Most of us have that one thing that we want to do forever. But we always have an unknown excuse that’s convincing enough to hold us back from working on it. Although, if you know exactly what’s preventing you from doing it, you can change it for the better.

So let’s find out what’s stopping you from starting your new ventures and what to do about it.

1. Daydreaming About the Perfect Future

Daydreaming about your perfect future is quite common. But what most people fail to realize is what it does to them.

Daydreaming is of two types: Positive and negative. The former one helps you be productive, and the latter one, well, it always results in unhealthy outcomes.

But, what’s essential to know is that even positive daydreaming affects you differently. For instance, studies show that thinking about a perfect future decreases your energy, and you tend to accomplish comparatively less. Sometimes, it can even become a distraction, taking up the extra time set aside for working on your project.

How to Improve Your Daydreaming to Encourage Work

While daydreaming about a perfect future decreases your chances of actually achieving it, thinking of a more realistic tomorrow does the opposite.

Instead of fantasizing about how life will be when you have finally accomplished your new venture, think about all the challenges you’ll have to face to achieve it. Additionally, compare your daydream’s stages and figure out what stage you’re currently on. It helps you determine what areas you need to work on.

This way, it’ll motivate you to work in your present to make that perfect future happen.

Besides that, if daydreaming is getting in your way of completing the necessary tasks, identify the patterns. Figure out when you start daydreaming, at what time of day, or while working on which task. It may be when you are bored and want to switch to something else.

So, next time you start to get lost in your daydreams, pause for a second and either replace your perfect thoughts with realistic ones, take a productive break, or change the task you’re working on. Your main goal is to bring yourself back to the present ASAP and actually get things done.

2. Lack of Confidence and Self-Esteem

Another thing that might be stopping you from working on your new venture is the lack of confidence and self-esteem.

You sit down and make the entire plan. But, for some reason, you never really pluck up the courage to actually work on it. Deep down inside, you keep thinking, “I may not be able to pull it off, it may not turn out the way I’ve thought”, or maybe “I’m not cut out for this type of work”.

It’s especially true when your new venture is a bit risky. For instance, starting a new business, going on a solo trip, or quitting your job to find a new one.

How to Build Confidence in Your Plans and Self-Esteem in Yourself

If these are your concerns, create a contingency plan for yourself. That’s what big companies do while handling big and risky projects.

Instead of discarding the whole plan, figure out the threats and make a plan to handle them. It’s also called risk management.

Besides lacking confidence in your plan, if the problem is your self-esteem. Here are a few apps that may help.

CBT Tools for Healthy Living, Self-help Mood Diary

The app is based on Cognitive Behavior Therapy and comes with different features to help you develop confidence and self-esteem.

The various facets include a cognitive diary that helps you evaluate your distress and come up with ways to deal with it. The other features to use are inspire-diary, tests, healthy activities log, mood log, points log, daily goals, etc.

Download: CBT Tools for Healthy Living for iOS | Android (Free)

Think Up

This is another app that can help you build self-esteem by building daily affirmations. It encourages positive thinking, which eventually leads to success.

Download: ThinkUp for iOS | Android (Free)

3. Financial Insecurity

There’s no denying the fact that the biggest demotivation to do anything can be the lack of financial security. When you are concerned about your bills, putting your money into something extra is always off the table.

But does that mean you can do nothing about it? Of course not.

Tips to Get the Financial Situation Right for Your New Venture

To give your project your undivided attention, you need to take care of your financial stress. Here are a few things that can help:

Make a budget. Cut off extra expenses and use that money to invest in your new project. Replace your entertainment time with side projects to earn extra cash. Re-invest the early returns of your new venture and make it pay for itself. You can also read books to build strategies for this plan. Here are my top picks for you: What if it Does Work Out? How a Side Hustle Can Change Your Life for the Better by Susie Moore. Tribe of Mentors: Short Life Advice From the Best in the World by Tim Ferris. Side Hustle: From Idea to Income in 27 Days by Chris Guillebeau.

4. Lack of Focus

If you have decided and planned everything, but, somehow, you can’t seem to focus, you may have one of the following:

Lack of confidence. A ton of distraction. Poorly planned or unplanned time. Tendency to procrastinate.

How to Develop Better Focus

If your problem is the lack of confidence, you know what to do.

On the other hand, if the distractions are getting in your way, consider creating a focus-only workplace. The only things allowed in this special place would be your work tools: laptop, markers, notes, etc. You must keep all the distractions, even if that’s food, away from here.

You can make your distraction-free zone in your home if you have enough room, or consider renting a co-working space.

Plus, an app, like StayFocused, can also help if your main mode of distraction is social media, gaming, or other apps on your phone.

Finally, before I discuss the third and fourth points, let me describe them to you in a bit more detail.

If you constantly seem to think about other things while working or preparing for your new venture, that you might be doing, or should do instead, it’s a bad sign. It means that your boundaries are still unclear. The same goes for procrastination. We only procrastinate on things we think are unimportant (at the time).

Hence, you must clarify to yourself why this project is important and what you’ll achieve in life by doing it. Convince yourself that it’s worth your time.

After that, figure out the exact hours you’ll work on it. If you just leave it for whenever you’re free, you may never find the time to do it. After all, there’s always something that needs your attention.

5. Lack of the Skills Required

Most of the time, what’s getting in our way of getting started is our lack of the required skills or qualifications. It may delude us into thinking, we’re not ready, or it’s not the right time.

Well, think otherwise. There’s never a right time to do anything. And there’s no such skill that you can’t learn. So, instead of letting yourself talk you into why you shouldn’t do it, think of ways to make it possible.

Learn New Skills Anywhere Anytime

With everything available to you in seconds today, it’s never difficult to learn a new skill. You can consider taking real-time classes. However, if time or distance is getting in your way, take them online.

Udemy, Coursera, and The Great Courses are some wonderful platforms that offer various types of courses. You can learn almost anything here from experts.

It’s Now or Never

If you’re still waiting for that “one day” to arrive, you’re wasting your time. And who knows, you may never have the opportunities and resources you have today to work on it in the future.

So do it while you still have time. And take the first step in your new venture.