Overcoming Barriers to Growth
What is a Growth Barrier?
A growth barrier is an obstacle that holds you back from progress. These barriers are challenges we need to overcome to progress to the Next Level – and tackling them is key, no matter how painful.
Barriers can be external factors, but often they’re mental blocks we give ourselves. You might have thoughts like “I can’t do it”, “It’s too painful” or “I will fail”. These thoughts might make you avoid opportunities because you see the barriers you’ll have to overcome to achieve your goals.
Sometimes, we’re prodded to go further because we have to – perhaps you need to get over a fear of public speaking to progress in your career, or you have to tackle unpleasant work because of a looming deadline. With enough prodding, you might succeed.
When you’re feeling overwhelmed with difficulties, it can be easy to lose sight of the positive benefits that come from vaulting over barriers. However, to get further in your personal life or your career, barriers need to be tackled voluntarily.
How to use the Growth Barrier model
Recognising – and tackling – these barriers are what make you stronger. The more times you confront and overcome barriers, the more you will realise your challenges were momentarily uncomfortable.
Not only that, but you’ll learn that to grow, you need to seek out barriers. Challenging yourself to do the difficult thing is part of how we learn new skills and become stronger as individuals. Accelerating this change is how you propel yourself to the Next Level.
and decide not to go through with it, you will get another Arrow of Procrastination in your back causing you momentary pain. When your back has no more room for arrows you finally decide to move through the barrier. Having passed through the barrier you now feel stronger and ready to face the next one!
The way to accelerate change in your business or personal life is to create barriers to overcome. Think back to some barriers you have experienced in the past.
Step-by-Step Guide to Using the Growth Barrier Model:
1. List some barriers that you have faced, either in business or personally.
2. Ask yourself: what are some of the benefits that those barriers created? Write these down.
3. Consider what barriers you face now. How can you tackle these present barriers? Write your solutions down.
4. To challenge yourself to grow, list some barriers that you could tackle in the future.
5. To motivate yourself to grow, write down the benefits that could be created by tackling these potential barriers.
There is a lesson to be learnt through each barrier you face and overcome. To incentivise ourselves to seek out the challenge and grow, it is important to highlight that barriers aren’t necessarily negatives, but rather opportunities for you to become a stronger person.