5 Habits That May Be Holding You Back - Part Three

 

We all want to get ahead, be sure you aren't making these mistakes.

 

I think that almost everyone is trying to get ahead in their careers. Whether you are looking for a new job or trying to keep the one you have, there may be some work habits you have developed over the years that are actually holding you back from achieving the things you want.

 

In Part One and Part Two of this series, we talked about being unreliable and not being willing to pitch in. Some of these habits can take a great deal of self reflection to admit, but they can hinder your success in your career and in your life.

 

Here is the next habit that could be keeping you from your dreams:

 

Procrastination

 

We all do it. I know that for me, this one is also a big problem. I have been working hard at changing this and for the most part, I have been successful, but it's still a challenge.

Many people think that putting things off until later is a result of being lazy or unmotivated, but it simply isn't true. People procrastinate for many reasons, but the main one is because they are afraid of not doing something well. Because they worry that they can't do a task as well as they want to, they just avoid doing it.

 

The real problem is perfectionism. I hear people bragging all the time about how they are a perfectionist. The truth is, it isn't a good thing. In fact, it is a disease that will suck all of the joy out of your job and your life.

 

Just like many other disorders, perfectionism can cause you to have a really skewed version of the world. Working from this vision, a perfectionist takes actions that further their goals, causing them to do things that actually end up hurting their lives, their careers and make things less perfect.

 

It's really screwed up, but the problem is that when you are focused on every detail, you can't see the larger picture. It is the whole “can't see the forest because of the trees” problem. Perfectionism prevents its victim from being flexible and being able to perform at a high level.

 

As a result, a perfectionist puts off doing things because they never think that they will be able to do a good enough job, at least not good enough to be “perfect”. They aren't happy with their work, with the effort they put in or even with the other people in their lives. Instead of working at something and achieving less than perfect result, they put it off until they have no choice but to rush through it.

 

This way they still fall short of their goal, but they have something else to blame it on.

 

If you think that perfectionism and procrastination are standing in your way, try to remind yourself that getting started ahead of time is the best way to achieve a great result. By doing the best you can, and then editing and modifying you're proud of it, you can get pretty close to perfect.

 

Do you procrastinate? Do you think that you are a perfectionist? What do you do to avoid this? I would love to hear your thoughts and suggestions in the comments.

 

By Melissa Kennedy- Melissa is a 9 year blog veteran and a freelance writer for LogisticsJobsiteBlog, along with helping others find the job of their dreams, she enjoys computer geekery, raising a teenager, supporting her local library, writing about herself in the third person and working on her next novel.