How many times have you started a new project, reached a new goal, or set out to accomplish something big, only to abandon the project or goal shortly after starting? Maybe it was an annual gym membership you used only once or twice… or a work assignment you started but never finished… or even a home improvement project you abandoned halfway through.
Why do people often start with big aspirations and then throw in the towel relatively soon? In a word: Horror. In fact, the terror barrier is the number one reason people fail to achieve their goals.
Everyone has a comfort zone, a mental place where they feel at peace. The problem is that if you stay too long in your comfort zone, you don’t grow or achieve new things. All growth takes place outside the comfort zone. But when most people get out of that zone, they get to that phase where the “old ways” (also known as comfortable ways) try to get them back. That’s when they hit the terror barrier and freak out, procrastinate, make excuses, and do any number of things to validate why they should just give up and go back to the way things were.
If you want to push yourself, set high goals, or learn new skills, you need to step up and step out of your comfort zone. Use the following strategies to overcome the barrier of terror you will face so that you can move towards your ultimate goals.
1. Set goals that are emotional for you.
Logical goals never make anyone’s pulse race. However, many people set their goals in a very mechanical way, such as “Increase my sales by 10%.” Because people are not enthusiastic about the goal, they are not willing to go the extra mile to reach it. The key to creating emotional goals is to start with visualization. Create a picture in your mind of yourself achieving your bottom line. For example, if you want to increase your sales, imagine yourself at your company’s end-of-year meeting, standing on stage and receiving the Salesperson of the Year award. Hear the crowd cheering for you. Feel the pride of being recognized as the best. That is an emotional goal.
Next, write the objective. But be careful. Don’t start writing individual action steps yet, as that actually prevents people from reaching their goals. Too many people think that they need to know exactly what to do and how to do it before they can start reaching their goal. But if you spend too much time thinking about details and action steps right now, you’ll be too scared to begin. So just decide the goal; you can map it along the way. Instead of creating action steps, write down ten reasons why you want the goal. Why will it be worth it? You’ll need this list later when things get tough.
2. Take note of how the terror barrier appears in your life.
When you’re doing something new, how do you stray? Do you feel afraid? Do you procrastinate? You worry? do you apologize? Are you easily distracted? For example, if your goal is to exercise and lose twenty pounds, you can continually say, “I’m going to skip exercising today and go to the gym tomorrow” (procrastination). Or if your goal is to increase sales, you may be sidetracked from making prospecting calls because your desk is messy and you need to clean it first (distraction).
Anything that throws you off track is simply an internal mechanism to keep you in your comfort zone. But understanding this process and how it manifests in your life is a fantastic source of energy. Now you know why you are procrastinating, why you don’t sleep well at night, or why you are afraid. You know that it is simply an indication that you are growing. Now you can recognize the signal and you can recognize that you are in your terror barrier. This helps ease the pain so you can keep moving forward. Remember that the world is constantly changing. If you’re not moving forward, then you’re falling behind.
3. Take action toward your new goal.
Live, breathe, feel and be your new goal. Take small and big steps towards your destiny. Plan your next steps as you go. The key is just moving in the right direction, you don’t have to get there all at once.
Remember what Earl Nightingale said: “Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal.” Unfortunately, many people feel that they only succeed when they reach the end goal. They don’t recognize steps along the way as successes, especially if an individual step didn’t turn out the way they wanted. That is why it is necessary to redefine what success is. It is the process in which you are moving towards your goals. Yes, you will have some bumps in the road and you will make some mistakes, but those are important parts of learning. Your failures are necessary for you to gain the knowledge you need to get ahead.
4. Celebrate when you reach the terror barrier.
Hitting the terror barrier simply means you’re growing up. Feel happy that you are expanding your comfort zone and moving towards your goals. Think of it like remodeling a kitchen. Before you can get the dream kitchen you’ve always wanted, complete with granite countertops, custom cabinetry, and top-of-the-line appliances, you must first work through the rubble, exposed walls, and behemoth clutter. When you see your previously functional kitchen completely destroyed and useless, you might say, “This is too much work. Just put everything back the way it was.” Or you could go ahead with the remodel and watch your dream kitchen slowly take shape. The same is true for any worthwhile goal you want to achieve. You have to experience some discomfort before you can get to the other side.
If you are an employer, understand that when you ask your people to step up and take on a new challenge, they will be afraid. So have a plan ready for how you will support your team so they have the confidence to move forward. And if you’re an employee, know that at some point you’re going to hit the terror barrier. Find a coworker or someone who can hold you accountable and help you through it.
5. Know that repetition is the key to changing clothes and reaching your goal.
Go ahead and keep going! Just like professional athletes who practice and train regularly, the more you persevere and keep moving in the direction of your goal, the better results you will achieve. When the going gets exceptionally tough, refer to your initial list of ten reasons why you want the goal. Read the reasons you described slowly so that you can think about and visualize them. Connect to the emotions of achieving the goal to stay motivated.
Unfortunately, many business professionals are afraid of failure. But failing is good; you simply have to decide if you want to fail forward or fail backward. In other words, you can fail, learn, and move on…or you can fail, get stuck, and give up. The choice is yours. When you are willing to work and take daily action, despite setbacks, you can fail and achieve your goal sooner.
Freedom from the barrier of terror is freedom to achieve your goals
If you don’t feel like you’re hitting the terror barrier on a regular basis, then realize you’re not growing up and need to take some serious action… right now. Celebrate the terror barrier, be grateful for the opportunities available to you, and always have new goals in mind that you can strive for. As humans, our natural tendency is to grow and want more from life. Embrace that mindset as you go. When you recognize the terror barrier in your life and use it to your advantage, you will have the ability to achieve any goal you set your mind to and achieve greater levels of success.
