In life, many obstacles will stand in your way. From the moment you wake up to the second you close your eyes at night, something will try and stop you from achieving what you want to do. It can be anything from a lack of time or money to fear of failure. All these things can stop someone dead in their tracks, but does this mean you should give up? Of course not!

You can change your entire life.

Going back to the title of this blog post, sometimes, it's only yourself who serves as the blockade for success. Sure enough, many things can play a part in influencing your life, such as:

• What did your parents teach you when you were still young
• The social environment that you grew up with
• The things that you have learned in school
• The friends and people that you have in your life
• The values of the generation that you belong to
• The rules that authorities implement on where you live
• The financial status you are in
• Mass media

Many things in life are beyond our control, and they sure impact how our life can turn out. However, in the end, it's up to you whether you will let yourself get overtaken by these things or you form your own identity and virtues to forge your path. Ultimately, it's your mind that will dictate whether you can achieve success or failure in life. Unless you have someone in your life which is deliberately doing everything to hinder your progress, the reality is that nothing is stopping you from trying unless you give up yourself. You have to recognize the things inside your head that you need to overcome to achieve what you want to do in life.

1. Fear of failure

Being afraid of failure is one thing that prevents you from fulfilling your dream. You think about what can go wrong or fail when you decide to do something, so you hold back or not do something at all. If you are the type of person who likes to worry a lot about the future, chances are you are afraid of failure.

Think about it this way: why would you be afraid of something yet to happen or maybe not at all? Fearing failure occurs when you keep on creating what-if scenarios in your head. Then, as a result, you don't even bother to try doing something because of a pessimistic made-up scenario in your mind. So before deciding to give up, give something a try first. Use every skill, knowledge, and resource you have, and do your best. Then, even if you fail once, don't stop trying. Keep trying and use different approaches until you become successful in your endeavor. If you still fail after several attempts, you can move on to another goal. It's normal to experience failure in life, and it's best to accept that reality as early as possible.

2. Fear of what others will say and think about you

Society can bring immense pressure on you. Conformity is such a thing, and many people would instead follow the herd than get scrutinized or ostracized by others. So people that do this might end up leading mediocre lives, forcing themselves to do something out of peer pressure. As a result, they might put aside their dreams, losing the ability to unlock the best version of themselves. They might stop trying to change and settle with their present circumstances.

Unless people come at you with pitchforks when you don't obey what they want to see and think of you, you have no reason to succumb to their viewpoints. After all, if the people who scrutinize you are just all talk and are not the ones supplying you with the necessities you need to live like food, water, shelter, and oxygen, they can't stop you from trying. It's you who will determine what you want to do in life. It can be tough to go through your path, but only you can know the answer to what's fulfilling and successful for you.

3. Excuses

If you don't want to do something, you can come up with many reasons to justify your inaction. Of course, some excuses can be valid, but the thing is that you can also always come up with a solution to change your circumstances and eliminate the reasons preventing you from getting what you desire. Not enough money? Maybe you can try doing some stuff that will allow you to earn through residual income streams. Not healthy enough to do something physically demanding? Try making exercise a habit and start eating healthy. Don't know a particular skill? There are plenty of resources nowadays that will help you learn something. The list of excuses goes on, but so does the list of things that can help you get rid of them.

4. Lack of self-confidence

Growing up significantly shaped how we view our self-worth and how confident we are in life. The teachings and values that others have taught us and how other people treated us in the past form a part of how we think in our present state. So if you grew up in an environment that didn't reinforce positive thinking and got treated negatively, you might end up having low self-esteem. Your inner critic becomes a voice that tells you not to do something because you are conditioned not to have much confidence in yourself.

Having low self-confidence prevents you from trying new things. You think you can't do it and not cut out for it. Low self-confidence can't heal overnight, but you can overcome it. Having a mentor or a coach can help you triumph over your low confidence levels. It takes time to have your mind conditioned for success, but it's possible to do it with enough drive and motivation.

5. You don't dream hard enough

Dreams serve as a guide to what we want to do in life. But, unfortunately, some might dismiss dreams as something that only exists in the imaginary plane. However, dreams give us why we want to try doing something. Of course, you won't bother trying out anything more if you are already content with what you have. However, if you have a dream in your life, you will feel motivated and continue to work hard until you can achieve it. Dreams don't only exist in our minds; they should prompt us to take action to achieve great things in life.

Keep on trying

It's essential not to lose hope once something fails to succeed in life. You have to be aware that you can always give things a second chance as long as you are still physically and mentally capable of doing things. Our minds are such a powerful thing that sometimes, it's the only thing that separates us from success. However, a single mistake should not deter you from trying again. You always have the option to continue trying until you finally achieve what you want.