiency and promptly reacting to the market.

Developing key skills to achieve goals

Running a business successfully is not only about having niche/domain knowledge. Business owners need to have communication / soft skills as well in addition to niche information.

Here are some key technical/domain-related areas that business owners should have a strong grip on.

Data Storage on Cloud: These days, companies do not store their data on physical servers. Therefore business owners should know how data is stored/edited/removed/updated via AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and other platforms.

Data Analysis/Interpretation Qualities: These days, data is as precious as gold. Business owners with data analysis abilities make correct predictions. As a result, their ventures grow in volume.

Development/Coding Knowledge

Programming knowledge gives business owners an edge whether the application is developed in-house or outsourced. It assists in getting updates deployed and handling application underperformance without getting professional support every time.

Hacking proof framework

There is no benefit of having an advanced automated system if can be penetrated. Successful business owners have above-average knowledge of cyber security and hacking attempts. They are able to choose top-notch anti-hacking software without much of an ambiguity.

Communication Abilities/Soft Skills

Here are some key communication qualities that business owners should have:

Communication/Conversation: Business owners should use to-the-point sentences in both written and oral communication.

Issue Resolution Abilities: Business owners should be able to drill down to problems and solve them. This is done successfully only if an entrepreneur has in-depth business domain knowledge.

Agile Implementations

It is mandatory for business owners to have knowledge of iterative/agile models. With such a competitive environment, it is impossible for business owners to succeed without adopting an agile framework.

Create a productive well-crafted Business Strategy

A productive business venture starts with a clear vision. The first factor making a business successful is the idea behind it. It helps with endless growth and combating competition successfully. Katherine Philips once mentioned that business goals are inevitable if goals are set concretely.

  • Goals should be based on smart achievements instead of complexity. Focus on the value that each one of them adds. 
  • Business objectives should not be vague. Key indicators should be constructed to measure the success/failure of each milestone.
  • Be realistic when setting goals. Do not aim at impossible milestones since they can be demotivating.
  • Milestones/goals need to be time-bound. Set a completion deadline for each one of them. 
  • Business goals should not be alien. Owners can think out of the box but not be obsolete / unrelated.

Create a productive well-crafted Business Strategy

Business owners cannot succeed without having a network. Some tips help in this case. Attend conferences and professional gatherings to connect with other entrepreneurs.
Here are some other related points business owners should pay attention to.

  • Attend meetings and conferences to stay updated with trends and meet business owners who already have well-set ventures. This helps in enhancing the learning curve of new / growing entrepreneurs.
  • Being a part of business communities/groups is very productive. When one shares opinions and discusses decision-making tactics, it helps in preventing errors and enhancing success rate.
  • Even the most experienced business owners have mentors as learning never stops. Take part in mentorship programs so there is an assurance that you are following the correct roadmap.

Conclusion

There is absolutely no doubt that business dimensions have evolved with technological advancements. Successful entrepreneurs have grabbed these changes in due course of time and continue to evolve. On the other hand, people following old paths and conventional steps fade out of competition. In a nutshell, keep an eye on the processes and practices you follow as these factors decide success rate.

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