3 Hidden Things Stopping You From Growing

You’re trying to change, trying to improve, but just can’t seem to reach the next level. You’re stuck in a rut, spinning your wheels trying to get traction. But what are you doing wrong?

This is more common than you think, and the answer is often one you can’t even see, hidden from you, lurking in the background, blocking you from reaching your potential.

Assuming you’re consistent, disciplined and driven, what exactly could be standing in your way? 

Here are 3 possible reasons you’re unable to grow. 

Stop Getting In Your Way

The first question to ask yourself is whether you’ve truly started experiencing the benefits and payoffs from whatever it is you’re doing.

Are you ruining your long-term enjoyment by indulging in too many short-term dopamine hits?

Is your momentum getting halted by too much procrastination?

The truth is, we need a reason to continue putting in work, and you’re not going to grow if that work is not only not being put in, but also not progressing.

The longer-term gratification is the reason. Without the payoff, work feels pointless.

Take a diet as an example, you’re probably not going to continue staying disciplined and overloading a calorie deficit if you haven’t yet seen the scale drop, or have started fitting into your old clothes again.

Without the results, the discomfort of hunger seems pointless, which leads to indulging in tasty foods, which only halts all progress. An infinite loop of disappointment.

Stop getting in your own way, you need to stay disciplined, handle boredom and have enough patience until eventually you experience the results. All long-term gratification will outweigh all short-term discomfort, making continuing the journey a walk in the park.

You're Not Challenged Enough

As mentioned above, the work you do needs to continue evolving.

Another common reason why you’re not growing could simply be due to the fact that you’re no longer challenging yourself.

The difficulty of the work you do always needs to be slightly above what you can handle, constantly rising.

The speed of your growth can be directly connected to the frequency of your discomfort. The more uncomfortable you are, the more you grow.

If you want your muscles to keep growing, you need to keep raising the weight.

If you want to get better at running, you need to keep running further.

If you want to get better at reading, you need to keep reading more difficult writing.

As you improve, so do your standards. Your standards are what you’re used to and are comfortable with.

Initially, running a mile was hard, until it wasn’t. Running 2 miles was hard, until it wasn’t.

The same can be said for anything, and if you don’t increase the difficulty in line with your growth, you’ll stay exactly where you are.

Your Environment Is Drowning You

You’re trying to grow, but your friends aren't, and they talk shit about you when you spend time working on yourself and not wasting time with them.

You’re trying to get to the next level, but you’ve already exceeded the only level that’s available to compare yourself with.

You’re trying to make more money, but your job has very limited opportunities to climb the ladder.

All of the above describes forms of your environment, something that can and does determine your future.

Do the people around you hold you accountable, or does your slacking off make them feel better about themselves?

Are the people around you always looking to improve? Or do they just complain about their situations with no form of action to improve them? 

What kind of conditions in your life are holding you back? And what can you do to change them?

This is probably the hardest thing you can change when trying to grow. 

It can mean losing friends, leaving home, and taking much bigger risks, but once you realise your potential is greater than what your environment offers, your options become limited, and sacrifices have to be made.