I’ve been spending some time recently thinking about getting stuck and how 
to get back on track. I’ve heard from a lot of people that are going through some form of this. Whether its the winter that’s dragging on, or lack of productivity at work, it can be frustrating. But when you stop and think about it, are you REALLY struggling? Maybe you’re just bored with the status quo. When I started thinking about this is terms of progress, I came up with an interesting thought, and that is: once we make gains, we can get accustomed (or even addicted) to that feeling of progress. This can lead to 2 outcomes:
1) It can help spur further progress, or
2) It can lead to frustration
I want to take a look at the second outcome. For a personal example, I’ll discuss the diet I’ve been on for about six months. I’ve made great progress, and am genuinely happy with the changes I’ve made. I’ve been testing various maintenance strategies over the past few weeks to see what elements of the diet that I have to incorporate into my long-term lifestyle. On many days, however, I feel that I’ve plateaued, and should be more aggressive to push for more gains. I’ve come this far, so I know I have it in me to continue, and that’s a good feeling to have. But do I want to make the sacrifice necessary to push it further? At some point, there is a happy medium where I can be satisfied and hopefully I won’t beat myself up anymore. The potential solution here is that maybe I’m not really struggling and am just bored with no change.
Although I haven’t conquered this decision yet, I’ve come up with a few ideas:
- If I continue, do it in small, incremental changes. I’ve found this to be the best way to make any difficult lifestyle change. Trying to change everything all at once almost never works. It usually leads to a yo-yo effect and you can even end up in worse shape than where you started.
- Take some time to slow down and think about it. Take a few days or a week to stop beating yourself up about making progress every second, and making tough decisions. Just “live” for awhile. Spend a few minutes each day reflecting and getting yourself in a positive state of mind.
- Remember that not all change is good. This can apply to the world of finance as well. Boredom can lead to risky and often dangerous investments. Take a look at the current stock market. We’ve been at or near all-time highs for quite a few months. This can lead people into a false sense of security that its safer to invest now than any other time. Actually, the opposite is really true, but that’s for another post.
Maybe we’ve got it pretty good and don’t always remember that. In the quest for growth, its helpful to remember that there will be times in which we get frustrated. Maybe change isn’t the best thing. Maybe a little reflection and time out will be the key to future success.
What do you think?