Test: What's really

standing in your way at

work?
Commitment
You’re not short of enthusiasm and are at your best with a new
challenge – but you have limited tolerance for routine, and perhaps
even a fear of getting stuck. This can lead you to overcompensate
and take a fragmented approach at work; always looking for the
next move. When you feel engaged, you radiate energy but, for free
spirits, the confines of working life can be stifling. When you get
itchy feet or become disinterested, even when you’re normally
conscientious, your feelings of apathy leak out in your behaviour,
whether it’s finding it hard to be on time or disconnecting from
colleagues. It may be that your restlessness is a phase; a life stage in
which you are still forming your sense of self. New challenges
energise and bring experience, but developing a sense of mastery in
one area can boost long-term happiness. It may feel counterintuitive
but, if you ‘lean in’ rather than move on next time you feel restless,
you may find the deeper sense of connection and fulfilment you
crave.

 
Test: What stops you from
simplifying your life?
Be brave
When you’re at the contemplation stage of change, it’s normal to do
a lot of thinking about how you would like life to be different.
That’s OK, as reflecting on what you want is the foundation for
long-lasting change. You can get immersed in gathering ideas and
inspiration for creating a different way of living but, to make
change happen, you have to move from thinking to doing. If you
never seem to progress to that phase, there may be subconscious
resistance to letting go of a chaotic way of life. You might yearn for
things to be simpler, but is there also a part of you that questions
whether you have been ‘successful’ enough to justify stepping off
the treadmill just yet? It’s time to be brave, and commit to
implementing some changes – small tweaks can make a big
difference to your mindset. Disabling the push notifications on your
phone, swapping multitasking for one thing at a time, or starting the
day with 10 minutes of meditation can all help. And, once you’ve
created more headspace, decisions about making bigger changes
may seem easier.

Test: What's your true

passion?
It’s quite common to feel ambitious for success, without
having a clue about what you want to do. Are you
convinced that, if only you could find the right path, there
would be no stopping you? Take this quiz by Sally Brown to
identify what matters to you most and find your core
values

Your core values centre on kindness and

compassion
You believe in going the extra mile – or even 26.2 miles for a
charity marathon – to make the world a better place. It may be
something that has always been important to you, or something that
has grown in recent years, but you’re convinced that the power of
kindness can improve relationships and life in general, both locally
and globally. You may already have found yourself drawn to
working in a caring profession, such as social services, nursing or
counselling. But your values can also be expressed in other
professions. Living compassionately often goes hand-in-hand with a
well-developed sense of empathy, and you may find it easy to step
into another person’s shoes. This can be expressed in many aspects
of the corporate world, in jobs that rely on building trust and good
relationships with clients. If your job is at odds with this core value,
seek to nurture it outside the office, perhaps in voluntary work.

Test: What are you really

afraid of?
 Is fear holding you back? Take our test to find out what’s
keeping you stuck in your comfort zone, and what needs to
change for courage to flourish

Failure
It’s not easy to admit when fear of failure is holding you back and
you can come up with legitimate reasons why it’s not the right time
to put your plans and dreams into action. But, if you keep stalling,
chances are you’re afraid of failure. Is there an undermining voice
in your head saying you can’t cope with challenges, or you’ll make
a mess of them? Procrastination can also keep you stuck, but it’s
not due to laziness. You’re more likely to be sabotaged by over-
preparing, or a feeling that everything has to be perfect first. There
is logic to fear of failure; we evolved with ‘better safe than sorry’
brains to keep us safe in our caves. But, if we always play it safe,
we miss out on the chance to prove to ourselves that we won’t fail,
or that we can cope if we do. Deep down, you know that making
mistakes is part of how you grow. Break down your plans into baby
steps; treat each as an experiment rather than fixating on getting it
right; an information-gathering process to be approached with a
curious mind.
 

