Find Time to Get One Step Beyond Stuck

The Time Finder with Paula Eder

The way you use your time is the way you live your life.

Find Time to Get One Step Beyond Stuck

Posted on August 31, 2010, under Time Choices, Time Management Skills.

Finding time to listen to yourself, as I mentioned last week, gives that extra spark and sparkle to your day. You are just the person to lift yourself out of the doldrums, day or night.

It can be especially important to listen to that calm, wise voice inside when you just can’t seem to budge on an important task. Call it flummoxed, frustrated or bamboozled … when you are engaged in a prized project, or even fulfilling an ornery obligation, getting stuck can sour your whole day!

So what can you do?

Here’s an excellent strategy to help you step beyond stuck: Try asking yourself questions and listening carefully to your answers. Engaging with yourself in this way will get you going again, as it helps your brain transition from old ruts to new routes.

Your goal here is to exercise your mind’s innate flexibility rather than to stay mired in a funk. Many states of mind contribute to feeling stymied, of course. Fear, self-criticism, perfectionism, and resentment can be just a few of the culprits … but fortunately, they tend to share distortions that the right questions can illuminate … and then evaporate.

Here are 2 of my favorite questions:

1) What’s the next TINY step I can take?

Being clear with yourself that this is to be a SMALL step relieves any pressure you might be feeling. When you’re stuck, any step of any size is just fine; what matters is that you mobilize yourself. You may discover that insights eluding you now will pop up once you’re fully engaged.

Chunking projects down to their smallest increments also helps you to assign a realistic time frame. This is an excellent antidote to overwhelm!

2) How would I encourage SOMEONE ELSE to proceed?

You know you give good advice! Why not benefit from some of it yourself? The inner wisdom that you tap for a friend in need is just as likely to help you!

Sometimes, all you need to do is to remove yourself from the equation. Then, the next step seems quite straightforward. Why? You are calling on a neutral, benevolent part of yourself to offer advice.

This is a wonderful conversation to cultivate throughout the rest of your project, particularly if you have been feeling helpless or self-critical! Before you know it, you will be back in the saddle, and moving in the right direction!

What if you could find another hour every day? You can! You are invited to sign up for your FREE Finding Time Success Kit. It puts 3 key tools for your time success right into your hands! Grab it and see how you can recharge your energy, reduce overwhelm and frustration, and come to learn that 24 hours really ARE enough!

Let’s explore time together …

Would you like to explore your Wise Inner Voice more fully? The next interview in my Finding Time EducationRich and HeartBased Teleseries is at 7PM (ET) on Tuesday, September 14 with Soulful Coach Joanna Lindenbaum. Our topic? Activating Your Inner Wisdom: How to Bring Joy and Success into Your Life. Sign up and join us for this free, info-packed teleclass! When you listen to that wise voice inside, the sky’s the limit!

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There are One Response to “Find Time to Get One Step Beyond Stuck”

#1 Finding Time to Turn Problems Upside Down with 3 Questions | The Time Finder with Paula Eder - 07 September, 5:34 AM

[...] helping you get unstuck. (You can read two other power questions in last week’s post “Find Time to Get One Step Beyond Stuck“) These have all proven to be remarkably effective in helping my clients move from stymied to [...]

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