Don’t Settle For A Blocker
There are many instances in my career in which I “excused” myself from completing a task because there is a blocker. Previously a blocker is what I defined as an external factor that has stopped me from being able to complete my task.
I heard a lot of these coming out from my mouth:
- “I cannot complete the task, because Person X hasn’t given me the data.”
- “I cannot get in contact with that person, because I have no mutual friend with that person.”
- “I can’t start with the project X, because my boss hasn’t reviewed the proposal! I’ve asked him to do it 1 week ago.”
However, after some years, I noticed that these blockers has become something I’ve imposed on myself. It’s how I viewed a challenge. I didn’t view it as an opportunity to learn to tackle a problem from a new angle, I viewed it as a reason of why it’s OK for me not to complete my task — or leave it be.
So, I learned that while we might not be able to control what external challenges might come our way, we can certainly be in control of how we react to it.
Always note that, when we are blocked — we are not completely helpless. We can certainly control:
- How we analyse the blocker (why is the blocker there?)
- Determine our course of action (what can we proactively do to get rid of it? What’s next on our plate?)
When we have all these variables figured out, there is one habit that we can get rid of for sure — and that is the habit of waiting around. Waiting for someone to solve our problem, or waiting for someone to change their mind and allow us to go through with our task.
Because when you wait around, it will be impossible for you to reach your goal. Seriously, try to own your problem, don’t settle for a blocker to run your life. You will be surprised to see how satisfying it is to defeat a blocker.
