It might seem obvious to you, but it wasn’t to me.

In the past, I would just stop working on the project and move on to something else.

That left a lot of half-finished projects in my wake.

There was a pattern

I began to notice my pattern: When the going gets tough, I watch a Hallmark movie.

Realizing that — noticing that there are situations where I stop moving forward — was pivotal, though.

I started asking myself, “Why?” I needed to understand what made me stop.

When I gave myself the time to accept I had hit a wall and explore why, I was able to identify the obstacles holding me back.

As I did this more and more, I noticed that I usually came upon the same obstacles:

• There’s not enough time.
• I don’t know how to do it.
• I don’t have the right tools or resources.
• I’m afraid I might fail.
• The next step is so big or complicated that it overwhelms me.
• Something else became a higher priority.

What are your obstacles?

Are any of those things obstacles for you, too? Or do you encounter other obstacles that keep you from making progress with your book or how you market it?

I thought about this as I continued to work on my 2018 goals with my goal buddy this week.

There have been too many years when I had plans that didn’t materialize. Last year, for example, I was excited about a new book idea. Something stopped me from finishing it.

Pay attention

So this is the year I pay more attention to my rhythm.

I need to notice when I’ve stalled. That will allow me to identify the unseen obstacles in my path and figure out how to move them out of the way.

I’m experienced enough to know I won’t always be able to do that alone. And I’m smart enough to bring in help when I need it.

In a year from now, I want to be able to tell you that I not only identified my obstacles, I figured out how to get over, under, and around them.

My wish for you is that you can say the same.

I hope that you will also pause to think about why you stopped working on your book, its marketing, or anything else that’s important to you. That will help you plan how you’ll navigate around the obstacles you’ve identified.

Let’s use this quote to remind us.

“Never give in to the obstacles that lie in your path towards the achievement of your dreams.” ~~ Lailah Gifty Akita

If one of your obstacles is lack of a solid book marketing plan, be certain to download my free template. I walk you through every step of the process. All you have to do is click the blue bar below to get your free Book Marketing Plan Template:

What’s holding you back? What are your obstacles? Tell us in a comment.