Arie came to me because he had fallen far behind his production goals for the year and couldn’t get any enthusiasm going to pick up the phone and try to get busy changing that state of affairs.
He said, “part of me knows what I should do, even wants to do it, but then another part says I’m so far behind, why even try today; I’ll deal with it tomorrow”.
Well clearly, tomorrow hadn’t arrived for Arie. He felt stuck, stymied, and thought “why bother?”
Newton’s First Law of Motion states that a body at rest will remain at rest unless an outside force acts on it, and a body in motion at a constant velocity will remain in motion in a straight line unless acted upon by an outside force.
Nothing is Wrong
Most of us, when we hit a wall, especially a wall that turns into a “hole” think there is something wrong. But if you look at it like a simple physics equation, then all we have to do is find the remedy for a “body at rest”.
Arie simply needed something that acted as an “outside force” upon his situation which was stuck, resting at it’s current level.
Get Moving
The first step when stuck is to get moving. And the fastest, easiest way to do that I’ve found is to pause, and then look up; both literally and figuratively.
When you look up, with your eyes, it reboots your brain. You have the opportunity to stop thinking the thoughts that are keeping you stuck and replace them with new thoughts. This changes your emotions and physiology as well. Suddenly, it’s easier to get moving.
It’s When You’re Moving That You Can Steer
Once you are free to get moving, you can steer toward your destination. Look up, this time energetically, away from what you focused on that was stuck, and up toward where you want to go. With your attention on what you want, you’re now free to move in the direction you want to go, you’re free and moving.
Momentum; the tendency of a moving object to continue moving
Once You’re Moving, Getting To Momentum
The first step is getting moving. After that, it’s about aiming. Finally, it’s about reaching a speed that helps you keep moving. That’s what we mean when we talk about attaining momentum in business, the motion itself helps you stay in motion. Feels good.
Try this…
The next time you feel stuck, as soon as you become aware that you’ve come to rest, that you feel stuck; look up. Just take a beat, look up with your eyes and take a few breaths. Notice how everything gently falls away and you have a bit of space to look, think, act differently.
Next step is to aim for what you want, set your new direction. Say aloud to yourself, or write down somewhere what you do want, where you’re aiming. If you want to super charge it, you may make the statement stronger, “I choose to call my next 5 potential clients with an attitude of best service ever and a smile in my voice”.
If you get stuck ask yourself a question like “What needs to happen for me to get the most done and enjoy it today”? Or “I wonder how many people I could serve today with my product/service”?
For Arie, getting moving again included not just the tool we talked about here, but taking time for clarity, really getting to the heart of what he wanted personally, and in his business; and why that was important to him. Once he had an alignment going, it become easy to take the actions needed. Arie stopped doing things half-heartedly and became very enthusiastic about the time spent with potential and current clients.
And they responded! His clients began to offer suggestions for how he could expand his business. Arie found that for every minute he spent on clarity and alignment, he got a return on his investment in more immediate client conversions, a drop in time/energy dealing with client complaints, and in fresh ideas that created leverage but also personal fulfillment. He no longer dreaded going to work.
Momentum doesn’t just happen once…
Momentum isn’t a one time state you attain, like reaching “21”. Momentum is a state of being in your business that requires support, reinvention, regular assessment, and fresh force applied in the direction you want to go.
Come get moving!
Join me for one of my free upcoming events; thebeingcoachevents.com or sign up for my introductory Manifest At Light Speed Diagnostic.
Comment Below
Have you found a clever way of getting going when stuck that you would like to share? Then please do tell us about it in the comment section below.