Stop Getting In Your Own Way
“You can suffer the pain of change or suffer remaining the way you are” — Joyce Meyer
SCOTT Mckain said: “Refusing to change makes you more qualified for a world that no longer exist.” Do you know that Kodak actually invented digital photography in the 1970s, but suppressed it so it wouldn’t harm photographic film sales? The great memories that Kodak represents would never be forgotten; the good old times when we reached for a camera to stop life for a second so as to grab a memory. For decades, Kodak was the face of photography, but it is sympathetic that for over 131 years when it held the world spellbound through photography, the end of things has come for this great company that had filed for bankruptcy.
Kodak was one of the most powerful companies in the world, but its position has been given to another. Such is the fate of any venture, individual or company that resists change.
The tragic end of Kodak is a pointer to the fact that change is an integral part of the evolution of any formidable venture. There are a lot of reasons why Kodak failed, but refusing to adapt to the changing market and not being on the cutting edge of photo-technology is the prime reason. Digital photography took off and Kodak wasn’t ready for it. It could have been the industry leader into the digital age, but it did not want to be the one to pull the lever to bring an end to the film. After over a century of producing traditional film cameras, Kodak has lost its relevance because of its inability to take the lead in moving from producing traditional film cameras to digital technology.
By the time Kodak decided to move from analog to digital, the digital market was already starting its decline. A new technology had emerged and Kodak fought to remain relevant, but “change” gladiators have already won the battle.
Selling off its camera unit, Kodak is now a shadow of itself; it is today bankrupt because it was too comfortable with its success in the film industry to be opened to the possibilities of digital photography for the future.
How do you get in your own way and hinder your ability to succeed? I have listed out 10 self-sabotaging acts that can ruin any life.
Making Excuses
Champions make adjustments, not excuses. Benjamin Franklin said: “I never knew a man who was good at making excuses who was good at anything else.”
One thing that would consistently get in your way to success is your excuses. You would need to quit making excuses to live a life that you want. People that would make maximum impact in life make minimum excuses. They understand that excuses don’t get things done.
Each time you make excuses, you are empowering your inability to do that thing. There are two things to make in life- it is either you are making excuses or you are making progress. In life, it is impossible to give excuses and still have results. Someone said: “When I lost all my excuses, I found my results.”
Refusing To Change And Adjust
The extent to which you are willing to change is the extent to which you are willing to grow. Albert Einstein said: “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
Change is not only necessary for survival; it is the only evidence of life. Life can only get better with series of change and adjustments. In life, it is either you change or you would be exchanged. Resistance to change is an evidence of insecurity; secure people welcome change. Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible.
The Previous Success
The greatest hindrance to success is not failure; it is the previous success. When you let your previous success get too much into your head, you would sabotage your own effort to push for more.
Our previous success can hinder us from moving to the next level when we become so full of them. Don’t build your future on your previous successes; let them give you more impetus to be more successful. You must continuously work at breaking your own records and not building monuments around them. John C. Maxwell said: “There is nothing noble in being superior to someone else, progress is becoming superior to your previous self.” Our business in life is not to get ahead of others, but to get ahead of ourselves, to break our own records, to outstrip our yesterday by today and to do our work with more force than ever before.
In other to achieve great success, we must develop an infinite capacity to outstrip our previous records.
Not Investing Time And Money In Personal Development
Zig Ziglar said: “You cannot become what you need to be by remaining what you are.” As a personal development coach, I have often said that the greatest hindrance to personal development is personal neglect. Success is about learning to become the person capable of succeeding.
Surrounding Yourself With People That Are Inimical To Your Growth
There are some people that are liabilities to your future. They say if you surround yourself with nine losers, you would soon be the tenth. Do not expect positive things in your life if you surround yourself with negative people, as the wrong people would suck serenity, optimism, tranquility and energy out of you.
We must constantly carry out relationship audit and severe ourselves from toxic and destructive relationships. You have to learn to cut off people that threaten your peace of mind, joy, self-respect and selfworth.
Bad Habits
What would eventually bring a man down from a great height is actually the habit that followed him there. You cannot be a winner with loser’s habits. Successful people are simply those with successful habits.
Habit, if not resisted, soon becomes necessity. You must be intentional about dealing with the bad habits in your life. Conquer your bad habits, lest they eventually conquer you. The habit you don’t cut off would cut your life short.
Wrong Attitude
There is more hope in life for a poor man with the right attitude than a rich man with the wrong attitude. Zig Ziglar said: “A bad attitude is like a flat tire; you can’t go anywhere until you change it.”
No matter how buoyant you are, staying around someone with bad attitude can significantly bankrupt your life. The greatest liability in life is a bad attitude.
Wrong Words
E. W. Kenyon said: “Almost every man who has climbed to the top of the ladder of success has climbed with words.” Your self-talk is incredibly important. When you wake up early in the morning, before having any conversation with others, speak empowering words into your own life. You start your day full when you start it with positive vibes. It is not what you are going through that defines you, but what you say in what you are going through.
If God cannot change your word, He cannot change your life. What you are going through is temporal, but what you say in what you are going through is permanent. Be wise with words. Be mindful of your words.
Settling For Less
Never settle for less. When you settle for less, you would short-circuit your ability to get more from life. Until you raise the bar of your expectation, you would never become all that God wants you to be.
Michel Angelo said: “The greatest tragedy of life is not that we set high aim and miss it, but that we set low aim and reach it.” I have often said that when you learn how much you are worth, you would stop giving people discounts.
Wrong Thoughts
Henry Ford said: “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you are right.” If you cannot think well, you cannot live well. You cannot change what is going on around you until you start changing what is going on within you. Marianne Williamson said: “You must learn a new way to think before you can master a new way to be.” Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States (US) said: “Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.”
I have come to a diagnostic conclusion that the greatest of all human problems is the attitude problem. Work on your attitude and stop getting in your own way. Start cultivating the attitude that is significant to your destination.