One of the biggest problems people have in achieving their Goals is that they get discouraged, distracted or diverted from the end result. Given the level of cultural noise most of us experience today, it can be extremely difficult to focus on what needs to be done. I speak from experience here. I find myself torn in multiple directions, less because I’m trying to do than having legitimate responsibilities that pop up.
So, how do we handle these situations? For many of us we try to power through what’s going on. We try to get it all done in the same time it would take to do a quarter of what’s landed on our plates. We try to go it alone. We work long hours and become exhausted, unable to get anything done, much less all of it.
In these situations the common factor is often that we’re working alone. We’re working on our Goals alone. We’re working on our responsibilities alone. We’re working on the solutions alone. That’s one of the worst things we can do, even if we don’t have any extra stuff competing for our attention.
Here’s three reasons why working alone kills your Success.
- You have no support system. Working on your Goals without outside support or help keeps means you’re subject to all the ups and downs and emotional insecurities without someone to keep you grounded. Some people can handle this sort of thing alone, but it’s too easy to get sucked down a path of negative thoughts and paralyzing fear. Unless you have someone else to support you.
- You have no one to hold you accountable. Success is often made up of small, consistent daily actions that you keep on doing, day after day and week after week. When something happens to discourage you, it’s easy to skip those daily actions today. It’s easy to sleep in. It’s easy to take a few days off to get away from the stress. On their own, none of these things are enough to kill your Success. What kills it is not getting back in the saddle after that break. It’s too easy to let the break become the norm, not the exception. If you have someone that holds you accountable for your daily actions, it’s harder to disappoint them than accept it in yourself.
- You have no one to bounce ideas off of. You might think that’s not important. After all, you’ve got your Goals and your Roadmap, You’re ready and motivated. Too often though our plans and ideas have holes because we simply can’t see them. We created them, but we usually only see the positives that go with or result from these plans and ideas. Someone who’s a sounding board for you will often see what you can’t. They’re not emotionally invested and they often bring a different life experience when looking at your plans. That sort of experience is invaluable when you’re getting started. It helps you to avoid problems that would otherwise delay or entirely derail your plans and future Success.
Do you see what these have in common with most people’s regular lives? Unless you’re a hermit or a desert monk, you’re normally surrounded by people who support you, hold you accountable and will help you with your ideas. If you’re in a marriage, then it’s most likely your spouse. If you work at a regular job, it’s your boss and co-workers. If you’re in school, it’s your teachers, professors and fellow students. It’s everywhere we are and everywhere we go.
So, why do we try to achieve our Goals by ourselves so often? For many it’s probably fear. We’re afraid our ideas will be stolen. We’re afraid others will try to hold us back. We’re afraid we’ll be laughed at or ridiculed for what we’re trying to do. This can bleed over to our regular lives too, but for the most part, we don’t work on our marriage, family or job by ourselves. We recognize that we’re part of a larger whole and need help from others.
