Have you been contemplating asking for a promotion but find yourself hesitating? Or maybe you’re eager to launch a side business but feel unsure about where to start?

You might be grappling with feelings of guilt, self-annoyance, and frustration over your stalled plans. It’s easy to pin the blame on a lack of time or financial resources for this inertia.

However, the key to realizing your ambitions may be rooted in your mindset. Renee Houtstra, a prominent mindset and accountability coach from Edmonton, Canada, specializes in guiding entrepreneurs who manage six and seven-figure enterprises to dismantle restrictive beliefs and thought patterns.

Fortunately, Houtstra, at 39, shared her insights exclusively with the Daily Mail on how a simple shift in mindset can revolutionize your career trajectory.

She identified and dissected the prevalent mental barriers that often hinder professional progress and provided strategies to overcome them.

Houtstra points out that a major obstacle preventing individuals from advancing in their careers is the fear of failure.

‘Failure is subjective and means so many different things to different people,’ she said.

‘Being able to identify what it is about the failure that is preventing you from moving forward will be key to solving this problem.’

The secret to fulfilling your goals might simply lie in your state of mind, according to top mindset and accountability coach Renee Houtstra , from Edmonton, Canada

Houtstra explained that if you’re waiting to ask for a promotion or start that side hustle until you feel ready, you might be stuck waiting for years since nobody ever feels fully ready to take a big plunge.

And for those who put things off because they feel like they don’t have enough time, Houtstra stated: ‘Time isn’t the problem, your priorities and desires are. 

‘Every “I can’t” really means “It’s not important enough to me.” Understand that if you really wanted to do it you would find time.’

She explained that conflict should not be avoided in the work place, in fact, it’s vital to ensure you don’t build up any resentment.

‘Every “it’s fine” when it’s not, every “yes” when you meant “no” means obligation and resentment and when we work out of those scarcity mindsets you will reach burnout so much faster,’ she said.

‘You will never achieve the level of freedom you are looking for as an entrepreneur if you are always resentful towards the tasks you need to do.’

Houtstra revealed that another common excuse that stops people from moving forward at work is that they’re worried they might upset people.

‘People-pleasing isn’t kindness, it’s self-sabotage,’ she stressed.

Houtstra, 39, has revealed how simply shifting your mindset can transform your career exclusively with the Daily Mail 

‘Following through with your goals and desires and decisions that are right for you even if others get upset about it is the ultimate place to be.’

While she noted that ‘loyalty, perfectionism and integrity are strengths,’ they could ultimately ‘stop you from delegating or taking risks.’

‘[These] core values [could] be your biggest sabotage,’ she continued. 

‘If you are loyal you may be staying loyal to the wrong people struggling to let them go, or you may be holding on to a program that is no longer serving you because you are too loyal to it and the people who have taken the program before.

‘There needs to be a balance with your values and business just like some situations require equality and others require inclusivity.’  

Houtstra also pointed out that while ‘busywork’ may ‘feel productive,’ it’s often just ‘another form of procrastination.’

In addition, the expert said it’s important to be yourself in the work place in order to form real ‘connections.’ 

‘Wearing a mask at work feels professional, but it kills connection. If people never meet the real you, they won’t remember you and connection is what actually gets you opportunities,’ she said.

‘There is no personal time and business time, there is just time. How you spend that time can be strategic just like how you view your professional self versus your everyday self.

‘There is no one or the other, there is just you… if your social media and business presence is losing your personality because of professionalism then you will lose opportunities as well.’