How to Identify Potential Barriers to Change

Change is a constant in life, but people have formed many barriers to change. It is a scary ride because it upends everything we know. Identifying barriers to change can help us see what is keeping us from making our lives better. When there are problems in our lives, it is only through change that we can solve them. Therefore, it is important to be able to identify our personal barriers to change and to overcome them. Only that way can we integrate change into our lives and learn how to live with the consequences.

Instructions

• 1

  Identify if you are clinging to a tradition. This can be a barrier to change that keeps you from trying something new. Just because something is a tradition does not mean that it is the only way something can be done.

• 2

  Examine loyalties to existing relationships. Sometimes these loyalties can hold us back from changing. Decide whether the loyalty to the relationship is worth staying in the same situation. Sometimes changing means changing the relationships that are important in your life.

• 3

  Determine whether you accept the need for change. Although change may be something you are thinking about, you may not have accepted that change is really needed. Examine whether the change is really needed and then accept that it is something that must be done.

• 4

  Identify any insecurities regarding change. Change can make things different and that can make people feel insecure. Examine how the change will effect your life and how it may make you feel insecure. Find a way to deal with these insecurities to promote the change in your life.

• 5

  Decide whether you prefer the existing arrangement. Change may be absolutely necessary, but it may be easier to stay in the current arrangement. This is a major barrier to change. The current situation is comfortable and easy. Change would be uncomfortable and difficult, even though it is necessary.

• 6

  Examine whether there is a fear of the unknown. Any time a change is made in life, it brings about new and unknown things. It is normal to be afraid of what the change will create, but this can be a barrier to initiating change at all. Determine whether this fear is keeping you from change.

• 7

  Determine whether there is a fear of not being able to perform as well in the new situation. The change will bring about a new set of circumstances that will test your abilities. It is only natural to fear that you may not be able to do as well as in those circumstances. Use affirmations and visualizations to overcome your barriers and reach a new levels of success.