Bryan C. Fleming

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No matter how skillful or gifted or successful you may be in your career and your personal life, this will count for nothing if you are not correctly attuned mentally. A lack of preparation, worries over performance, a loss of confidence, procrastination – all these can mean sudden death to your successful business transaction, to an important meeting, and even to a crucial life decision. Recognizing this and breaking through personal growth barriers that create these problems can help you fulfill your true potential. Here are three main barriers that affect your personal growth, and how you can break through them. 
Ousting Procrastination

Procrastination, or putting off a task or decision, can be devastating for both your career and your personal life. It can eventually result in missed opportunities, lost investments, overwork, stress and sense of overwhelming responsibilities. There are simple techniques you can focus on that will help you avoid procrastination and keep your goals attainable:

Make a simple list of tasks to avoid distractions
Don’t overload your time schedule
Maximize your productivity-begin with the task that must be completed first
Work steadily for at least 15-20 minutes before taking  a break
Continue to work in steady blocks until you have completed a task
At the end of each day review your progress
Avoid over-planning
Stress Busting
Where stress is low, you may find that your performance is low because you become bored, lack focus and lack motivation. If this state persists for a long time, then your work will become tedious, and you will be easily distracted. Where stress levels are too high, your performance will suffer. 
Physical symptoms of stress include:

Increase in heart rate, sweating
Tense muscles
Dry Mouth
Mental symptoms of stress  include
Worry
Inability to concentrate or difficulty making decisions
Feeling out of control or overwhelmed
Behavioral symptoms of stress include:

Talking rapidly
Foot tapping, pacing
Yawning
 

There is a middle zone, at a moderate level of stress, where you will be at your peak performance. If you can keep yourself within this zone, then you will be sufficiently aroused, while not being over-stressed and unhappy. This middle zone of optimum performance is in a different place for everyone, so you have to be prepared to experiment to find your own. How will you know when you’re there? You probably know already there’s a certain feeling that goes along with it; everyone instinctively knows when they’re performing at their best, and when you get that feeling of satisfaction, that’s when you’re in the zone.

Avoiding burn out
Burn-out will normally occur slowly, over a long period of time. It may express itself physically or mentally. Symptoms of burn-out are:

Physical Burn-out
Feelings of intense fatigue

Vulnerability to ill health

Depression

Mental Burn-out
Feeling of lack of control over commitments

An incorrect belief that you are accomplishing less

Negative thinking

Loss of a sense of purpose 
You can avoid physical burnout by fighting cynicism and depersonalization. Try to remain involved with people who are close to you and maintain supportive networks. Make sure that you are giving as well as receiving positive messages from those around you, both at home and in your work place. 
Don’t over commit yourself, organize your time wisely, even when you are planning fun activities- otherwise you will be in danger of burning out as you become more and more miserable with your situation. If you are beginning to feel yourself burning out, re-evaluate and re-prioritize your goals, reduce excessive commitments, use stress management skills, build a support network and get adequate rest to meet your energy requirements.

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