Do you sometimes feel like some part of you is blocking your success? Here are three common success blocks and how to overcome them.

1) Identity crisis/fear of success

What it is: an inner conflict that the person you are becoming may not be the “real you”.

Why it happens:  Your emotional or subconscious mind identifies your life situation, beliefs and behaviors as being “you”. When there is an attempt to change any of these “identity characteristics” your emotional mind can start to work against you. Your emotional mind tries to protect what it identifies as “you” by resisting change or even sabotaging success.

A dramatic illustration of this is lottery winners. Studies show that 70% of lottery winners lose all their winnings within 7 years. Why does this happen? The lottery winner’s emotional mind which has been with them their whole life, defines them as as a “poor person”. But a poor person cannot be poor if they have a lot of money. Their emotional mind perceives having all that money as a threat to their survival. The wealth will cause the “poor person” to cease to exist. So the lottery winner’s emotional mind protects the “poor person” by “helping” them lose all their money. Their identity crisis is resolved by losing all the money they have won.

Why it’s a problem–change is not only inevitable, it is necessary for progress of any kind to occur in your life. If you work hard to become successful, you want to become successful and stay successful. But if your emotional mind strongly identifies with struggle and failure, it may fight you in ways you do not even realize. This is commonly referred to as “fear of success.”

What to do about it–You need to get your emotional mind on board with your goal. Techniques that work at the subconscious level like tapping (EFT) and hypnotherapy can help you align your emotional mind so it works for you and not against you.

2) Resistance to change and new ideas

What it is:  Being stuck in outmoded ways of thinking and doing things.

Why it happens:  You already know how to do and think about things the same old way. It doesn’t take much effort because it’s something that’s familiar. We like things that are familiar–they are comfortable and non-threatening.

Why it’s a problem:  We have to always be learning and growing if we are to be successful. Not being open to new ideas can stop us from trying better ways of doing things that greatly shorten our path to success. In fact, new ideas are often the key to success.

What to do about it:  Work on your releasing your ego’s attachment to stale ideas and outmoded ways of doing things. Ask yourself why you are so resistant–what are you afraid of? Sometimes just acknowledging the fear that underlies insecurity is enough to release it’s hold on you so you can open your mind a bit wider. Make yourself practice doing small new things, like taking an unfamiliar route home from the store, trying new foods, going to events and meeting new people.

3) Fear of admitting failure

What it is:  Not wanting to see when it’s time to throw in the towel, that a different course of action is needed.

Why it happens:  Our egos hate to fail or admit mistakes. We have been taught failure is something to be ashamed of and should be avoided at all costs.

Why it’s a problem:  When you are emotionally attached to an outcome it can be difficult to perceive when a different way is needed. You want to persist until you succeed. But if your way isn’t working, you know need to know when to give up and try something different.

What to do about it:  Get objectivity and clarity. Ask a trusted friend or mentor for their advice about your situation. Try an emotional clearing technique such as tapping (EFT) to clear your emotional mind so you can see things more clearly. When you reach emotional alignment, your new clarity will help you can make better choices for yourself.

I hope you have found this helpful. Have you had to overcome blocks to achieve success? I’d love to hear about it.  Please share in the comments below.