Personal Barriers and Creative Ways to Overcome Them

• Lack of Confidence – The key to your success lies as much in your confidence as in your skills. Resist every temptation to put yourself down.  Draw on your past successes and innate abilities to get your confidence back up.

• Your Image – Yes it matters, a lot. Find ways to improve your own self-image, starting with hygiene.  Your image also affects your confidence.  No need to be fancy.  Just be presentable.

• Fear of Rejection – Here’s a fun fact: You will be rejected more times that you will be accepted.  It’s not your fault – it’s a fact of life.  Every meeting, every interaction is an opportunity to learn and improve. Learn from your mistakes and improve your approach.

• Mismatch of Your Skills and Job Requirements – Compare your “I want” list to the employer’s “we want” list. If it seems right, grab the opportunity with both hands.

• Lack of Information – talk to people who are currently doing the job. Find out what the job feels like from the inside.  Google is also your friend – use it.

• The Power of Focus – if you focus on the things you fear, you give them power over you. Think positively, expect the best and tackle the challenges life throws at you.  Be the best version of yourself every minute of every day.

• No Goals – start setting goals. Write them down.  Start small and you will see massive results before you know it.

• Commitment - Decide what you really want. Take steps every day to move closer to your goals.  Develop supportive habits and follow through one step at a time.

Distinguish between goals and dreams.  “Goals are desires we intend to do something about".  For some people, dreams do become goals when they think creatively and plan properly.

• So, step one is to identify what you want to achieve

• Write it down (if you write it down and forget about it, it’s a waste.)

• Write it and then do something about it.

Take happiness seriously – You, and only you are responsible for your own happiness.

Be true to yourself and your values.  Happiness is what we’re all pursuing in life.  It’s what we all desire.  Money is just a means to happiness.  Do more of the things you love to do and can do well.

• Continuous Personal and professional development – create a learning plan for every year.

• Relationships matter - How well do you know the people in your environment? How well do you get along with other people?

• Adaptability – Be flexible. The world is changing rapidly – don’t get left behind.

Every employer has had a certain amount of experience with both good and bad employees. For this reason, every employer has a pretty good idea of what he or she wants more of. The more of these qualities you nurture, the better your chances will be of surviving and excelling in the modern workplace.