6 Damaging Habits That Successful People Avoid

6 Damaging Habits That Successful People Avoid If youre frustrated and flummoxed by your inability to finish a projector to start oneyoure not alone. Even the most hardworking and skilled people sometimes struggle to reach their goals.What makes success so difficult? Below, leadership and career coach Jen Baggett, CPCC, ACC, the owner of Cumming, GA-based Catchlight Consulting, LLC, discusses how would-be achievers unwittingly sabotage their own effortsand how to get back on trackDamaging habit 1 seeking perfectionOne of the biggest ways I see clients hurt their efforts to be successful isby trying too hard to make something perfect, Baggett says.They spend so much time trying to get it just right, or overanalyzing every move, that they get stuck and end up not doinganything. Trying to get it perfect ends up paralyzing them. What they dont realize is that perfection prevents progress, and progress, however imperfect, is betterthan staying where they are.Damaging habit 2 letting fear get in the wayUsually when someone is on the verge ofsomething big in their life is whenthe fear rears its ugly head.What people dont realize is that fear, that little voice in their head telling them all the things that can go wrong, is trying to keep them safe and small.When they give in to the fear, it keeps them exactly where they are. However, Whenthey run towards the fear, when they do the very thing that terrifies them, success is usually just past that fear.Damaging habit 3 not asking for feedbackThere are a lot of reasons why people dont ask for feedback (for instance, fear, or they think they know what other people think), but the end result is they dont know if what they are doing is actually working, Baggett points out.Feedback helps you realize what you are doing well, what your opportunities for improvement are, and it shows that you care about improving.Damaging habit 4 umgebung unrealistic goals.If its unrealistic, you arent going to hit it, yourconfidence is going to take a hit, andyoure more likely to give up. Instead, set small, specific goals and take action, over andover again.Realistic goals are those that can actually be achieved in the timeframe youve set for yourself, Baggett explains. For example, if you want to be promoted, it would be unrealistic to think that you would be promoted the day after you started a new job.Damaging habit 5 not understanding the reason(s) behind your goalsIts notenough to say, I want to lose weight. You have to understand why you want to lose weight, Baggett says. So if you know you that want todrop a few pounds in order to keep up with your track star kid, then youll also know how to motivate yourself by thinking about all the runs youll go on with your daughter, for instance. Yourwhy will keep you on track.Damaging habit 6 schauplatz too many goals. When I was working in talent management in human resources I would seeemployees with 8 to 10 goals that they wanted to hit in a year. It was nuts, recalls B aggett. There was no way they were going to accomplish everything, and they ended up all over the place.Pick two to three goals to work on at a time.It keeps your focus sharp and prevents you from spreadingyourself too thin.Plus, two more ways to improve your odds of success Build in accountability. People play differently when someone is keeping score, Baggett points out.Have an accountability buddy or a coach or mentor to hold you accountable for what you said you were going to do. Just do it. Stop thinking about it and making excuses, and just move.I love the prozentsatz from Amelia Earhart The mosteffective way to do it is to do it. Baggett also recommends the book The 5 Second Rule by Mel Robbins.--Elizabeth Michaelson Monaghan is a writer and editor whose work has appeared inCity Limits,Paste,Library Journal, and other titles. She lives in New York City with her husband, son, and many toy trucks.