5 Things That Are Stopping You From Chasing Your Dreams & Becoming Successful

Anyone is capable of achieving anything they set their mind to, but what is stopping you from chasing your dreams and becoming successful?

If you can imagine it, you can achieve it. If you can dream it, you can become it.

William Arthur Ward

Here is break down of reasons why some people are successful and others are not.

5 Things That Are Stopping You From Chasing Your Dreams & Becoming Successful

Focusing On Others, Not Yourself

Growing up in Uganda, as a kid, you are always compared to others, be it when it came to school sports or class grades. My success in those areas where relative to my siblings, the best performing kid in school, or the neighbors’ kid we met on the playground.

My parents always wanted my siblings and me to be competitive, which many African kids can relate to.  

Fast-forward to today; we are in the Era of social media, where Instagram or Facebook friends are popping champagne on yachts in Greece, buying new luxury cars, or moved into expensive houses. Naturally, the brain is drawn to idolizing your friend’s life or even wanting the kind of life they have.

So here you are, commenting on someone’s Instagram post with “body goals, relationship goals, and lifestyle goals.

When instead, you should be asking them how they got to where they are now.

It’s like driving a car on a highway, all of a sudden, another car pulls up next to you, speeding, and you decide to chase after it.

News Flash!  This other person driving does not know you, neither do you know them.  Stay in your lane and focus on what is in front of you before you crush as you try to cross over in someone’s lane.

Focusing on others is stopping you from Chasing your dreams & becoming Successful.

There is nothing wrong with admiring the best things in life, but what stops you from chasing your dreams & becoming Successful is comparing your life to others.

Then starting to live like them without knowing their financial status, background, and how many hours of work they are put in.

We forget that in life, there will always be friends, cousins, brothers, sisters, nieces, or nephews out there who seem to have more money, a better job, and living the life that you feel you should have. Still, you don’t know their daily struggles, fears, sleepless nights, effort, or whatever they are doing to get the material things they have.  You only get to see the images they want to be portrayed.

We each have struggles, fears, and we make mistakes.

Becoming successful doesn’t happen in one day.

Someone could have worked ten years behind the scene, but you are just now seeing the fruits of their work.

If your goal is to run a prosperous business, start reading about how entrepreneurs got their companies to the top and what they did.

Use Social media as a tool to seek out people you look up to and learn from them. Use their success as a guide that you could follow.

Doubting Yourself & Excuses

Another thing that might be stopping you from chasing your dreams & becoming successful is self-doubt.

I’m too tired to go to the gym; I can’t get a job in that company because I am not qualified. I will not go to college because I can’t afford that! I don’t want to start dating again because I don’t have time.

How many times have you doubted yourself this year?  And how many of us have used these excuses before?

Successful people do not doubt themselves and do not use excuses not to do something. 

According to this Harvard Business article, without an awareness of where have room for growth, it’s almost impossible to improve your performance progress in your career.

Instead, ask yourself, how can I do it?  Asking yourself this question will provide you with options of how far you can go, and will help you look at whatever you are avoiding as an investment for the future.

If you don’t have money to go to college, then how can you get the money? Do you need a second job; can you apply for financial aid or scholarships?

If you are not qualified for the job you want, then how do you get those qualifications? Do you need more work experience, a certificate in something?

Trust me; there is always a way to do something; we choose not to find other ways.

Remember, nothing good comes easy.

Do not let self-doubt come in the way of chasing your dreams & becoming successful.

If I had let in self-doubt, there is no way you would be reading this blog because I had no clue what I was doing when I started writing.

I had no idea what a niche was! I had zero experience in Webhosting. But I made it a goal of mine two years ago, and I was determined to use free online courses and resources to figure it out. I still have a lot to learn, but I choose to find ways and not give up altogether.

Fear Of Success

Research shows that when you fear success, you are worried that other people will be jealous, start exploiting you, and maybe reject you for becoming successful.

While all these reasons are valid, regardless if you are successful or not, there will be someone out there who might be jealous of you, and there will be people who might exploit you for the little they think you have.

If you are sitting back on your creativity and not performing to your best because of the fear of what others might say or do when you start chasing your dreams and becoming successful, you are sabotaging yourself.

You are deserving and worthy of all the success you can achieve.

Related Post: Tips On How To Be Successful

Defining Your Comfort Zone

There was a point in my life when I got too comfortable with where I was in life.

I was in a relationship well, knowing it was leading nowhere, but because I was used to this person’s behaviors. I felt that he was the best for me at that moment. I decided to sit back, hoping the relation would fix itself.

Of Course, as you might have guessed, I am no longer with that individual. I decided to be uncomfortable, break it off, and move on.  Fast forward to today, I am in the best relationship I could ever wish for.

I am also a naturally shy person, and interacting with people in a new environment is kind of scary to me.

I chose to improve my communication skills by starting conversations with new people at parties, weddings, or social events at work.  It is not something I enjoy, but I push myself to talk to 2 new people because you never know what connections you will build.

That person might be your key to a new job, a new business idea, or the start of a good friendship. Furthermore, if you stay in your comfort zone, you stop yourself from Chasing your dreams & becoming Successful.

The lesson here is sometimes we get too conformable, yet we are capable of more.

Don’t be complacent and keep striving for better relationships or better job prospects and meaningful connections.

Your financial future depends on it.

Having A Poor Man’s Mindset

A poor man’s mindset is living paycheck to paycheck.

One example is having one financial goal: having enough money to pay the bills, having food on the table, affording housing, and basic needs.

So if your goal is to have enough to pay the bills, that’s exactly how much you’ll get. There will not be any money left for you to be chasing your dreams & becoming Successful.

Suppose you have a poor man’s mentality. In that case, you are spending most of your disposable income paying for essentials or spending it on materialistic items.

On the other side, successful people have a big goal of having generational wealth and financial independence—money is used as a wealth-building tool.

There is so much you can do with your money and watch it grow. But with a poor man’s mindset, investing is seen as a waste of time and money.

If you don’t change your mindset, money will not make you happy. It would be better if you had a strong vision and purpose before you start chasing your dreams & becoming Successful.

A Note From Explore & Dream Big

Anyone can have big dreams but it takes determination and consistency to become successful. So take time to define what success means to you, and wake up each day focused on the good happening in your life.

Remember, life will always bring you the ups and downs but if you dig deeper within you, there is strength to change where life takes you.