10 habits you need to stop to get out of your own way

The only one ever blocking your way to success is you. The good thing about this is that you can always step out of your way. Always. Do it now.

I believe it is not that easy, because I struggle with it myself, so here is some help for you: 10 habits you need to get rid of to get out of your own way now. Take a look at them and be honest with yourself: May you be doing them without being aware of it? No matter if you know exactly what it is that’s holding you back or not, this is a way to find out.

So make yourself ready to finally do this and get the f*ck out of your own way once and for all!

Here are 10 habits to stop to get out of your own way

1. Beating yourself up

One major thing you are doing that keeps both your feet planted on the floor in front of you is beating yourself up for so called mistakes. It means regretting and being angry at yourself.

And you cannot really expect to move forward while being angry at yourself, right?

When you’re angry, you’re more likely to just shout at yourself and not want to see your own face. Not really a good way to try to stop holding yourself back. Anger will always just make it worse.

So what you need to do instead is forgive and be fine with yourself. Read more about how to do this in this post.

2. Believing something is wrong

It does not matter whether you believe something in your life or something about you is wrong, either way, it is not the truth.

Stop believing that there is something wrong. Everything that happens, every feeling you are experiencing, every moment in your life is legit and is just how it should be.

When you believe something to be wrong, you’re denying reality. Everything that happened before this lead to what is right now, and what is right now will contribute to something better in the future. Learn to embrace what is and trust that it is just right the way it is.

Nothing went wrong. Everything is alright.

3. Fear

The biggest thing in life that is holding us back in general is always some sort of fear. Fear will hold you back forever if you don’t learn how to handle it.

Fear actually is the feeling our brain gives us in responding to danger. It is what prevents us from running through fire or crossing the road when it’s not clear. It is meant to protect us, but it can also hold us back.

That’s why you need to learn to handle the fear. You need to feel the fear, but do it anyway. That is how you get out of your own way.

I also love Mel Robbin’s approach to this. She says that fear has the exact same physical reaction as excitment. So whenever you feel fear, tell yourself you’re excited! Watch this video to learn more.

4. “I don’t know”

Do you say that often? You would love to do this or that, but you simply don’t know how?

Well, you better stop saying it, because it is a huge excuse. No need to freak out now, let me tell you: I know exactly what you mean. I have been there! “I don’t know” has been my go-to excuse for years and it sometimes still is.

For example, I was always telling myself I don’t know how to get a novel published. And I still don’t know. Yes, I kept the excuse, and I have NOT ever found out. I have been stuck on it for years.

All the things I have ever “not known”? Still don’t. Just waited until they were not important anymore and told myself it is simply not for me.

So to ever get anything done in my life, I simply stopped saying that I don’t know.

Because, beyond the I don’t know, there are endless possibilities to FIND OUT how, so that you would not have to “not know”. Especially in today’s world, it is incredibly easy to find all the info you need.

So the “I don’t know”? Ditch it. Huge excuse. Not gonna bring you anywhere. Just like me. I made literally no improvement on all the things I declared to not know.

Still need to work on them, and I am sure they will come back one day, and I will work on them and not say that I don’t know anymore, ever again.

Because I realized it won’t bring me nowhere. So instead of saying I don’t know and run away, just start. Start, and figure out the “how” on the way. You definitely will figure it out as you go. Like this, you won’t ever feel the need to say you don’t know ever again.

5. Comparing yourself to other people

The thing about comparing yourself to other people is that probably, you are not even aware of it. Comparing can mean as little as scrolling through your instagram feed, seeing a picture of somebody doing a pull-up in gym, and think “I should definitely start going to gym.”

Where’s the comparing, you say? That’s what I meant by now being aware of it. Let me explain.

When you saw that picture, and had that thought, were you feeling good about yourself? Most definitely not. You were beating yourself up and feeling bad about not going to the gym. Why? Because you saw somebody else working out in the gym. But did you take your conclusion about having to go to the gym based on what YOU want or based on the fact that other people are more motivated to go there?

