What Stops You from Going from Mediocre to Great?

What Stops You from Going from Mediocre to Great?

There are many things that can hold you back from becoming great. Sometimes, it’s fear of failure. Other times, it might be a lack of self-confidence, poor self-esteem, or a lack of knowledge or skills. There are also external factors that can hold you back, such as a lack of support from others or an uncooperative environment. 

In this blog post, we will explore what holds people back from becoming great and offer some tips on how to overcome these obstacles!

Fear of Failure

Let’s start with the fear of failure—a common obstacle that holds people back from taking risks and trying new things. This is most probably some sort of evolutionary mechanism to keep us safe (if you watched The Croods, you know what I’m talking about).

But in today’s society, this fear is often irrational and all it does is stop us from doing things that could potentially improve our lives. 

So how do you overcome the fear of failure? Start with small steps. Don’t try to take on too much at once. Start with something that you know you can accomplish. Build up your confidence little by little and before you know it, you’ll be ready to take on bigger challenges! For instance, I was terrified of doing talking-head videos, so I started by recording only slideshows with my voiceover. Once I got used to that, I began adding b-rolls that occasionally cut to me briefly. And finally, I started recording myself on camera. It was a slow and gradual process—it took about two years before I was comfortable enough to do regular, on-camera videos—but it worked!

Lack of Self-Confidence

Another common obstacle is a lack of self-confidence, which usually walks hand in hand with the fear of failure. If you don’t believe in yourself, it’s going to be very difficult to accomplish anything. So how do you increase your self-confidence? The recipe is actually quite simple: practice, practice, practice! The more you do something, the better you’ll become at it and the more confident you’ll feel. Now, there’s something that could prevent you from practicing: perfectionism. 

Perfectionism is the enemy of progress. If you’re constantly striving for perfection, you’ll never get anything done because you’re always going to find something that needs to be improved. So how do you overcome perfectionism? Set realistic goals and give yourself permission to make mistakes. Remember that progress, not perfection, is the goal.

Lack of Knowledge/Skills

Another common obstacle is a lack of knowledge or skills. If you don’t know how to do something, it can be very discouraging. Yet this is probably the easiest obstacle to overcome. All you need is to put in the time to learn what you need to know. Although our world is messed up in many ways, the internet is definitely a blessing when it comes to education and self-improvement. Now it’s easier than ever to find helpful information online, so take advantage of that! 

For example, a couple of days ago I realized how rusty my calculus skills had become. So I went on YouTube and found a great channel called TabletClass Math that offers math lessons. Watching a few videos and doing some practice problems helped me rebuild my calculus synapses. 

Lack of Support from Others / Uncooperative Environment

Last but not least, the last obstacle I’ll mention is a lack of support from others. This one can be tricky because you can’t control how other people act or what they say. But you can control how you react to them and what you say. 

If you’re constantly surrounded by people who bring you down or don’t believe in you, it’s going to be very difficult to stay motivated and focused on your goals. So try to distance yourself from these negative influences as much as possible. Instead, try and surround yourself with people who will support you and who believe in you.

In 2015 I was driving to work and listening to a motivational podcast. I think it was Entrepreneurs on Fire by John Lee Dumas. 

Anyways, the guest on that episode was talking about how he had just quit his job to pursue his dream of being a professional photographer. And he said something that really resonated with me: “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” He quoted Jim Rohn, who said that back in the 1980s. 

This really got me thinking. And I realized the bitter truth: I was surrounding myself with a lot of negative, unhappy people. So I decided to make a change. A pretty drastic change, actually. I left my job, got rid of most of my possessions, and moved to Tibet. Just kidding about the last part. But I did quit my job and simplify my life. 

Taking the leap helped me distance myself from all the negativity in my life. And it allowed me to focus on becoming a better person. If you want to make a change in your life, don’t be afraid to take some risks. You might just surprise yourself with what you’re capable of.

So there you have it: the main things that might be holding you back from going from mediocre to great. 

But don’t let them stop you! You have the power to overcome them. Just keep moving forward and don’t give up on your dreams. 

Thanks for reading. 🙂