How to Help Yourself Get Unstuck

Jul 8

JULY 8, 2024

Working hard builds character.

Working smart builds intelligence.

Doing real work builds our ability to use that more effectively.

It’s work to open our perspectives and become comfortable where we’ve been uncomfortable to make the most of our character, intelligence and potential.

Work hard and work smart. But do the real work to make the most of it.

6 months plus into the year – are you where you want to be? If you’re like many I’ve worked with recently – you might be feeling stuck. Stuck with results, situations or circumstances that maybe weren’t on your annual plan.

There are traditional approaches to getting unstuck:

There is working harder – doing the same things but more intensely. Great for building character, but not for getting unstuck.
And there is working smarter – doing the same things more efficiently. Builds intelligence, but often isn’t enough to get you unstuck.

These approaches fall short of creating real change because they only involve doing the same thing, just more of it, more efficiently. There are times when that might be the answer, but the answer to “stuck” rarely is just do more of what you’re already doing. That’s like pouring more water, more efficiently into a bucket with a hole in it. It’s a losing battle.

Getting unstuck is best served another way.

What I call doing the real work, which is an entirely different class of action. Real work is defined as the work required to make the uncomfortable, comfortable.

It’s not necessarily about more effort or more efficiency. It’s work that allows us to open our perspective. It’s work that enables us to soften our hearts to where we’re uncomfortable. It’s work that makes a fundamental difference in how we’re approaching anything – personally or professionally. It’s work that fills the hole in the bucket and lets us finally progress forward.

Now, there’s a lot happening in the world and in our lives. And psychologically, the more change and chaos we’re confronted with, the more we tend to unconsciously grab onto what we already know. We revert to familiar patterns and routines, attempting to do more of them or do them better. However, this path often leads to burnout, resignation, and disconnection.

The truth is, the more the world changes, the more we need to focus on changing ourselves – the more we need to do the real work —making significant shifts in our thinking and behavior.

So whether you’re where you want to be this year, or you’re feeling stuck, or maybe you’re feeling some of both – there’s still time. Time to make adjustments, refresh our spirit and do the real work. Sure, work hard. Definitely work smart. But make sure you’re engaged in the real work to make the most of all of it.

Key Idea

Real work is the work that makes the uncomfortable, comfortable.

Working hard builds character.
Working smart builds intelligence.
Doing real work builds our ability to use that more effectively.

It’s work to open our perspectives and become comfortable where we’ve been uncomfortable to make the most of our character, intelligence and potential.

Takeaway

Work hard and work smart. But do the real work to make the most of it.

Build your Movement

Where are you only exerting more effort to produce a result?

What would doing some real work in this area mean?