Why Most People Will Remain Stuck
How to not be one of them!
As long as you’re moving, it’s easier to steer! — unknown
Most people will never achieve their goals. Even the small ones.
Most people will have dreams and plans they intend to achieve.
Some people have a vision of what they want their lives to be like. They can play it out decade by decade and even bask in the feel of what it would be like.
Good intentions are great, but action wins every time!
I lived in Austin, Texas, dubbed The Live Music Capital, for many years. It seemed like nearly everyone in Austin is an aspiring musician. One woman I knew, who was a friend of a friend, had a vision of her life as a singer-songwriter.
She had a “real job” and owned a house and was doing well by most measures. But, she wanted to be part of the Austin music scene.
She wanted to be a singer-songwriter in the style of young women who document their relationship with the world through song.
She played small gigs, the sort of gigs that were “discovering new talent” which means they were free and the audience never knew what the next 30 minutes would bring.
It was just her and her keyboard.
Friends and family showed up.
It was pleasant. Not great. Not bad either, but she reached her limit of success pretty early.
Was it lack talent? Probably not, she was smart and wrote catchy lyrics. She was an okay singer and played well too.
The problem was her unwillingness to believe that, with some direction, she could continue to grow and develop her talent. She was stuck with the opinion that creativity and raw talent are enough and if you can’t make it on that alone then you’re not good enough to make it.
This is what prevents most people from getting unstuck — a belief that stops forward movement before they even get started.
The belief that getting what you want in life is only met through innate talents, a stroke of luck or Divine intervention.
I’m pretty sure this does happen for a few people. I even know someone who won a sweepstakes and it did change their lives, but are you willing to leave your life up to the fate of a billion to one odds?
The reality is that most goals happen by making small changes day by day, week by week and all of those changes add up to major successes over time.
This means that you’ll need to learn how to do something a little differently.
You’ll continue to develop your skills, so they keep evolving and you keep growing.
Growth with a direction is what keeps you unstuck.
What might have happened for my acquaintance if she had taken some voice lessons or a song writing class? It wouldn’t have meant that she was talentless, instead it could have made the difference in continuing to grow and developing the talent she already possessed.
Do you need a big plan?
Plant a good seed in the right spot and it will grow without further coaxing. — BJ Fogg
Most people believe that they need to overhaul their lives all at one time for change to happen. Sometimes this works, but usually what happens is that it’s too overwhelming. It’s just too much change all at once.
BJ Fogg a Stanford University researcher, studies what leads to long-term change.
There are 2 factors that lead to long-term change:
1. Change your environment
2. Take baby steps
When you make small changes, lasting no longer than 30 seconds and no more than 3 minutes at a time, you give yourself the gift of movement.
You have a greater chance to integrate the change into your life and the research shows that they are long lasting because it’s easier to do.
Getting unstuck is a process.
1. Set your intention.
You can create the life you want and need to have. What it takes is to spend some time to define what you really want. What is it that you need to happen — the result, don’t forget a little flexibility to account for life’s unexpected challenges.
2. Change your internal environment for growth.
Set your mindset up for growth. This will help fuel the small changes that become your daily focus.
3. Start by doing 3 baby steps a day.
Take action with baby steps. Assess how you feel and what the result of the changes are. They will be small. After a week or a month are you closer to your goal than you were last week or last month? This is how you’ll measure progress.
4. Repeat as often as necessary!
Repeat the process, making changes as you need to over time.
Keep assessing and shifting each week or month. Be honest and kind at the same time as it will allow you to make the changes you need to make with greater ease.
Keep going.
Your dreams are waiting for you to take action — one baby step at a time.
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