How many times have you started a new project, reached for a new goal, or set out to accomplish something big, only to abandon the project or goal soon after starting?

Why do people often start out with grand aspirations and then throw in the towel relatively soon? Terror. In fact, the terror barrier is the No. 1 reason people don’t achieve their goals.

Everyone has a comfort zone — a mental place where they feel at peace. If you stay in your comfort zone too long, you don’t grow and achieve new things. However, when most people step out of that zone, they hit the terror barrier, become frightened, procrastinate and make excuses to validate why they should give up and go back to their old ways.

If you want to stretch yourself, set high goals, or learn new skills, you must step up and get out of your comfort zone. This week Promotional Consultant Today will examine five strategies to overcome the terror barrier you so you can push through to your ultimate objectives.

Set Goals That Are Emotional To You

Logical goals never make anyone’s pulse increase. Yet many people set their goals very mechanically, such as “Increase my sales by 10 percent.” Because people don’t get excited about the goal, they’re not willing to go the extra mile to reach it.

The key to creating emotional goals is to start with visualization - creating a picture in your mind of achieving your end result. For example, if you want to increase your sales, envision yourself at your company’s year-end meeting, standing on stage and receiving the Salesperson of the Year award. Hear the crowd applauding. Feel the pride of being recognized as the best. That’s an emotional goal.

Next, write down the goal. But be careful. Don’t start writing the individual action steps — that actually stops people from reaching goals. Too many people think they need to know exactly what to do and how to do it before they can start toward their goal. However, if you spend too much time thinking of the details and action steps, the terror barrier will start to creep in.

First, decide on the goal; you can map it out along the way. Rather than create action steps, write down 10 reasons why you want to achieve the goal. You will need this list later when the going gets tough.

Tomorrow we’ll look at getting off track and taking action toward your new goals.
Source: Ingunn Aursnes is an author, consultant and owner of Quantum Leaps Consulting, LLC.

Don’t Let Negativity Be A Barrier
Those who prevail in difficult times are the ones who steadfastly refuse to allow negativity to form a barrier to their success. They instead deliberately and diligently take constructive action, thereby refreshing and reinvigorating their minds and their spirits, enabling them to take more action, which refreshes and reinvigorates.
This week Promotional Consultant Today will review 14 tips to help get you back on track. Yesterday we looked at four, and today we’ll examine five more.

Source: Francie Dalton is president and founder of Dalton Alliances, Inc, a Maryland based consultancy specializing in the communication, management, and
behavioral sciences. Her new book, Versatility, published by ASAE, is available by clicking here.