10 Mistakes That Can Derail Your Success

In our society, success is often seen as something that can be achieved without too much hard work. However, this is not the case. In order to achieve success one must work diligently and avoid making mistakes along the way.

Below are 10 mistakes you should avoid if you want to reach your full potential:

1. Confusing Like for Like People.

One mistake that some people make is confusing their friends and family with those who are actually their peers or superiors. This type of behavior can lead to conflict and often folks will end up feeling resentful towards the person in question. While it may be tempting to help a friend out, do not be fooled, they may be in need of assistance but they most likely do not want or need your help.

2. Trying To Do It All Yourself.

One of the biggest mistakes that you can make is trying to do everything yourself. For example, instead of delegating tasks to others within your organization, you may be tempted to do it all on your own and in the process fail to reach your goals in a timely fashion. Delegation will lead to more efficient processes, which will ultimately get more done at a much quicker pace than if you were simply working on things by yourself.

3. Being Mistaken About Your Blind Spots.

One of the most common mistakes that people make is assuming that they are good at something when in fact they are not. If you do not have a solid understanding of your weaknesses then you will likely make the same mistake several times in your career.

For instance, if you think that you are pretty good at time management and then spend a great deal of time trying to manage too much, your work will suffer because of it. Similarly, if you think that you are good at public speaking believing it to be one of your key strengths, it may be wise to avoid doing so until you can get a better feel for exactly where your strengths lie.

4. Not Knowing How To Say No.

Another common mistake that people make is not knowing how to say NO to certain requests or demands. If you are faced with a new project at work, you may feel that you should jump on the opportunity even though it will set your schedule back by quite a bit; if you do this then your team members may wonder why they didn’t get the same opportunity as you and may start to get jealous because of it.

If someone asks for your help with something, instead of saying yes right away, ask what exactly they would like for you to work on and why; after that ask yourself whether or not it is necessary for you to do the task in question.

5. Not Being Accountable For Your Own Actions.

It’s one thing to blame others for failing to live up to certain expectations and goals that you set, but if it is not your goal then it may be wise not to point the finger. However, everyone makes mistakes, so if someone asks for help without providing any kind of compensation for your time and effort, you may feel like you need to jump in because the person may be really needing some help; however this type of behavior will lead to resentment from other people and also make them think poorly of you in the process.

6. Being Afraid To Make A Mistake.

Another common mistake that people make is being afraid to fall flat on their face if things don’t turn out well. For example, if you are trying to brush up your sales skills, you may be so focused on making a sale that you do not take the time to ask for feedback from the person you are trying to pitch; as a result of this, you may end up feeling bad about yourself and will have trouble getting back up on your feet when things don’t work out.

7. Wasting Time On Small Issues.

One of the main mistakes that you can make is wasting your time on small issues when in fact there are larger issues that you should be focusing on. For example, if your business is running a bit low on cash flow and your customers are not returning as frequently as they were before, it may be wise to shift gears a bit and focus more heavily on getting more traffic to your website and targeting certain demographics.

8. Getting Too Emotionally Involved In Projects.

Another common mistake that people make is becoming too emotionally involved with certain projects or tasks that they find themselves working on. For example, if you are working on a project that involves a relationship with others and then your feelings get hurt because of what someone says about you, it can lead to resentment and anger which is not beneficial for the project.

9. Mistaking Success For Happiness.

One common mistake that many people make is confusing success with happiness; the two are not exactly the same thing. For instance, you may be in a position of authority at work, but if you are not happy with your position or monetary wage, this will lead to unhappiness and an inability to enjoy what you have accomplished thus far. This is an issue that many people face and it can lead to depression or other mental issues down the road without proper care.

10. Not Following Through On The Things You Have Promised.

One of the most common mistakes that people make is getting too comfortable with the things that they have promised to others. For instance, if you agree to work with someone but then never show up for any scheduled meetings, your reputation may be damaged and you may start to lose trust in people as a result. This is why it is wise to keep in mind what you say and what you promise and then live up to those commitments at all times.

Conclusion

The list that we have compiled here is not exhaustive of all the mistakes that you might make, but it does provide a fairly comprehensive list of the types of mistakes that most people make. These are simple mistakes that anyone can avoid by simply being more knowledgeable about them and then following through with them so as to not repeat them again and again whenever the situation arises.

In fact, even if you do make one of these types of mistakes you should still not beat yourself up for it; any person who is aware enough to know better would have never made those kinds of mistakes in the first place.