3 Common Fears That Are Probably Holding You Back From Reaching Your Potential

Excuses: We all make them, every day. Sometimes we're not even aware that we make them. They've become a part of our lifestyle. Every person in the whole world has the exact same amount of hours in a week as you. So how are you spending yours?

I'm telling you all here and now, excuses, no matter how big or small, will forever be your downfall. Excuses are self-made obstacles that stop you from reaching your full potential, especially when it comes to your passion in life.

Have you ever looked at someone really successful and thought, "Wow, I'd love to have what he/she has!" -- not just the material things, but also the motivation, ambition, work ethic, success, career?

Has the following then entered your mind? "They must be really lucky"; "They must be really intelligent"; "They must have been at the right place at the right time"; "They must be mad, obsessive control freaks that sacrificed a lot and stepped on others to get to the top."

If the answer to any of these is yes, then I'm afraid to inform you that you are one of these people who let excuses lead their lives, and in doing so, you run the risk of never reaching your full potential and never being successful. Not sitting well with you? Fear not!

The quickest and easiest way to a successful life is simple: Ditch the excuses! Start with these -- the three most common excuses that you need to clear out of your life for good:

1) Fear

The fear of failing, the fear of not finding your passion, the fear of trying something new. We are all guilty of letting fear into our lives. It's natural to be scared or apprehensive about a new stage in your life, but where it becomes problematic is when fear takes over.

The key in life is to be fearless. What are you afraid of? Trying and not succeeding? Wouldn't you rather say that you had the balls to try, rather than you were too afraid to? This goes for every aspect of your life.

Have a dream job? Go for it. If you fail, you learn; you try again. Mad about a girl or guy? Just go for it! You may be surprised, and he or she might feel the same about you. If he or she doesn’t, hey, at least you gave it a go, instead of always wondering.

You don't get what you want by sitting back and saying nothing. Speak up and be heard! Don't ever be too afraid to ask for something; you may just get what you've always wanted!

Ditch the fear! How can you ever attain success if you're afraid of it?

2) Doubt

Doubting our own abilities, doubting the world, society and what others will think of you, are all just more excuses for you not to pursue your dreams and be truly happy. If you constantly doubt your talents, your skills or your abilities, you will never know what you are actually capable of.

I get that it's easier said than done, but you really need to believe in yourself here. Self-confidence is a characteristic that I believe people are drawn to; it can be one of the most endearing qualities about someone.

If you really don't think you have the skillset you need, brush up on them!

Take acting classes, singing lessons, creative writing courses, extra training; whatever it is that you want to do, do it over and over again. With practice and experience comes confidence, the more experience you have, the more confidence you have.

As soon as you start to believe in yourself and your abilities, you'll be amazed at how many doors will open for you and how many opportunities you will now want to seize because you know you can.

Ditch the doubt! You're far too intelligent to be the only thing standing in your way.

3) Relationships

Yes, you read that correctly. Whether you're aware of it or not, we are constantly using our social relationships as excuses for not reaching for the stars.

Unfortunately, the desire to be a "good parent" or a "good friend" or a "great husband/wife" outweighs the desire to accomplish our dreams and goals and be successful.

We use our human relationships as a shield, to justify our inaction. Relationships are about sacrifice, right? Wrong! I hope I'm not alone in believing that you should never have to sacrifice your dreams for anybody. Now, I'm not saying ditch the relationships; I'm saying stop using them as an excuse!

Think about it: Your beautiful child comes to you someday, full of enthusiasm and excitement, yelling at the top of his lungs, "I know what I want to be when I grow up!

I know what I want to do with my life!" You're bursting with pride and happiness because it's so uplifting to see him so happy and excited about his future.

He turns and says, "I want to be a magician! I want to travel and perform magic tricks on stage, in sold-out shows, all over the world!" What are you going to say?

"I'm not sure about that, honey. That's risky, honey; there's not much money in that career. Maybe you should think about something else. What if you don't make it? Why don't you try something more stable? Something that pays well?"

Your child protests: "But this is what I want! This is what makes me happy! This is my dream!" What are you going to say? "Yeah, well, I had a dream once, too, kid, but then I got married and had you!" No, surely not.

Wouldn't it be so much better if you could look him in the eye, smile and say, "Go for it, just like I did."

Photo Courtesy: We Heart It