What's Holding You Back in 2025?

Throughout the years, I’ve talked a lot about goal-setting. Why this exercise is important, how to go about it, and even how to find inspiration are all themes I’ve discussed at length. But what about what holds you back?

Nelson Mandela said, "It always seems impossible until it's done." To his point, the journey to accomplish a goal isn’t a straight path. There are detours to take, mountains to traverse, and obstacles to overcome. In short, encountering barriers to reaching your goals isn’t just a possibility—it’s a certainty. 

Divergent difficulties, similar situations

Everyone faces different challenges, but if you look closely, they may not be as unique as they feel. Let’s say you set a goal to delegate more. That means adding a new team member, which is almost always difficult. You work through the job description, find and vet the applicants, and go through the interview process. Once you hire, you spend another six months training the individual, getting them up to speed, and incorporating them into your team.

As you move through these fairly standard steps, there will be roadblocks you can’t foresee. In this example, a strong candidate might miss their final interview or pull out of the process altogether. There could be a lack of chemistry between your new hire and other employees. 

You’ll also face obstacles that are easier to predict. You know yourself better than anyone else, so you’re probably aware of what those may be. With this knowledge, you can look ahead and proactively address the barriers you believe will come between you and your goals.

You should be able to identify two different types of challenges for any goal: those that are circumstantial and those that you can predict.

The problem with perfection

When I set out to achieve a new objective, I have to keep in mind my tendencies to aim for perfection and to spread myself too thin. 

Perfection sounds great, but it’s just not realistic. Very little in the world, if anything, is perfect, and flawlessness is usually a façade. Still, so many continue to get caught up in the pursuit of perfection. While there’s nothing wrong with wanting an outcome to be perfect, you can be blinded to what might actually be an excellent outcome. If you aren’t open to possibility, you’ll always end up disappointed. Over time, exhaustion and disillusionment can lead you to start making the wrong kind of compromise, one where “good enough” becomes your standard.

Beware the shiny squirrel

I also struggle with spreading myself too thin. When I’m chasing a goal, I can be easily distracted by the many other objectives I hope to accomplish. This is called Shiny Squirrel Syndrome—when you have trouble staying on task because you’re easily distracted by new opportunities or ideas.

Very often, when I hear about a new marketing strategy, I’m tempted to divert my attention there, even when I haven’t fully explored what I’m currently working on. My thoughts aren’t focused, just like a squirrel who is looking for nuts to store up for winter. One minute, I think I should do more podcasts or appearances. The next minute, I think I should concentrate on publishing more on LinkedIn and my website. Being excited about what you do—like I am—is a privilege, but I’ve learned that my enthusiasm, if left unchecked, can hurt rather than help.

This kind of barrier to achievement can be resolved by prioritizing. When I fail to prioritize, I feel pulled in too many different directions. Lack of focus can make you lose sight of what you really want, preventing you from accomplishing the steps you need to take to reach a goal.

This is similar to what Greg McKeown talks about in Essentialism—achieving more by doing less. The shiny squirrel mentality, as well-intentioned as it is, can stop me from giving 100 percent, 100 percent of the time. This year, I’m hoping to change that.

Leave barriers behind 

As you're looking ahead to what you want to achieve in 2025, what do you need to get out of your way? Think about what you hope to accomplish, then proactively evaluate what might become a barrier. Consider what has taken you off track in the past. You can’t see the future, but you can acknowledge the challenges you’ve faced. Make a plan to overcome these obstacles to reach your goals in 2025.