- Work out if you’re stopped or stuck. You could be taking a breather or adjusting the course of the project or career approach.
- Motivate yourself – put up a sign on your fridge ‘When Stopped, Just Start’.
- Do something different until it feels like you’re back on track.
- Talk to someone, from a career buddy to a career coach.
- Reframe the goal or question.
- Ask yourself what benefits you’re getting from staying stuck. What’s the secret pay off that is more important than moving on with your project? Is it just easier to stay in this unsatisfying job?
- Do you have a commitment problem? Then rethink your goals.
- Does the side project or overall career option require you to consider gaining more skills? Then rethink your skills set and consider further study.
- Is the bottleneck you don’t have the right tools? Then get access to what you need...is it the software or just hire that suit?
- Are you going up a blind laneway? Ask yourself if you’re doing what is comfortable and a low risk or exploring a new approach that will progress your side project.
- Embrace not knowing. Our nature is to explain everything because we are uncomfortable with uncertainty. So what do you need to let go of to move on?
and remember...
The trouble with mistakes or failures is not the event itself but the negative beliefs that they may generate - I’ve failed in the past, so I’ll fail again. Repeated failures are discouraging because they reduce our expectations of future success.
Developing self-efficacy, that is, the belief in our ability to achieve the things we want, involves more than recognising our strengths and achievements. It also involves acknowledging past mistakes without exaggerating or distorting their importance. The challenge is to learn from our mistakes and to use those lessons in our new endeavours, so we can increase our chances of future success.
Thoughts from Dr Sarah Edelman, author Change Your Thinking 2012
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