I was talking with a good friend today and he commented on feeling a little “stuck.” I was feeling a little stuck too, so we commiserated for a minute as friends do. That kind of talk takes you nowhere if you give it much room…so we killed it quick and moved towards how to get unstuck.
How do you get unstuck in your head and get back to achieving? Some advice I got from a mentor of mine, Dr. Tom Hill, helps me and I used some of it today-
It starts with questions- you can’t get to the right solutions if you are trying to fix the wrong problems.
Who are you spending your time with? – There’s a belief that your thinking represents the combined thinking of the 6 people outside of your family with whom you spend the most time. Getting unstuck in your mind and spirit may mean spending more time with people who have energy, purpose and achievement. Hanging around those people breaks you free from your internal gridlock just by the osmotic pressure their personal energy exudes. I think that changing up your company for a few weeks will make a difference. Changing up that list for longer can change your life. Does that mean abandoning your friends and colleagues? Maybe, but probably not. It is an issue of proportion- getting the proportions right can change your perspective dramatically.
What are you feeding your brain and your spirit? – We get a lot of junk brain food in our daily diet. For example:
- 3,000+ marketing images per day
- 400 promotional emails per month
- Countless FaceBook and other social media posts
- Radio, television and other media noise
If you want to get unstuck, change what your mental and spiritual diet. I could talk about books and articles and blogs and so on. Here’s something easier- go to Ted.org and pick a TED Talk. Best 18 minute presentations on an unbelievable number of topics from the smartest people on this planet. Feed your brain 18 minutes of brilliance every day for a week and see what it does for you.
How busy are you? With what? – People talk about being too busy- I think sometimes the opposite condition creates more trouble. If there are 5 layers of activities in your life, what level are you spending most of your time in? The definition of the layers is arbitrary, but for me the highest level professionally of time I can spend is in either creating new things or working with clients directly on their business passions. Everything else, professionally is lower on the ladder. When I am busy in level 2- 5 stuff, my spirit is dying and I am grinding. That feeling of stuck comes fast and strong on me. Busy is good, depending upon what your level of busy is in.
We ended our call with simple commitments to each other:
- Get busy and get rid of at least 10 hours of lower level stuff for the week, replacing with higher level stuff
- Call 3 people who are energy creators rather than energy takers and schedule time right away to be with them. If at all possible, determine a way to help them with what they are doing to achieve. It’s great to be part of a winning effort, ESPECIALLY if it is someone else’s.
- Read 1 brain food book and watch at least a couple of TedTalks this week.
I am almost unstuck right now- although this is not a bad strategy even if you are rolling right along.
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If you’re looking for a way to get your sales practices unstuck, I’d love it if you’d join my free Big Sale Factory Webinar next week. It’s happening on Tuesday, April 26 at 2pm EST. We’ve partnered with Hoover’s for this opportunity to introduce a new group of people to the ideas and practices that are behind everything we do at Hunt Big Sales. If you’ve never seen one of my talks or are just looking for a free refresher, I think it will definitely be worth your time.
To register, fill out the form at this link. I hope to see you there!
