Everyone at some point has wondered what does it take to be successful? Where can you get your big break? When is it going to be your turn? How hard do you have to keep pushing? I have noticed these patterns in people pursuing their careers and dreams that have wondered the same thing but have run into a roadblock at some point. The hard truth is, the roadblock could be you.

There is a list of things that I have constantly heard people express when it comes to their career and a few I have said or felt myself. Here, I mention 10 of these things you may be doing that could be hindering you from your growth.

1. You wait for opportunities to come to you

I am sorry to tell you, but an opportunity is not going to knock on your day and say ‘I heard you were what we were looking for me.' Do not wait for people to come to you. You may be one in those rare cases where someone will find you or you run into someone who is looking for you, but how many times does that really happen?

If you wait and wander around for an opportunity to come through for you or if someone is going to call you in for an interview, you are wasting your time. You have to be so productive that you forget about it and continue to work on your goals. This is all apart of the process.

2. You are constantly comparing yourself to other people

I’m sure this one hurts, but it is the truth. You mean to tell me you were created for a specific purpose and you are going to go pursue someone else’s? I know it is hard sometimes to look at other people and want what they have, but honestly, you do not know how they got there. You do not know how long it took them and furthermore, you don’t even know if it is real. A lot of things you see can be make-believe.

You are unknowingly putting yourself on a shelf when you could be one step closer to achieving what you want to do, but you are too busy chasing someone else’s dream. The mistake in this is it will deter you away from your own goals and you will find yourself competing, feeling discouraged and unworthy of something if you do not reach it the exact same way as the person you are comparing yourself to. Everything that person does, you will try to measure against the expectations of yourself. So if you want something, create your own vision and take one step each week to make sure that you are getting there.

3. You don’t try hard enough

The struggle is real! There have been times where I wanted to quit. I mean just give up and start talking myself into working for the rest of my life. No, you do not have to struggle to be on top, but what you do have to do is put in some work. Jesus put in work, what makes you different?

Not being productive is a sure way to get you to believe you are not as good as you think you are and you may even start settling and even worse stop altogether. The world needs you, so pick yourself up and be consistent. You are not the only one that has to endure challenges. In fact, every successful person had to.

4. You are not as passionate as you used to be

I hate this word because people define it in a way in which they want to. I’m going to break down what it means for me. It is not blood, sweat, and tears. It is not setting a high expectation of yourself. It is enjoying what you do and doing it even when there is no outcome. It is doing what you love to do well, no matter how often you do it.

If you find that you are lacking drive and not enjoying what you used to do, it may either be time for another career path or eliminate some distractions, which brings me to my next point.

5. You are too distracted

Try taking yourself out in a quiet space with no one else around and ask yourself what do you constantly do on a regular basis that you could do without? It is necessary to have that quiet time because you will truly be able to reflect on what that is and you can choose to eliminate it or you can reduce it.

If you do not have at least 30 minutes to yourself in a day, it is time for some readjustments. No one should be so busy or involved where you cannot have a moment to yourself. Most of the time, taking a step back can help address any distractions at hand.

6. You just don’t care

We all get lazy sometimes, but if this is a professional habit for you, it is time to start reevaluating life. If you do not care about what you do, why should anyone else? It is okay to find another career path, but don’t continue to do something that you no longer care about.

7. You let an opportunity pass you by or think there will be a better time

Opposed to number one, when you get an opportunity you leave it hanging on the table because of number six. Waiting too long to pursue something will backfire on you. You may hear countless of times how someone wished they could have done something different or better with their lives or given another chance. Do not take your time for granted. Once it is gone, you can never get it back. You can only pick up where you left off. If you continue to put your career on hold, you will regret it.

When you think about pursuing something, do it. Though there is never a perfect time, the point is to be relentless and just go for it.

8. You feel that it should happen overnight

You have this brilliant idea and/or talent and you do not understand why someone would overlook it? Listen to me. We all have ideas, but how relatable it is to other people affects the outcome. You didn’t go into this thinking that you weren’t going to put in any work. You thought it should be simple and easy.

Patience is a virtue. If you cannot understand whatever challenges come your way and what things don’t just happen every night, you may want to rethink why you are doing it.

9. You do it for the wrong reasons

Are you starting to see a pattern here? It is all in how you think and what do you do it for. I remember when I was in middle school and I would think about a career I wanted to look into. I had my heart set on being a painter because I painted very well. I eventually got out of it because I was starting to get weary and my paint jobs were good, but lacked what I used to be able to give it as a child.

It was not until I realized how much painters made and what they make it based on. After figuring that out, I was done. It was because I lost touch with it along time ago when I was a child. Now as a writer, if I had to say I would do it without the money involved, I absolutely would because it allows me to help and impact people at the same time! So just because you may not feel someone will be able to tell the difference if you love what you do or not, they will. It will eventually show.

10. You fear being rejected

You feel you have the best work that anyone has to offer. You should rightfully feel that way. The thing is, we are all humans with a different outlook on life, skills, and personalities. This is why you have to understand there will always be someone who thinks they are better than you and there will always be points where you will think you could have done better. It is all part of living and learning. And unless you live under a rock somewhere, everyone has faced rejection.

This is also why it is important to know who your target audience is. And it's equally important to understand that you simply may not be what someone wants.

Many times we are unaware that we are doing these things. The first step is admitting and then focusing on what not to do. If you want a change in your career development, you are going to have to change the way you think about it.