3 Reasons We Feel It's Too Late to Achieve Our Goals

There is a big difference between rewarding and unproductive fatigue. Since life is short, concentrate on the important things and break any routines or habits that constantly give you the impression that it is too late to achieve your goals.

Note: This article is by Marc Chernoff, who talks about 3 reasons why we feel it's too late to achieve our goals.

3 Reasons We Feel It's Too Late to Achieve Our Goals

1. Trying to Overcome Challenges in a Non-Supportive Environment

No matter how strong your will and determination are, if you stay in an environment that negatively affects your good intentions, you will eventually give in to that environment and blend into it. As a result, most of us experience mistakes and setbacks that alter our lives.

When we struggle to make progress in a non-supportive environment, we believe there are no other options available to us and that it is impossible to transition, even temporarily, to a more positive and encouraging setting.

Therefore, we exhaust all of our energy by forcing ourselves to fit in and adjust to the challenges and issues of that unhealthy environment rather than working in a supportive and encouraging environment that propels us to advance and grow in our lives. Ultimately, even with our greatest efforts, we discover that our energy has run out.

The most important thing to remember is that your surrounding environment significantly impacts you, so the best investment of your energy is to choose and create environments—especially those you will work in—that will support the results and goals you intend to achieve. For example, if you are trying to quit smoking, you should:

• Spend less time with your smoking friends.
• Spend less time in social environments that encourage smoking.

Your willpower, no matter how strong, will eventually crumble and weaken if you do not put these two conditions into practice. As such, you need to set boundaries for yourself and stick to them at all costs. After that, you need to prepare your surroundings to fulfill your commitment.

Some Other Examples

• The best way to lose weight is to spend more time in healthy environments with people who eat healthily and exercise regularly.
• The best thing you can do to pursue your dream of becoming a professional comedian is to network with other professional comedians, form partnerships with them, share experiences, and focus your life and work environment on that goal.
• Connecting with people who share your goals and intentions is the best thing you can do to overcome challenges and lead a happier life. Local support groups, conferences on self-development, and online support groups and training programs can all help achieve this.

Determination, resolve, and willpower can only get you so far. You also need to gradually change your environment accordingly if you want to make meaningful, constructive, and long-lasting changes in your life. This is a basic act of human development; consequently, conscious development entails making the deliberate decision to live in rich environments that enrich you or create them on your own, allowing you to adapt and progressively improve as a person.

2. Believing That Others Define Your Success and How You Should Achieve It

During my upbringing, there was an implicit but unanimously agreed-upon definition of success in my family. Although we did not discuss this definition explicitly and openly, it was implied during most conversations and decisions that involved me directly or indirectly. All members of my immediate and extended family belonged to one of the following two groups:

• Educated people and recent university graduates who work in comfortable positions at a large company with a consistent income.
• Manual laborers who worked hard and diligently while moving up the corporate ladder in a major company.

In my family, the implicit definition of success was getting a steady salary from a big company, and that was the common denominator between the two groups. According to that definition, I was and am still a failure in life. I have a degree from a university, but I have moved between small startups, where my pay was low, and I have never held a steady job. However, I was learning each time.

After many years of this, I left my day job amidst my breakdown due to the accumulation of tragedies and misfortunes in my life to fully commit to a side project that my wife Angel and I were gradually developing: the Marc and Angel Hack Life blog.

My family doubted my evolving career path and decisions. Still, eventually, I had to let go of their definition of success and any other definition that others had forced upon me.

It was not easy; the beliefs I held and the success definitions ingrained in my mind since childhood were firmly anchored in the customs and tales I had grown up with, to the point where they largely became the standard by which I evaluated my life. As a result, it took me some time to clear my mind and realize the definition of success.

You must understand me a little bit; everyone experiences this phenomenon at some point in their lives. Even the most experienced entrepreneurs and creative people I know are susceptible to the misconception that success is measured by money and fame.

The bottom line: While it may be challenging and time-consuming to let go of others' definitions of success and not allow them to impact you, doing so frees you from the limitations of reliance on others and permits you to express your true identity completely. Therefore, I want you to give this some serious thought because you shouldn't lead your life based on what others think is successful. After all, they won't accept your choices.

Most of us adopt our definitions of success and beliefs from the people around us simply instead of thoughtfully considering what success truly means to us and relying on our definitions.

One of our coaching clients told us she wanted to become a millionaire to take certain steps toward achieving success. However, when we delved deeper into her story, reasons, and thoughts, it became clear that most of the reasons driving her desire to become a millionaire did not actually require a million dollars to achieve success. It was simply that she had been raised with this belief, which made her laugh when she realized it after our long discussion.

It is easy to let go of believing in others' definitions and fabricated beliefs by understanding the essence of your goals and your true definition of success from your perspective. Know that the point is not that one measure of success is better or worse than another; rather, it is about having the opportunity to choose your own definition of success according to your perspective and your own terms.

All you need to realize is that the more aware and reflective you are about what success means to you, the stronger your ability to pursue the right path to success becomes, and the less you will feel regret at the end of your journey.

3. Waiting to Find Passion Outside of Ourselves

Know that every moment is valuable, and strive to live each day with enthusiasm and purpose. Passion is not something you find in life; it is something you practice. So, you must force yourself to take a step forward when you want to discover the enthusiasm and inner strength you need to change a situation.

Many of us still desperately try to find our passion, believing that we will achieve happiness and our desired life by doing so, forgetting that passion is not something lost that we need to search for; rather, it is the commitment we put into every task we undertake, whether small or large.

When you believe that passion comes from somewhere, you are waiting for the ideal situation to present itself before you put in the necessary time, effort, and resources to succeed. However, perfect circumstances are uncommon, so you'll have to wait longer.

If you are sick of waiting and ready to live to the fullest and start making positive changes in your life, all you need to do is feel passionate about what you will do next.

Simply put, consider the last times you tried your hardest at something, exercised to the fullest extent possible, and engaged in a meaningful conversation with a loved one without being sidetracked by outside events.

Like most people, you likely approach most tasks with weak determination because you haven't yet discovered your calling in life—something magical that will allow you to lead the life you've always wanted. But you must stop waiting.

When I was a child, my grandmother always told me, “Stop waiting for better opportunities; the best opportunity is the one in front of you now. Stop planning to accomplish everything perfectly; work on getting it done with what you have available. Stop waiting for perfect conditions; give your best effort to achieve what you want with the available resources. You can always improve the results later.”

Modern psychological research supports all this advice. Psychologists have long believed that our mental state directly affects our physiological state, but not the opposite. However, it has recently been shown that our facial expressions and posture, for example, directly influence our mental state. This means that mental state and physiological condition mutually influence each other, which you can leverage to your advantage.

If you want to feel more passionate and happier, focus all of your emotions and energy on the task at hand.

Instead of waiting for better opportunities down the road, seize and relish the opportunity in front of you at this very moment. Focus on the tasks and give your current relationships your whole attention rather than worrying about tomorrow's tasks.

There are a lot of things on your plate that deserve your attention. You have a lot of passion waiting to be let loose, and you have people and circumstances that require your attention.

In Conclusion

Focus on the simplicity and beauty of leading a more purposeful, passionate, and determined life in a healthy environment.