Getting unstuck

Last week, my favorite author/cartoonist, Hugh MacLeod, aka Gaping Void, posted this cartoon.

How appropriate for how I’ve felt lately. Somewhat lost…knowing I need to do something…anything…but have lost motivation. I’m going through some personal development right now…having to give up something I love because it’s not healthy for me. I get so caught up in thinking one way, that it inhibits my thinking in other ways. Does that make sense?

I think all entrepreneurs go through this. Often. And it sucks. We ebb and flow through high times, low times, personal demon times, and times where we feel we can conquer the world. And this goes beyond entrepreneurs. Everyone feels this way regardless of the label you give yourself. The big question is: How do you get unstuck and out of the hole you so desperately want to climb out of? How do you let it go and move on?

I think we’re often our own worst enemies. My business coach, Deseri Garcia, just wrote a post about the “wall.” Since she’s a long-distance runner, she references this “wall” as the one who hit where you’re nearly halfway to your goal and you feel as if you can’t go on anymore. You’re ready to give up…stop…and then rationalize by telling yourself that everyone else experiences it. I do this. I’m guilty. I tell myself whatever I have to, and this has to stop. I know this.

So, maybe it’s this blog post that will gear me up. Maybe I need to write yet another song of what I’ve been going through. Or perhaps I need to look in another spot. Something new.

One of the best parts of being alive is the ability to make choices. When something isn’t working, you’re able to turn around – given you allow yourself to do that. We’re able to have the sense to learn from our ventures. Even though things may not be the “same” as they were before, we can’t view our failures as mistakes. My friend, Christian Long, will be the first to shout out the importance of failure. And failing big is where brilliance comes from.

I guess the point of this post is to give encouragement if you’re having a bad day, week, or month. It DOES pass. It WILL pass. You just have to know that it will. This is as much for me as it is for you.

So, as we enter into this beautiful fall season and fourth quarter, don’t allow external crap to get in the way of what you see as your future. Whatever you do, own it. Go big. And love life.