Goals are something most of us have. The goals may be hidden or shared with the world. Either way, many of us are presented with goal roadblocks. These roadblocks are what stop us from obtaining these goals of ours. The blockers come down to four things. We either don’t know something, can’t do something, fear something, or feel alone in our journey. Understanding these blockers will assist us in overcoming them. In this piece, we examine 4 goal roadblocks: Knowledge, Skills, Risk-taking, and Social Support.
Knowledge is a prerequisite to most goals. We may say we want to do this or that, but to do it, we need know-how. We overcome this roadblock by exposing ourselves to what we want to do. We can take a course to overcome this blocker. We can buy a book to explain away the gaps we have. Money may be a factor in overcoming this blocker, but in this beautiful information age we live in, YouTube is the best free educational institute we have. Use it.
Skills are another requirement. You may want to get a promotion at work, open a restaurant, or start an online business. The aspirations are great, but we must prepare ourselves. We apply our knowledge here. This stage is hands-on. Here is where we live our goal. It may be on a small level, but it prepares us for the big time. Do we want a promotion? We can begin to assume the responsibility of a leader. We can learn by running a small project. We can create a problem-solving method that works for us. Do we want to open a restaurant? Learning to create a themed menu is a skill to practice. Learning to cook the food on our menu is an additional skill to master. Would we like to start an online business? Starting a one-product store is a great start. We can practice with that one product and learn about shipping, logistics, and advertising.
Risk-taking is a big roadblock. We don’t see it as a blocker, but we should. We are raised in such a risk-advert setting. We are told to be safe, stop, don’t do that all of our childhood. We are put in a school system that tells us what to do, when to do it, and how to do something. There is no risk. No free-thinking is practiced. Only controlled/staged trial and error. This scenario is doom for a person that wants out of ordinary goals. The experience is the extreme opposite of what is needed to succeed. Anything worth setting our sights on as a goal will take a risk. First, many people will have the same aspiration. Second, not everyone will be successful. That is the risk, and we need to be okay with it.
The last goal blocker can trip up those of us that possess the previous three. That last goal blocker is social support. What is social support? External belief in your goal. Social support is the ultimate blocker. The issue with this blocker is it blocks more accomplishments than the previous three. The bigger problem is it is not a requirement. Social support is nice to have. Not everyone is strong enough to push through with no support, so you can do the following: Write down what we expect from our loved ones. This activity will give us a list of what we expect from those around us. We should also speak to those we expect support from, so they know how they can assist. At this point, we would have done all we can do to receive the support we desire, but it is not guaranteed. We have to take what we get and move forward. The real support will come from those who appreciate what we offer. That is not always the people around us.
In closing, goal blockers are just another hurdle we need to address in our journey through life. The more we know, the better prepared we are for those hurdles. Remember, knowledge, skill, and risk-taking are requirements for obtaining whatever goal we desire. Take it step-by-step. Knowledge prepares us for success. Skill allows us to live the dream on a small scale. Risk-taking is the reminder that nothing is guaranteed. We have to be the best we can be because others want it, too. Social support is cool, but that will take care of itself upon obtaining the goal. We shouldn’t let the lack of it stop us on our journey. Push forward.
Food for thought. You do the dishes!
