If you are not being as successful in life as you would like then it is time to stop and analyse the situation so that you can overcome the barriers.

Step 1 is to identify the barrier. What is it that is stopping you from being successful? What is the problem? This is the diagnostic stage. You are reviewing what is going well and went wrong? What could be better? Spend time analysing your current situation to understand what is limiting your success. What barriers do you need to overcome?

Step 2 Once you have identified the root of your problem you can decide what to do next to improve the situation. It is best to go back to your original goal at this stage and clarify what it is that you want to achieve. Begin with the end in mind and visualise your self having achieved your goal. What does it look like, sound like and feel like to achieve your goal? What did you have to do to overcome the barriers that you are now facing?

Then ask yourself on a scale of 1 to 10 how much do you really want to achieve this goal? If it is not at 10 then you need to look at what you need to do to be at 10.

Tips for overcoming internal barriers i.e. the ones you place on yourself. These are the easiest to overcome as you are in control of your own thoughts and emotions. Where other people are the perceived barrier then you are not in total control, you can only influence the situation. I look at external barriers to success in another article.

Fear is a major barrier to your success and often treated as a negative emotion and one not to admit to. I encourage you to get curious about the fear and ask what is it telling you. What is not right yet? What do you need to do? By doing this you turn a negative into a positive and so overcome the barrier.

Lack of motivation normally means that your goal is not sufficiently compelling. You do not have a strong enough reason why you want to achieve the goal. Go back to visualising your goal.

Resistance to taking action is linked to fear in that you need to get curious about your reason for feeling hesitant or resistant. What is it telling you?

A lack of certainty or clarity about your direction can mean that the end goal is unclear or you have not worked out the next step. Go back to visualising the goal and wait until it becomes clear and you feel certain about your next step.

A lack of self-belief and confidence can be overcome by personal development. There are a myriad of options available such as self-help books, training courses, one to one coaching and on-line learning programmes.

If you are the sort of person who likes to do everything yourself you need to consider your time management, organisation and prioritisation skills. Trust could also be an issue if you find it hard to delegate tasks. You need to think in terms of the value of your time. Are there some tasks or activities that it would be better to give to someone else so that you can concentrate on the most important tasks?

Making assumptions can get you into hot water particularly if these assumptions are mixed with personal prejudice. Improve your decision making by gathering facts and evidence, doing research as much as possible before making the final decision. Be aware of any prejudices and thoughts that you have about other people that are based on first impressions or incorrect assumptions.

Step 3 Once you have identified the root of the problem and the best solution to improve the situation it is time to act. Decide what you are going to do and when. Then do it!

When you want success enough you will find a way to overcome the barrier either by removing it, getting over or around it.

Noelyne Jones