
25 Apr Stuck
I hate getting stuck.
Have you ever been really fired up about something? Full of enthusiasm for a new project or idea? It may be a new diet, new gym regime, new job, house move, even booking a holiday. You’ve had the idea, you’ve started planning, you may even have told people all about it.
And then it starts…
Maybe you eat something you didn’t intend to, miss a session at the gym, take one look at your old CV and realise how much work is needed to update it, look at the spare room and see how much stuff needs sorting or see how much the holiday is going to cost…
WHAM. Stuck. Rabbit in the headlights.
“I can’t…”
“It’s too hard…”
“I’ve already failed…”
“I’ll do it tomorrow…”
Your brain starts turning it all over and over and over – especially at night: overthinking all the reasons why you’ll never succeed; why you will mess it up; why you shouldn’t even bother.
It’s a form of self-protection I suppose. Probably what stopped us getting trodden on by woolly mammoths or something. Useful then. And maybe up to a point even now. Although woolly mammoths are no longer the problem.
“You just get up each day and put one foot in front of the other and go. You know, each day is different.” -Nancy Reagan
It’s OK to have doubts. It is not OK to let them paralyse you.
These doubts are doors. Doors to where you wanted to go – to that goal you had. When you start overthinking, the door starts closing and it can shut completely, even lock itself if you let it.
How do you keep it open?
DO something. Anything. Anything back towards that goal: start that diet again; go back to the gym; do one task towards sorting that CV, maybe find your employment history; sort one section of that spare room; check your finances and see what you can afford.
One action will lead to another if you make it and suddenly the door is opening and you are not stuck anymore! It really is that simple. Well, simple to say, not always simple to do.
So if you’ll excuse me, I need to go deal with that box just inside the spare room door…
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