20 Obstacles That Prevent You From Succeeding

One of the greatest lessons to be learned in life is to enjoy good peace of mind. Our mental health dictates all of our actions and reactions. Ideas that drag us down can be great obstacles that prevent us from succeeding in life.

We cling too much on things that bring us down, while the true strength lies in letting go.

We should be brave enough to get rid of thoughts that weight us down. We might have wings, but we'll never fly if we keep the strings attached to the ground. Believe it or not, you're just a ‘click’ away from flying to success. Choose what you really need to focus on.

Here are twenty obstacles that you need to let go of:

1. Attachments: Attachment is one of the causes of all suffering. Do not take pride in your possessions which are of a temporary nature. You have to be grateful to the ‘higher power’ bestowing on you with these possessions instead of taking pride and feel too much attached to them. That should be the priority number one on your list of things to let go of.

2. Guilt: Feeling a deep sense of guilt in your mind will distract positivity. It needs to shun instantly. What could guilt possibly solve? If you think about it, you'll see that it only makes things worse.

3. Self-criticism: A constant fear of self-criticism turns you into a situation of disempowerment. If you are deficient in self-esteem, you're likely to turn to a self-pity mood and suffer mental agony. Remaining inactive is only an instant solution for people who suffer from the risks of self-criticism.

4. Prejudices: A prejudiced mind is another serious mental obstacle that promotes sick feelings, resentment, and becomes a serious roadblock for good relationships. It needs to be shaken off to promote good relationships.

5. Negative thinking: Negativity creates a dark aura that doesn't permit optimism to seep in. Such people always have a jaundiced view of everything, causing all kinds of problems.

6. Compulsive thinking: Learn to avoid compulsive thinking and concentrate on the utility, efficiency, and usefulness of it for long-term relationships.

7. Looking for other’s approval: It kills your initiative and makes you look small in the eyes of other people. A state of inferiority complex sets in then.

8. Grudges: Keeping grudges isn't only a bad habit; it's bad for your health and well-being as well. Research shows that accumulated anger and negative feelings, in general, can cause serious health problems.

9. Limiting beliefs: Some of your beliefs are self-created and self-imposed. You have to retrospect them to arrive at their utility. Just grasp the idea that everything you can imagine is real.

10. Postponing things for tomorrow: Not doing things when they need to be done is a laid-back approach. Time and tide don't wait for anyone. Doing it today rather than tomorrow is always a wise dictum.

11. Anxious thoughts: Those thoughts are borne out of inbuilt worries and anxiety. Distract one goal and determination.

12. Heartbreak: As your heart locks your mind, heart breaks do create a mental vacuum. You need to forget such incidents and move on for a new inning.

13. Bad memories: It's better to forget bad memories and keep them at bay. Learn from them, don’t keep them locked in you. They can create tremendous damage in every sphere.

14. Useless things: You should master the art of discarding useless things, including people. Art of Discarding, a book by a Japanese author speaks about the importance of letting useless things go. The wording ‘useless’ explains it all.

15. Bad company: According to a wise saying, “a man is known by the company he keeps.” As a rotten fruit spoils the rest in the basket, keeping bad company does exactly the same. It takes away the sheen in the quality of friendship. You should appreciate the different shades of friendship and choose them judiciously. Stay away from negative people, no matter how difficult it is.

16. Past: Forget the bad experiences of the past and learn lessons from previous mistakes and misadventures.

17. Identifying with the role: Identifying yourself with a particular role limits your scope of work and you miss your identity. You'll eventually become a typecast character. It's better to come out of this rut as fast as possible.

18. Taking things personally: Taking things personally to your heart is a bad personality trait. It's counterproductive to your positive behavior and well-being. It kills all your initiatives and drives.

19. Ticking clock: that can accumulate the biggest stress as it makes you slaves of the time you have. That devours your genuine freedom. Respect your time but not the ticking clock.

20. Counterproductive habits: You have to let go of habits that distract or obstruct your productivity.