“Where am I stuck?” is a terrific question to ask yourself every now and then. No need to wait for a major sticking point or crisis; solving the little roadblocks as they pop up is a great way to reduce the probability of major roadblocks down the road.
Where are you “resisting happiness”? Procrastinating? Biding time? Treading water? We generally get stuck when our “want” power is weak relative to the perceived challenges of change or when our inertia and complacency exceed our desire to move forward. Two common methods are ramping up the want power by obsessively visualizing the goal or increasing the pain by focusing on the cumulative loss of inaction. The logic of the latter method follows: If the Pain of Action is 50 all at once and the Pain of Inaction is just 1 a day, on any given day inaction is the easy choice but embrace the art of the long view and action is the only sensible, loving choice.
Two other methods to create forward momentum are upgrade your “Main 5” i.e. the folks you spend the most time with. Hang out with people with good habits and inspirational life purpose, you will find yourself upping your game. Related to that is boosting your self-concept, raising your identity, how you see yourself. Write out who you think you are, what you believe yourself capable of both now and as you extend your grasp. Look for ways to enlarge that image that rings true to you, ways that move you, juice you, excite you. Move toward that vision every day, even if only in small, incremental steps. They will add up powerfully.
Closing Quotes:
“Every choice in life either moves you forward or keeps you stuck.” – Oprah Winfrey
“Playing safe is probably the most unsafe thing in the world. You cannot stand still. You must go forward.” – Robert Collier, 1885-1950, Riches within Your Reach/Secret of the Ages
“We act like wind-up toys, repeatedly bumping into the same walls, never realizing there may be an open door just to our right or our left.” – Susan David, Emotional Agility: Get Unstuck, Embrace Change, and Thrive in Work and Life
As always, I share what I most want and need to learn. – Nathan S. Collier