Getting Unstuck - 5 Ways to Get Out of Your Own Way

Do you have a goal or a project that you aren’t making as much headway on as you'd like? Or do you feel like you’re swimming in circles and not moving forward? Regardless of how experienced you are in your career, there will be times that you feel stuck.

5 Ways To Get Out Of Your Own Way (And Do Your Work)

I heard this fantastic podcast from the Accidental Creative recently and thought I'd share it (and my own recap for those who don't listen to podcasts) because this is a topic that comes up frequently when I speak with other creatives (although you don't need to be a designer to find these ideas useful).

In this inspirational podcast, Todd Henry talks about some of the psychological barriers that get in our way of moving forward, and outlines a few questions we can ask ourselves to help identify the roadblocks and move them out of the way.

Identifying your psychological barriers can ignite a spark that will jumpstart your creative engine.

Here are the take-aways I gleaned about the questions we can ask to keep moving forward. By asking yourself these questions you can “ignite a spark that can jumpstart your creative engine.” If this speaks to you, you should listen to the podcast, because Todd Henry is brilliant. 

What are you afraid might happen?

This is helpful if you can see a path forward but you haven’t been making headway on it. What are you afraid might happen if you go for that big goal or a new thing? Are you afraid you might find out you’re not as good at this new thing as you hoped? Are you are afraid of letting people down? Intellectually, you may know that there will be a learning curve, that you are bound to make some mistakes when you try something new, but it’s important to identify if this psychological barrier is keeping you from doing something big or new. And that leads to the next question…

Where are you too comfortable? 

Staying in our comfort zone diminishes our drive to keep growing. Are there habits, systems, dependencies, or patterns you fall into that help you feel comfortable? That feeling is like a warm, cozy blanket... comfy, but it can smother your brilliance. Getting out of our comfort zone is critical to getting unstuck.

Do you need more information?

Do you need to ask better questions about what it is you're trying to achieve? Or why Do you have gaps in your understanding, if you're trying to do something you haven't done before? Make sure you’ve clearly defined your work and you know what you’re trying to do — identifying where your gaps are can help you direct your efforts and overcome your paralysis.

Are you unsure of what drives you?

We’re all driven by 3 things — Pay, prestige, and process (love of doing the work itself). We’re all motivated by a mix of these. But these can get out of wack, so you may be tempted to take work that pays well but it doesn’t really move you in the direction you want to go in your career. Or you may take a job where you like the work, but you don't have the title or pay you deserve for your experience. Understanding what motivates you will help you identify why you aren’t making progress in the direction you’d like to be going.

Have you thought about what’s at stake?

Your work is an expression of your identify — you have an opportunity to bring your best to what you are doing today. Are you squandering that opportunity? 

Nothing comes to clarity through a lack of action.

"Nothing comes to clarity through a lack of action." Todd makes this point a couple of times in this podcast — we learn as we act… you can’t think your way out of a problem, you have to act. 

So, my advise is that if you’ve identified any psychological barriers through asking yourself these questions, the very next thing you need to do is to act. Do one thing outside your comfort zone that moves you toward your ultimate goal. It can be a small thing — it probably should be a small thing if you’ve been feeling stuck for awhile, because chances are you may also be employing the “all or nothing” frame of mind which is another psychological barrier we employ that keeps us from moving toward a goal. But after you think about it, do something… “We learn as we act.”

http://www.accidentalcreative.com/podcasts/ac/podcast-5-ways-get-way-work/