Test: What kind of fresh

start do you need?
Do you feel like you need to make adjustments but you’re
not sure where to begin? Take our test to decide which
area to focus on. Test by Dominique Francois for
Psychologies France. Translated by Kerry Whitston
Focus on inner transformation
Like everyone else, you moan about all the difficult situations that
you have to deal with, and life seems less than ideal at times. It goes
without saying that you would love to improve some things.
However, the source of your dissatisfaction is not usually connected
to external circumstances, rather your frustration is directed towards
yourself. You have a tendency to blame yourself for a lot of things,
eg ‘I am not thin enough, rich enough, clever enough...’ or
‘Everything is my fault’. In short, you are too hard on yourself. You
would love to change your personality a bit to make it stronger,
more courageous, more determined and get rid of certain
inconvenient failings. Perhaps you had a very strict upbringing
where your flaws were overly highlighted and little focus was put
on your good points. Don’t raise the bar so high that it clouds your
self-esteem and prevents you from appreciating your true value.
Accept your strengths, but also your weaknesses. Content yourself
with changing just one thing – the way you view yourself.

Test: What’s the root

cause of your
procrastination?
If you’re frustrated that your visions for the future never
become reality, take our test to find out the real source of
your postponement problem
A conscientious procrastinator
You have a keen sense of duty and responsibility and hate letting
people down. These are admirable traits, but they can stop you
making changes. You hesitate in taking a leap in case it’s not best
for others, so you put things off, waiting for the ‘right time’ to make
a move. It’s wonderful that you think about the impact on other
people when considering a decision, but you forget to think of your
own needs. There’s no doubt that being good at ‘putting up and
shutting up’ and slow to complain make you popular and great to be
around, but your ability to tolerate lack of fulfilment and
unhappiness can hold you back, because it dilutes your motivation.
Conscientious procrastinators are prone to overthinking, as you
consider all eventualities of every step you take. If you look hard
enough, you will always find reasons not to do something and,
sometimes, you need to take a chance. When you catch yourself
worrying about whether people will be annoyed or put out by your
decision, remind yourself that if you can tolerate uncomfortable
feelings, other people can, too.
 

Test: What’s stopping you

from making a new start?
Failure, betrayal, loss or even unexpected blessings: some
things in life stop us in our tracks, making it difficult to
move on. Take our test to discover what’s holding you
back. By Flavia Mazelin Salvi and Michel Lejoyeux for
Psychologies France
You feel like you've failed
YOUR VIEW: You messed up and your project didn’t work out;
you missed out on a promotion due to your shortcomings; your love
affair ended as a result of your flaws; you had to abandon your great
idea because you weren’t organised enough. YOUR
BEHAVIOURr: You feel angry and bitter, and shut down
emotionally every time the subject of your failed ambition comes
up. Your habit of brooding over your perceived mistakes or
dwelling on what went wrong doesn’t leave you the energy to focus
on new plans or enjoy anything related to whatever you were trying
to achieve. You either spend your time punishing yourself, or you
go the other way and denigrate the whole project to protect yourself
from suffering. DECODING THE ISSUE: You’re stuck in a
negative world view. This way of thinking is often rooted in
childhood. It may be the result of an upbringing governed by
inflexible rules of absolute certainty, in which any kind of
questioning was discouraged. Where there’s an emphasis on
achievement and a child’s emotional responses are dismissed, later
in life they’re liable to think of everything in terms of success or
failure. The blurring of boundaries between who you are and what
you do makes failure all the more difficult to deal with. HOW TO
MOVE ON: Get out of the habit of black-and-white thinking. Say
yes to things you wouldn’t normally do, just to surprise yourself.
Try to rid yourself of preconceptions; bring a bit of spontaneity into
your life by trying out new things – start by cooking or wearing
something out of the ordinary. Invest time in new experiences, such
as reading books or travelling, to feel something outside your usual
frame of reference. Drop your attitude of ‘success or failure’ in
favour of ‘like or dislike.’