6 Ways To Push Past Barriers Blocking Your Goal

If you’re reading this, raise your right hand in the air as high as you can.

Trust me, okay? Just do it!

Now — your hand is in the air, right? — raise it just a little bit higher.

If your hand didn’t move at all between the two instructions, then congratulations, you literally raised your hand as high as it could possibly go at the first ask. But chances are, your fingertips shot centimeters or even millimeters higher after the second request. You probably didn’t even realize you were holding back after the first ask, but — surprise! — you actually had a little bit more to give.

This, my friends, is an important lesson in realizing and pushing past your own limits. Many times, like in this simple grade-school exercise, we don’t always realize our own potential until we test ourselves. The very idea of pushing ourselves to reach our own potential is scary enough, but certain barriers and roadblocks on the road to success can make it seem impossible.

To help you push past obstacles preventing you from accomplishing your next major goal, we partnered with MicrosoftMicrosoft Surface Laptop to identify different ways to reach your next goal, no matter what’s standing in your path.

1. Find A Mentor

The company you keep has way more influence over you than you might realize. Surround yourself with people who inspire you, and seek a mentor who can help guide you along the path to success. The right mentor will not only provide helpful insight and advice, but they’ll also believe in you even when you don’t believe in yourself. Having the right person’s faith in your efforts will push you to keep moving towards your goal, even when you don’t necessarily think it’s attainable.

2. Push Past The Fear

Okay, this is easier said than done. But you know the saying "You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take"? It’s cliché but true. Sometimes, in order to reach your goals, you need to do things that scare you. Think about it: If you don’t ask that uncomfortable question, take that risk, or experiment with a new idea, you could be spending your whole life wondering "What if?" instead of living out your dreams.

3. Learn From Past Failures

While reflecting on your failures certainly doesn’t feel uplifting, a huge part of accomplishing your goals is realizing what hasn’t worked out for you in the past. That way, you can learn from your own shortcomings. By recognizing when you’ve failed or been rejected, analyzing why the idea or initiative didn’t work out, and acknowledging where you can improve, you can pave the way for new and better processes that will get you where you want to go.

4. Use the Right Tools

Sometimes, it’s not a person who is responsible for holding you back, but the devices or technology you’re using to help you meet your goal. While going off the grid once in a while can be helpful, it’s basically impossible to operate successfully in 2017 without technology that’s up to speed. Pinpoint what equipment is vital for reaching your goals, and find a way to designate funds toward those purchases. For a photographer, that may mean investing in the latest camera gear, while an entrepreneur starting her own business might acquire a Microsoft Surface Laptop for a powerful, versatile workstation that will keep up with her through all those long hours.

5. Take Breaks When You Need Them

This may seem counterintuitive, but once in a while, you need to step away from a situation and clear your mind before you’re able to fully see a solution. If you feel like you’ve been in a productivity rut or that your progress has been stalled, allow yourself to walk away and clear your mind, or to shift your attention to another project for a little while. When you return your focus to the goal at hand, you’ll be able to approach it with a fresh perspective — and a reinvigorated mindset.

6. Abandon Your Old Ideas About Yourself

When it comes to big, scary goals, most of us hold fast to tired old narratives about ourselves. You’re good at X, but you’re not good at Y. You don’t really know how to do that. You’re not qualified to do XYZ, and everybody’s going to find out! Abolish your negative, limiting ideas about the characteristics that you think define you, and allow your current self to make decisions, gain confidence, and make progress without constantly living in fear of what else you should be doing.

This article is brought to you with the help of Microsoft Surface.

The brand new Surface LaptopMicrosoft Surface Laptop was released this June, and features the following:

• Ultra-thin and light, so it fits easily in your bag.
• Four tone-on-tone color combinations and sleek, elegant design complement your personal style.
• Enjoy a natural typing and trackpad experience, enhanced by a luxurious Alcantara® fabric-covered keyboard.
• The power to do what you want with all-day battery life.
• Experience beautiful images in true-to-life color on the vibrant 13.5” PixelSense™ Display with touchscreen.
• Invisible immersive Dolby® Audio™ Premium sound that comes directly from the keyboard, with no added bulk or grills.