{"id":17719,"date":"2013-09-02T21:46:24","date_gmt":"2013-09-03T05:46:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/?p=17719"},"modified":"2015-11-02T22:45:31","modified_gmt":"2015-11-03T06:45:31","slug":"5-excuses-that-stop-you-from-reaching-your-dream","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/5-excuses-that-stop-you-from-reaching-your-dream\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Excuses that Stop You From Reaching Your Dream"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px;\" class=\"sharethis-inline-share-buttons\" ><\/div><p><\/p>\n<p>The moment you set your mind to pursue a big dream is magical.\u00a0 It energizes you and excites you.<\/p>\n<p>But as you start to make plans, things fall apart.\u00a0 What looked great in your head doesn\u2019t look as good on paper.<\/p>\n<p>The thoughts that once filled your head with enthusiasm and motivation are gone.\u00a0 Now all you have are worries and doubts.\u00a0 You start to wonder if you should even pursue your dream at all.<\/p>\n<p>Does this scenario sound familiar?\u00a0 If it does, you\u2019re not alone.<\/p>\n<p>Thinking about worries and doubts can be demotivating and cause you to stop pursuing your dreams even before you get started.<\/p>\n<p>But what if all you\u2019re telling yourself are just excuses that aren\u2019t based in reality?<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve all held ourselves back because of an excuse.\u00a0 I\u2019m no exception.<\/p>\n<p>When I was younger, I wanted to travel abroad.\u00a0 But each time I thought about it, I came up with a long list of reasons why it would be impossible.<\/p>\n<p>How would I get around?\u00a0 Wouldn\u2019t it be too expensive?\u00a0 Isn\u2019t it dangerous?<\/p>\n<p>Years passed before I finally took the leap.\u00a0 I pushed past those excuses and bought a plane ticket to Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n<p>Once I did it, I could see how those excuses had been holding me back all that time.\u00a0 I could finally see that they weren\u2019t legitimate obstacles; it was all in my head.<\/p>\n<p>The truth is that every big dream can be knocked down and dismissed away by an excuse or two.\u00a0 The key is to recognize when excuses are popping up so they don\u2019t prevent you from living the life you want.<\/p>\n<p>Here are some common excuses that will hold you back from your dreams:<\/p>\n<p><strong>1. There isn\u2019t enough time<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There are only 24 hours in a day.\u00a0 That will never change.\u00a0 So if you have a lot of things filling up that time, it can seem like an impossible obstacle to overcome.<\/p>\n<p>But sometimes finding time is about re-prioritization.\u00a0 Are there any activities you would be willing to give up?\u00a0 Is there something you\u2019re doing that someone else could just as easily do?<\/p>\n<p>These are the kind of questions you need to be asking.<\/p>\n<p>Making time to pursue your dream should be made a high priority.\u00a0 When something really matters, you have to make time for it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. I\u2019m too afraid<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There are all kinds of fear.\u00a0 You might be afraid of making mistakes, failing, being inadequate or just fear the unknown.\u00a0 Any one of these can pop up and derail your path to your dream.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s important to recognize and deal with fear as it arises.\u00a0 It\u2019s natural to be a little scared of big decisions.<\/p>\n<p>But remember that most fears are emotional, not logical.<\/p>\n<p>Before I went traveling, many people said they were afraid of being assaulted or involved in a terrorist attack.<\/p>\n<p>But the real biggest danger of traveling is being involved in a car accident.\u00a0 It injures or kills more travelers a year than anything else.\u00a0 Yet it\u2019s also the travel fear people never mention.<\/p>\n<p>Ask yourself if there is really something behind your fear.\u00a0 It might not be as scary as you think.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. I don\u2019t have enough money<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There might be a legitimate argument to make when it comes to financing your dream.\u00a0 But look closer before dismissing your dream for this reason.<\/p>\n<p>Often there are low-cost solutions that you might have never considered before.\u00a0 Consider how much you actually need.\u00a0 Put costs down on paper.<\/p>\n<p>And remember, even if money is a problem, it doesn\u2019t mean it isn\u2019t insurmountable.\u00a0 There are often ways to save a little on the side to fund your dreams.\u00a0 Where there\u2019s a will, there\u2019s a way.<\/p>\n<p><strong>4. It\u2019s not possible for me to do it<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Sometimes your dream can seem unrealistic.\u00a0 You might have high goals with huge obstacles that seem insurmountable.<\/p>\n<p>The problem with seeing something as impossible is that people often confuse it with being simply difficult.\u00a0 What you want to do might seem so hard that you don\u2019t think that you could ever do it.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not that it\u2019s impossible.\u00a0 It\u2019s that you don\u2019t think it\u2019s possible for you.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s easier to get around this excuse by taking a different viewpoint.\u00a0 Focus on why you\u2019re able to do something, not on why you can\u2019t.\u00a0 It gets you off that \u201cimpossible mindset\u201d and on to something more constructive.<\/p>\n<p><strong>5. Now isn\u2019t the right time to start<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The unfortunate truth about life is that there is never a perfect time to do anything.\u00a0 There are always conditions, personal situations or environmental factors for not doing it.<\/p>\n<p>Of course that doesn\u2019t mean you shouldn\u2019t do it anyway.<\/p>\n<p>There are countless examples of people achieving big goals in the worst circumstances.\u00a0 For example, the owners of HP and Revlon are big companies now, but started up in the 1930s when the country\u2019s worst economic crisis hit.<\/p>\n<p>If you wait for all the conditions to be perfect, you\u2019ll always be waiting.\u00a0 Before you know it, years have gone by and you haven\u2019t taken a single step to make it happen.<\/p>\n<p>Time goes by quickly when you\u2019re waiting for the perfect moment.<\/p>\n<p>Steve is the writer behind <a href=\"http:\/\/dosomethingcool.net\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Do Something Cool<\/a> where he blogs about travel, motivation, personal growth and adventure.\u00a0 He&#8217;s always looking for ways to make life more interesting.\u00a0 Get tips on living life to the fullest through his <a id=\"yui_3_7_2_1_1377805304936_1822\" href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DoSomethingCool\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Facebook fan page<\/a> and <a id=\"yui_3_7_2_1_1377805304936_1814\" href=\"http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/DoSomethingCool\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Twitter<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thinking about worries and doubts can be demotivating and cause you to stop pursuing your dreams even before you get started.<\/p>\n<p>But what if all you\u2019re telling yourself are just excuses that aren\u2019t based in reality? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/5-excuses-that-stop-you-from-reaching-your-dream\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12163,"featured_media":17843,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[17,6],"tags":[2855,393,4634,4629,4640],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>5 Excuses that Stop You From Reaching Your Dream<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Thinking about worries and doubts can be demotivating and cause you to stop pursuing your dreams even before you get started. 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