I know how it feels to be stuck in business, when you're in the soup of it and not sure what to do. Staying in that space and place can be paralysing yet at the same time, days slip by while you're in that reactive mode. And if things don't change, they will remain the same which is kind of scary.
What to when you don't know what to do?
#1 Change your environment
The first thing to do when you're feeling stuck and you don't know what to do is to change your environment. Get outside, go for a walk and settle into a comfy chair in your favourite coffee shop. While you're here, it's time to look at things as they are and not worse than they are.
If you need to, get a clean sheet of paper and write a list of the things that are troubling you. What's got you stuck? Why is this a big deal? What needs to be improved? What will happen if it doesn't change?
Keep asking yourself deep questions about this situation. And keep reminding yourself to look at the problems as they are, not worse than they are. When you reframe problems as opportunities for improving your business or a situation, you might find your brain slips into what it does best - solving problems.
When you're ready now that you've reset, it's time to review and reflect from a different point of view. And to help you, I've got a simple self coaching tool and reflection worksheet over here for you to grab.
#2 Get help, this is not last resort
It's one thing to sit in a coffee shop and figure out what the real thorn in the paw is. And it's another thing to sit in the soup and stew on it. Rumination is not helpful. Once you're clear on what the real problem is, seek help, guidance, advice, coaching, or simply someone to talk it through.
In my tech and agency days, I had bought the whole team little rubber ducks to sit on their desks. These were a reminder that if they're sitting on a problem for too long to talk it out. By saying the problem out loud, explaining the background and context of the problem, describing what you've tried to fix it and talking through your logic, more often than not you'll notice in your own explanation what the solution is.
You can talk to yourself or you can reach out to a friend, a colleague or a business coach. Remember, it's in our nature to want to solve problems, to help people, to protect so be discerning who you talk to about your problems!
#3 Be prepared
In my experienced, I've noticed that we often get stuck before a breakthrough. Sometimes that feeling of being stuck can your instincts getting you to pause for a moment. I can't help but think of the story 'three feet from gold' by Napoleon Hill. You have to be prepared for what's to come and persevere.
Are you ready for what's on the other side of a breakthrough? Are you prepared to receive what it is that you think you need to move forward from being stuck? Do you trust yourself enough to handle the next level? Are you holding yourself back because you haven't thought about the next stage?
#4 Move into momentum
There's something I always say to my clients, stay in momentum. The reason that the stats are against start up businesses is because they're starting from a standstill. Once a business gets momentum, it's easier to keep going towards success. If you start, stop, start, stop you're asking for trouble.
Don't stay still, you'll stay stuck. So move, do one thing. Then do another thing. And another. If you're really in the soup, in the thick of it then that one thing maybe to do a small task like cleaning your desk. Taking action, moving into momentum is the best medicine.
There are four things that can effectively and efficiently get you unstuck when you don't know what to do.
On a parting note, you might look back and think 'yeah I knew what I had to do and I should have fixed that sooner' or some variation of that.
The delay of not walking through step one to four often costs you more than the original problem. Don't lose momentum, I know how hard you've worked to get to where you are today.
The cost of inaction will keep you stuck for longer and cost you more than it needs to.
If you want some help, why not consider a coaching sprint? A short, sharp six week container to get you moving again?
