Mental Barriers That Impact Your Career—and How to Overcome Them

It is not common for growth to be steady. Behavioural study shows that instead of adding more tools or ideas, progress often comes from removing internal roadblocks, like fear of failure, comparison, and overcontrol. In all types of work, leaders find that things become clearer when focus changes from perfection to action, from thinking to listening, and from working alone to sharing responsibility. Sociologists say that when people feel safe enough to try new things and are focused enough to get things done, groups and towns do well. Momentum usually favours the people who simplify, ask better questions, and trust the work when they’re making a product, a team, or a creative outlet. This expert roundup explores thoughts on how to overcome hesitation and move forward with purpose when doubt arises.

Deadlines Beat Perfection; Audience Wants It Fast

I used to get stuck overthinking every podcast topic, worried it wasn’t perfect. I finally started trusting my own travel knowledge and set hard deadlines for myself. My audience loves it. They clearly prefer the quick, direct content over the polished stuff. They just want to hear what I have to say, fast.

Bryan Murphy, Owner, Hawaii’s Best Travel

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Build Safety Culture To Defeat Decision Paralysis

The barrier that leads to fear of failure in healthcare is high enough that if an individual is afraid to make a mistake, it leads them to experience “Decision Paralysis.” In order to push through these feelings of being frozen by fear, there needs to be a shift to a Culture of Safety where mistakes are viewed as sources of data that lead to improvement. This shift allowed for much more confident leaders during high-stress clinical situations to lead to a better response to a patient in need.

Joshua Zeises, CEO & CMO, Paramount Wellness Retreat

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Share Your Obsession; Find Your People

I wasn’t sure anyone else gave a damn about vintage movie posters. That first Famous Movie Posters event nearly killed me to set up. But then people actually showed up, and you could see them light up looking at these pieces. That’s when I got it. Sometimes you just have to put your weird obsession out there and see who shows up.

Simon Moore, Founder/CEO, Famous Movie Posters

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Ask Better Questions; Win Trust And Deals

I always felt like a fraud pitching Nico Digital’s SEO, especially to clients who had seen every agency out there. I used to think I needed all the answers upfront. Then I stopped trying to impress them and just got curious about their business instead. The whole conversation changed. Honestly, asking a few more questions makes that much of a difference.

Aditya Kathotia, CEO, Nico Digital Pvt Ltd

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Niche Down; Deliver Dependable LinkedIn Headshots

I was always worried the market was too crowded. We didn’t see much at first with Fotoria, but instead of dropping prices, we just focused on making the product better. Over time, conversations with customers just shifted. We realized people wanted quick LinkedIn headshots, not generic photos. So we focused on that. In a crowded industry, you stand out by being reliable and doing that one thing people need really well.

Edward Cirstea, Founder, Fotoria

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Hire Early; You Cannot Do It Alone

The hardest part of starting UrbanPro wasn’t the work, it was the loneliness. I was handling sales, product, everything, until I was completely drained. Things only turned around when I hired people and actually let them own their jobs. I should have done that months earlier. My advice to any new founder is to get help sooner. You can’t do it all alone, and trying to will just kill your best ideas.

Rakesh Kalra, Founder and CEO, UrbanPro Tutor Jobs

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Question Authority; Redefine Success For Students

The biggest roadblock was The Authority Bias belief, which essentially states that because a system has always existed and worked “okay,” then that is how it should continue forever. In order to break through that barrier, we needed to start asking questions about traditional education and then view students’ success through a different set of parameters. With that fresh perspective, we were able to create new and more personalized ways of finding success.

Joel Butterly, CEO & Founder, InGenius Prep

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Ask The Market; Let Data Set Standards

I kept wondering if anyone would actually care about the quality we were putting into Ancient Warrior. It was a familiar doubt. So we stopped guessing and started asking. We called suppliers, we grilled customers, we learned what they actually wanted. That’s how we found our standards and our people. In the end, the research and the feedback just quieted the noise.

Tyler Hodgson, Managing Director, Ancient Warrior

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Ditch The Hero; Build Local Capacity

The Hero Complex had the greatest influence on me. In community work, it is easy to get trapped into thinking there is just one person who can fix all of the systemic problems. To move beyond this, the focus needed to shift from being a “Hero” to “Capacity Building.” By helping local leaders develop skills and giving them responsibility, there is better sustainability and greater success than doing it alone.

James Mikhail, Founder, Ikon Recovery

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Quit Comparison; Focus On The Work

The biggest barrier that was holding me down was comparing myself with others. They say comparison is the thief of joy, and it’s especially true when you’re an entrepreneur comparing yourself against competitors, former class mates, people you see online on LinkedIn… Instead of trying to figure out what they did to succeed, I decided to focus on myself and do the hard work I’ve been (un)consciously putting off. The results came very quickly after that.

Daniel Kroytor, CEO, TailoredPay

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Delegate One Thing; Unlock Team-Led Growth

At Bennett Awards, I became the bottleneck. I was checking every single design detail, convinced the project would fail if I didn’t do it myself. It was ridiculous. After some training, my team started delivering work I hadn’t even thought of. They’re the reason we actually grew. If you’re stuck like that, just pick one thing, anything, and hand it off. It’s the only way forward.

Graham Bennett, COO, Bennett Awards

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User Stories Proved Real Connection Was Possible

I kept wondering if a tech person like me could actually create real connection. It all felt so impersonal. Then I started getting messages from women who said our platform made them feel less alone. That was it. Those user stories are what shut up the doubt and keep you going.

Lisa Templeton, Director of Community, Heartthrob

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Simplify Compliance; Raise Safety And Reduce Errors

One of the largest roadblocks is the Complexity Bias. A lot of people have this belief that for a compliance system to be good, it must be really complex. The way we overcame this roadblock was by utilizing a Lean Methodology approach. Through the simplification of the rules to create a streamlined system that makes it easier to comply with, ultimately resulted in the highest safety standards and the fewest number of human errors.

Sean Smith, Founder & CEO, Alpas Wellness

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Adopt The CRM; Watch Communication Improve

I was really worried about moving our company, Truly Tough Contractors, to new digital systems. I thought a CRM would kill the human touch. But then I saw our teams communicating better and not missing details anymore. I was wrong. My advice is to just try it. You might be surprised how much it helps everyone.

Joseph Melara, Chief Operating Officer, Truly Tough Contractors

Have Your Say

We’d love to hear from you:

• Which story felt most familiar to your own experience?
• What mental block has held you back the most?
• Have you ever simplified something and seen better results?

Alignment with the UN SDGs

• SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being
• SDG 4: Quality Education
• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
• SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

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Note: The views and opinions expressed in the content provided on this page are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any organizations mentioned. The information provided is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be interpreted as professional advice. Readers should consult with relevant experts or professionals for guidance specific to their circumstances. The examples used are for illustrative purposes and results may vary depending on various factors. Any external links provided are for convenience, and we do not endorse or take responsibility for the content, products, or services available through these links.

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