What keeps you moving forward when life gets difficult?
Sometimes life takes a direction we didn’t expect or we weren’t planning for. When we feel stuck we can become demoralised, annoyed or frustrated. When that happens we have a choice. Will we succumb to frustration or focus on what we can do.
It’s not always that easy to focus our thoughts on the things we can do. Recently I heard from a wonderful leader who said that when things get tough we have to acknowledge where we are. When we acknowledge where we are, we have a starting point.
Once we acknowledge where we are we can begin to recognise the things we can change and the things we can’t change. Sometimes the only thing we can change is our own attitude but usually there is something, however small, that we can do. What that is will depend on your own particular circumstances. I encourage you to find something however small that you can do.
Maybe it’s a call to someone for support, a friend, a counsellor or a coach. Maybe it’s something as simple as taking a walk to get some fresh air and take time to breath. One thing I find helpful is to find something small that I can do like take the dog for a walk. It’s amazing how often a simple thing like that clarifies what is important and helps me to see the next steps.
When you come to the next steps, no huge list is necessary. The next step is all you need to focus on, the next thing you can do. Is there a phone call to make, a person to speak to, an email to write. These are all things that when added up, step by step, help you get unstuck.