Your Unique Stuckness
YOUR UNIQUE STUCKNESS
You entered into the world of entrepreneurship for reasons that only you truly know. Perhaps it was a way to be your own boss; to bring a product or service to market that would help serve others; to make a difference; to harness a passion; and last but not least, for you to be successful in all ways.
And now you are stuck.
You’re not making the progress you had hoped for by now.
How does it feel?
Not so great I imagine.
As someone who has been there, and pops back into my own mud once in a while, I get it.
But don’t worry. There is hope and a way out.
As you begin to understand that being stuck is only a temporary symptom you have created for yourself AND that you can choose to get unstuck at any time, being stuck in the future won’t drag you down as much, nor will it last as long.
How do you get out?
You start by stepping back (no pun intended) and having a good look at you and your mud from the outside in.
It’s time to grab your notebook.....
Note: As a reminder "grab your notebook" is the term I will use to signify that it is time to grab your notebook, the worksheets, or whatever medium works best for you.
EXERCISE 1 – Your Unique Stuckness – Your MUD
This exercise is all about digging into your mud – Really digging into it. The "stick your fingers into it and get all gooey" kind of digging into it.
Why?
In order to figure out what is going on, you need to dig into your mud to see how your stuckness is presenting itself so you can determine the best way to free yourself from it.
Now, before you start, here are a few things to keep in mind:
• Being stuck FEELS different for each person.
• Being stuck will SHOW UP differently in your business versus another business; even if the underlying reasons are the same.
• Being stuck will also SHOW UP differently in you – physically, mentally and emotionally – versus another business owner who is stuck; even if the underlying reasons are the same.
• Being stuck is rarely caused by one thing. It is usually from a myriad of things that collect together to become a big mound of mud.
In other words, your mud is unique to you!
When you are ready, grab your notebook & pen and open your notebook to a blank page.
Leave the top of the paper empty – you’ll be putting something there soon.
Write out your answers to the following:
Remember, don’t filter yourself. Just let your thoughts flow.
1. What is being stuck like for you?
- How is it showing up in your business (and life)? For example, is it showing up in a lack of clients, procrastination, lots of time and effort but no results, wondering if you are meant to be in business, etc.
- How does it feel? What emotions come up for you around being stuck? For example, do you feel sad, angry, frustrated, ticked, disappointed, depressed, overwhelmed, at a loss, selfish, etc.?
- Is being stuck impacting you physically and mentally? Do you have aches and pains that are new, do you feel like you aren’t good enough, smart enough, disciplined enough, educated enough, etc.
- Do you feel dis-empowered?
- What words describe best how it is for you to be stuck?
- What are the “if only” thoughts that come into your head around getting unstuck?
2. Picture your Stuckness as mud.
- Describe what your mud would look like if it was a real hunk of mud. For example...What does your mud look like? What colour is it? Is it thick or thin; lumpy or smooth? How big is it? How deep is it?
- Where are you in the mud – at the edge, right in the middle and how deep are you in it? Are you in it alone or is someone/others in it with you? Can you see a way out? When you put your foot on the gas, do your tires spin or do they have a bit of traction; do you sink further? Is your mud in the middle of nowhere or is help nearby?
3. Name your Mud
- Give your mud a name that really means something to you; a name that best represents your mud. Maybe it’s the name of a person you don’t like or a bully that intimidated you, a food you don’t like or maybe something simple like “My Mud”.
- Put the name of your mud at the top of your mud notes (your paper) in big bold letters. If you want, you can underline it, put a box around it, use a different colour pen so it stands out, etc.
4. Lastly, write about how it feels to get all of your mud down on paper?
- Do you feel better, worse, freed in some way or overwhelmed? As you read over your notes does getting unstuck seem impossible, doable or maybe a combination?
How did you do?
Were you able to describe your mud? Did you come up with a name; a label that suits your mud? Are you beginning to see that your mud is in your life right now, but it is not you – it is separate from you?
The purpose of this exercise was to provide you with a container to capture all of the components that make up your mud so you don’t have to keep it all inside of you. Why? Because that’s way too much weight to carry around and a lot of remembering.
By describing what you mud looks like, you have created a mental image and our brains LOVE images. Images are much easier and faster for our brain to process.
By naming your mud, you have created an identifying label for everything that is your mud.
By doing this, you have created an entity that is separate from you! This entity that you have identified, containerized and named is in your life right now, but it is not you. It is separate from you.
Think of this entity (your named mud container) like a jar of mixed nuts. You know it contains a variety of nuts and seasoning, but you don’t read the ingredients each time. Instead, you only need to think of mixed nuts to get a mental image and to know what it is. The same is true of your mud. You can look at the container that holds it as a whole or check out all the bits inside of it whenever you want. You also know that container of mud is not you. It is something you bring into your experience whenever you choose and you can let it go whenever you choose. Don’t worry, we’ll get to the letting go soon enough.
Over time, as you go through this course, you will see how the look of your mud and how it shows up will change. It will change from being something that stops you to something that has no power over unless you choose to give it power. You will see that you have created the mud for yourself and that you have the ability to let it go.
While it may not feel like it right now, your mud is not YOU, and understanding that is the first step to seeing that you have the power over it, not the other way around.
When you are ready, please proceed to the next exercise in this lesson.
EXERCISE 2 – Why Now?
Everyone reaches out for guidance and education for different reasons and at different times. You are no different. This next exercise is to help you document why. It’s important for you to understand the why because often times it will unearth the root problem that is holding you back; has you stuck or be a key to getting unstuck.
Remember, getting unstuck is a little like panning for gold. You can be in an area where gold has been found, but sometimes you need to pan through a lot of riverbeds to find the gold. You why now might be a small nugget that is part of a bigger claim.
When you are ready, grab your notebook & pen and open your notebook to a blank page.
At the top, write “Why Now?"
Write out your answers to the following.
- What brought you to reach out for help? Was it a particular event that triggered it? Was it a series of events? What was it that finally made you decide to reach out?
- What made you choose this courseover the many other courses and programs available? (Hint….there’s something about this course that resonated with you). Perhaps it was a word, the layout, etc. There was something.
- Why now? Why not enroll last week, last year, tomorrow, next month?
- Something caused you to enroll NOW. What was it?
Feel free to add any additional thoughts as well.
When you are ready, please click on the "Complete and Continue" button on the top right side of this page, then proceed to the next unit in this course.