What's Holding You Back? A Self-Assessment for Christians

You know you should be further along.

Not by someone else's standards — by your own. You have gifts you are not using. A calling you are not pursuing. A version of yourself you have not become.

Something is holding you back. You can feel the weight of it. But you cannot name it. And what you cannot name, you cannot fight.

This self-assessment will help you identify your specific block — the thing standing between where you are and where God designed you to be.

Answer each section honestly. Not what sounds good — what is true.

Section 1: The Fear Block

Answer yes or no:

• I know what I should do next but I am afraid to do it
• I avoid starting things because I might fail
• I would take more risks if I knew they would work out
• I hold back in conversations, meetings, or groups because I might be judged
• I have turned down opportunities because they felt too big

If you answered yes to 3 or more: Your primary block is fear.

Fear is the #1 block to calling. Not because you lack courage — but because fear has been making your decisions without your permission. Your fear might actually reveal your calling — the thing you are most afraid of is often the thing the enemy is most afraid you will do.

Your next step: Name the specific fear. "I am afraid of ___." Then ask: "What would I do if this fear disappeared?"

Section 2: The Clarity Block

Answer yes or no:

• I do not know what my calling is
• I have too many interests and cannot choose between them
• I feel like I should know what I am doing by now but I do not
• I have been searching for direction for more than a year without finding it
• I avoid committing to a direction because I might choose wrong

If you answered yes to 3 or more: Your primary block is clarity.

You do not lack desire or ability. You lack direction. The fog is real — but it is not permanent. Finding clarity requires action, not just more thinking.

Your next step: Stop analyzing. Start experimenting. Try one thing for 90 days. The clarity comes after the action, not before it.

Section 3: The Permission Block

Answer yes or no:

• I am waiting for someone to tell me I am ready
• I feel like I need a credential, degree, or endorsement before I can pursue my calling
• I hold back because I do not want to upset the people in my life
• I would pursue my calling if my spouse/parent/pastor approved
• I tell myself I am "not qualified enough" to start

If you answered yes to 3 or more: Your primary block is permission.

Nobody is coming to tap you on the shoulder. You do not need permission to pursue what God has already called you to. The permission was given when God planted the calling in your heart.

Your next step: Identify whose permission you are waiting for. Then ask: "Is their approval required — or am I hiding behind it?"

Section 4: The Identity Block

Answer yes or no:

• I do not feel like the kind of person who has a calling
• I see myself as ordinary, average, or unremarkable
• I struggle to accept compliments about my abilities
• I compare myself to others and always come up short
• I believe my past disqualifies me from my future

If you answered yes to 3 or more: Your primary block is identity.

You have a calling. You just do not believe someone like you gets to have one. The block is not about what you can do — it is about who you believe you are.

Your identity is in Christ, not in your performance, your past, or your self-assessment. Until your identity shifts, your calling will stay dormant.

Your next step: Read what the Bible actually says about you. Replace the lie with the truth — daily, until it sticks.

Section 5: The Comfort Block

Answer yes or no:

• My life is fine — not great, but fine. I do not feel urgency to change.
• I would rather stay comfortable than risk disruption
• I know what I should do but the cost feels too high
• I have been in the same routine for years and changing feels impossible
• I prioritize stability over calling

If you answered yes to 3 or more: Your primary block is comfort.

Comfort is the quietest and most dangerous block — because it does not feel like a problem. It feels like wisdom. But comfort and calling are often in direct conflict, and comfort wins by default unless you actively choose otherwise.

Your next step: Ask yourself: "What is the cost of staying comfortable for another 5 years?" The cost of inaction is always higher than it appears.

Your Results

Most people have a primary block and a secondary one. Your primary block is the one with the most "yes" answers. Your secondary is the runner-up.

Write this down: "My primary block is ___ and my secondary block is ___."

Naming the block is the first step to breaking through it. You cannot fight what you cannot see. Now you can see it.

The Deeper Assessment

This self-assessment gives you a starting point. It identifies the category of your block.

But within each category, there are layers. The fear block has a root fear underneath it. The identity block has a specific lie driving it. The clarity block has a specific dimension you are missing data on.

CallingTest.com goes deeper. The adaptive assessment identifies not just your block category but the specific root fear, the specific lie, and the specific dimension of calling where you need the most clarity — and then generates a personalized result that addresses all of it.

If this self-assessment told you what neighborhood the block lives in, the full assessment gives you the exact address.

10 minutes. Free. No email.

Take the full assessment →

A Prayer for the Blocked

Lord, I can see the block now.

I have been living behind it for years — calling it wisdom, calling it patience, calling it humility. But it is fear. Or confusion. Or comfort. Or a lie about who I am.

Break the block. Not by removing the difficulty — but by giving me what I need to push through it. Courage for the fear. Action for the confusion. Truth for the lie. Disruption for the comfort.

I am done being stuck behind something that was never supposed to stop me.

Amen.