Maybe you don’t even want to go the gym, and that’s the reason why you are not going. Maybe you’d rather do a home workout, but you feel like you should go to the gym, because somebody else told you it’s more effective? You see the results of somebody else and then see yours? You need to be fit because your friend is fit? Comparing, comparing, comparing. And so it goes on.

Never ending. And the reason why you should stop that habit is because you will never be able to feel good about yourself if you are constantly seeing only the good in other people, and you will end up beating yourself up for not being as motivated as them, or not as strong, thin, fit, healthy, whatever … as them? You’ll probably stay there forever.

You are your only competition. Be a great one.

Learn more here.

6. Minding other people’s thoughts

You need to stop caring what is going on in other people’s damn heads. If you want to please everybody, you will never be able to please yourself. You will be working only for others, neglecting yourself. As long as you try to make somebody else happy, you are standing in the way of your own happiness, because there is no way you will be able to please everybody AND yourself. So stop caring.

7. Being stressed out

Yeah, I know, you did not choose to be stressed out, right? Well, no matter the reason you’re feeling stressed, you will never feel better as long as you don’t change anything. Either do less or change your mindset.

As long as you are too busy to change, you will never get the time to do anything to get out of your own way, and you will be stuck where you are forever. You need to make TIME to get out of your own way.

So stop saying you’re stressed out and start doing something. You will be surprised at how much time you will find once you start believing you have time. Learn more about the “stressed out”-mindset in my post about 7 mindset patterns that keep you stuck.

8. Making excuses

We’ve had some already; the “I don’t know” excuse and the “I’m stressed” excuse, and there are millions more. The thing about excuses is that they are always and always will be available at all times whenever life gets a little uncomfortable.

Why do they appear? It’s quite simple: You can only change if you do something new and different. And to do something new, you need to break the habit of doing the same thing and taking the same exits you’ve been taking for years. So, logially, when you take action and do something new, your brain will freak out. It is so accustomed to your current way of living, it has worked so hard to make this work, and now suddenly it should change something? No way!

That’s exactly when all those excuses appear.

“I should wait some more, I am not ready.”, “today is not the day.”, “my foot hurts too much today.”

Now that you know the reason for them, it now is your turn to not believe those excuses and get going.

8. Justifying

Not doing it, and then justifying why you did not do it? Sounds familiar? I definitely have done that a million times. Like, I really cannot go for a run now, it’s too cold and I can’t catch a cold now. I did not visit my grandparents because I had too much work to do and I would not have been able to finish.

Justification is almost the same as making excuses; only that justification is done to make you feel better about yourself and give you a good reason for your not taking action. This may feel good and comforting when you do it, but in the longterm, justification holds you back.

9. Believing your thoughts without questioning them

Have you ever wondered whether you can believe all that is going on in your head? I did not, for long. But I also was standing in my own way a lot. But once I started wondering and realized I should not believe all of them, everything got better, and it opened my door to growth.

Your thoughts are not the ultimate truth. Before they appear in your head, they are formed and influenced by your beliefs, your habits and by all that you have experienced before. Yes, they make their way all the way through your limiting beliefs, your self-doubts, your fears… so, as you can conclude yoursels: to change anything about your life, you need to think greater than you are right now.

And this starts with knowing and refusing to believe all that is going on in your head.

10. Keeping yourself small

Know your worth. You are the only you there is, and you are amazing and unique. You have that one special gift that nobody else has. It is time for you to work on your self-confidence to finally show and get that gift out to the world. Stop bringing yourself down and doubting your abilities. You are a rockstar. Start believing this and stop playing small!

Now is the best time to break out and shine!

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It is time to finally step out of your own way! Stop beating yourself up, stop believing there is something wrong with you, stop believing all your thoughts in general and start questioning them instead. It is time to stop making excuses like “I don’t know” and “I’m too busy” and justifying your inaction, and cease to compare yourself to others and minding their business, because that will never do any good for you.

Stop the fear of the unknown, because it not actually is dangerous. Stop keeping yourself small, because now is your turn to shine!

So, what were your revelations? Do you do any of the listed things? Do you realize better now how you are holding yourself back from living your best life? Are you motivated to change this now once and for all? Tell me in the comments or write to me at info@claudiableser.com!