6 Reasons You Won’t Move Forward in 2016

I’ll admit, as I’m writing this, I haven’t yet set out a clear plan for 2016.

It’s on my agenda for this weekend. I have one in my head and I had one down on paper. The one that I had down on paper, though, was not a plan to move forward. It was a plan to maintain.

Here’s the thing, though.

I don’t want to maintain! I don’t want to do what I’ve always been doing.

As I started back to blogging, after my medical leave, I looked at my plan for 2016 and my heart sank.

Boring.

Dull.

Same-old, same-old.

I wanted a reason to be excited about 2016. I wanted to look at my plan and smile. Grin. Shout amen!

Because I want to take hold of that insanely impossible dream!

Here are six reasons you won’t move forward in 2016:

1. You fear success.

You didn’t know there was such a thing?

It does sound strange that someone would be afraid of the very thing they’re working toward. Sometimes it is a fear that our success will overwhelm us with more responsibility than we can handle or that it will get out of hand and become a monster. Sometimes it’s because we’re a control freak and have to micromanage every aspect of our lives, including our own success because we’re worried what the outcome will be like.

A fear of success is literally putting a lid on our success and allowing ourselves to only go so far before it stagnates … and eventually self-destructs.

Sometimes the fear of success is rooted in this next fear:

2. You fear failure.

I think most of us can relate to this fear.

Most of us have dealt with this at some point in our lives when we were given a task we weren’t completely certain we’d succeed at. The fear of not being good enough, that people will reject us or what we have to offer and the unwise practice of comparing ourselves are sometimes enough to prevent us from even wanting to try.

Our own perfectionism takes over and holds us hostage as we battle the negative thoughts that say, “But what if you fail?”

And so what if you do?

Being a failure at something puts you in very good company: Winston Churchill, Thomas Edison, Walt Disney, Sir Isaac Newton, and Albert Einstein are just a few men who failed … before they succeeded.

Perhaps instead of viewing our failures as failures, we should look at them as opportunities to try again.

3. You lack of motivation.

A fear of failure can be a huge demotivating factor in our ability to move forward; and most often, it’s rooted in our own mind.

Instead of seizing an opportunity that’s before us, we choose to wait for the right moment. We decide we don’t have the time or resources needed to take that next step.

But these are just excuses.

The right moment will never be right enough; sometimes you just have to take a step of faith and trust God’s plan for your insanely impossible dream!

Having time and resources are most often the result of good management and organizational skills. If this isn’t your strong suite, hire someone or offer to exchange services to receive the help you need to find the time and resources you need to take the next step.

4. You lack of organization.

There is nothing like disorganization to prevent you from moving forward.

Whether it is an inability to keep your clients’ records straight or wasted time trying to find a document or file, disorganization is a massive lid on your success that will keep you bound to mediocrity.

Disorganization can also be in your plans.

Do you know where you’re going? Do you know the steps you need to take to get there? Do you have a vision and mission for your insanely impossible dream?

Disorganization is a huge roadblock for those who need to take the next step toward success.

If this is an issue for you, make the decision right now to take some vacation time and get organized. Don’t write another blog post, don’t post another thing on social media. Turn it all off and get organized first! You’ll be amazed at how much smoother your journey will be when you know where everything is, where you’re going and how you’ll get there.

5. You lack of direction.

Sometimes our disorganization is the result of a lack of direction.

Do you have a clear vision and mission statement for your venture? Do you have clear goals for this month, the next three months, six months and for all of 2016?

Do you have long-term goals for where you want to be?

If the answer is no to any or all of these, you’ll not move forward.

Trying to succeed without direction is like trying to drive from New York to Disneyland without a map. We all know you can’t just jump in your car and drive and hope you’ll get there somehow.

The same goes for any venture in life (including family, I might add).

If you hope to move forward in a significant way, you need to have a vision for where you want to go—a destination. You need to have a mission for why you’re going in the first place—a purpose. You need to have short-term and long-term goals that will help to keep you on task—sticking to your map and not getting side-tracked by too many sight-seeing opportunities.

6. You lack inspiration.

Sometimes we just lack inspiration. We aren’t afraid of our success or failure, we are organized, motivated and have a clear vision for where we’re going and how to get there … but the inspiration isn’t there.