One reason we do not face our goals is because when we face an unexpected barrier that we’re unsure how to deal with, we shut down. We become discouraged; we make excuses, and we allow ourselves to back off of our original plan. While this is a human and natural tendency, it’s not conducive to success.
An important step that you can take to avoid this barrier blunder is that of carefully planning your goal to include backup plans for all those little “what ifs.”
- “What if I don’t pass the prerequisite course?”
- “What if I don’t get the loan?”
- “What if I run out of time?”
- “What if the marketing doesn’t work?”
- “What if I just don’t feel like it?”
These are all very real barriers that keep us from realizing our life dreams. By planning for them, we greatly improve our chances of succeeding and experience the power of being unstoppable.
What kind of barriers can you preplan?
1. Internal Barriers
Internal barriers include the thoughts you have about your goal, success, and yourself that keep you from being successful. They include your personal fears, motivation, self-esteem, and paradigms.
“What if I just don’t feel like doing my assignment?”
Solution – commit to working on it for at least 15 minutes. Then take a break and come back to it later
“What if my fear of the phone keeps me from following through on my marketing campaign?”
Solution – have a friend help me make phone calls. It might not be so bad if I’m not alone.
“What if I find myself procrastinating?”
Solution – ask a friend to call me every day to remind me to spend a little time on my goal. Work on my goal first thing in the morning to get it done and over with.
2. External Barriers
External barriers include barriers such as money, time, other people’s reactions, resources, and results. We are not in direct control of them, but we can affect how they work and we can still plan around them.
“What if the client turns down my proposal?”
Solution – ask questions to find out why, and resubmit it.
“What if I forget the worksheets?”
Solution – fax a copy to the hotel and get new copies made.
“What if the materials don’t come in on time?”
Solution – pad the timeline and notify the client of this possibility in advance. Realign timeline to work on other projects until the blocks come in.
Practice this technique with even your small, short-term goals. It feels great to know that when a brick wall appears in your path; you have the perfect solution for getting around it and getting back on the road to achievement!
