Conquering your “Stuckness”: How to Win the Internal War and Get Back on Track

By Melanie Benson Strick | June 3rd, 2008

“I’m stuck” my client says.

“Tell me about being stuck,” I ask.

“It’s like I know what to do and I’m just not doing it. It’s almost like I see what I want, and part of me wants to create this amazing business and part of me is in fear of what my life will be like if I create it. Do I really want to have a seven figure business?”

Maybe you can relate?

Do you ever feel like part of you wants something and there is another part of you that starts freaking out at what you will have to give up in order to have the goal? That’s called a values conflict. It’s an internal war that is at the root of 95% of being stuck.

Feeling like you are stuck is actually an opportunity. The opportunity is to slow down (just enough) to listen to the voice inside that is trying to get your attention. The “feeling” of being stuck is just that…a feeling. It’s usually not real — no one poured cement around your feet so you can’t move forward.

We all have an internal protector. The protector’s job is to make sure we don’t get hurt. At some point in our life we create a picture of what we want, we get clear about priorities and values and our protector takes on the job of making sure anything that gets in the way of that gets squashed.

But what happens is that as you begin to grow and discover new goals and dreams, our protector doesn’t always get the update on what our new priorities and goals are. Often in coaching a client, we stumble into the “stuckness” and find that the protector is at war with the visionary who has new goals and dreams.

So what do you do if you find yourself stuck in the war between your protector and your visionary? Here are four of the most effective strategies to stop the internal war and get back on track.

  1. Clarify Your Values. If you are stuck then it’s quite possible you are no longer clear about what’s important to you. By spending 30 minutes reacquainting yourself with your current and desired values, you can break through just about any barrier. You see, your current results are actually a reflection of your values. If you don’t like your results, you have to look at your values first. Need help? This is one of the first steps your coach takes with you in the Fast-Track to a 6 & 7 Figure Lifestyle Business Mastermind Program. You can also do the self-study version in the ULTIMATE Success Generator.

  2. Chunk up. This is a technique to uncover what the protector and visionary share as a common goal or priority. It’s the umbrella goal – the thing that both parts of you truly want. For example: If your protector is focused on keeping you from getting too overwhelmed and the visionary is trying to build a team, the protector may feel that building a team will cause more overwhelm. But if you can see that actually both parts of you are actually pursuing more freedom, then everyone can start to play nice and support the bigger purpose!

  3. Reframe. Often times the way we have been seeing the stuckness is layered with guilt, frustration and failure. If you reframe what’s happening from being stuck into a gift that is allowing you to see something else, then we loosen the vice grip and the stuckness begins to dissolve into clarity.

  4. Release the Old. Another way we get stuck is by trying to use old skills and mindsets to solve new problems. What you did to get your business going is not going to be the same as what you do to sustain success and wealth. Be willing to let go of old ways of being, past belief systems, “the technician” behavior and make room for more effective strategies for wealth and success building.

My challenge to you is if you feel stuck (or the next time you are there) ask yourself this question. “What is being stuck protecting me from?” There is ALWAYS a reason…it’s time to tell the truth and find out. Then use one of the four strategies above to stop the war and get back on track.

Now I want to give you permission to ask for help with this. It’s not easy to look into your blindspots and uncover your own internal war. As the saying goes, “You can’t solve a problem with the same level of thinking it was created with.” That’s what coaches are for!

About the Coach:

Melanie Benson Strick, The Million Dollar Lifestyle Business Coach, teaches entrepreneurs how to stop feeling overwhelmed so they can create more money, more freedom and more prestige.

Get the Entrepreneur’s Secret Weapon to revolutionize your results and get on the fast-track to a freedom based business at www.thepowerofthevirtualteam.com

 
icon for podpress  Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (1718)

------------------------------

Spread the Word:

 digg this  del.icio.us  Technorati  Blogmemes  Ask Jeeves
 Furl  Reddit  Rojo  Simpy  Spurl
 Socialize It  Earthlink  Google  Netscape  Windows Live  Yahoo

------------------------------

6 Responses to “Conquering your “Stuckness”: How to Win the Internal War and Get Back on Track”

  1. Jill Says:

    I get stuck when moving forward means that my deepest fear may be revealed - that I’m really not as good as I say or people think I am. Is it all just smoke and mirrors?

  2. mayprilcute Says:

    the best thing that you can do if you’re stuck is RELAX and think every decision you make. I’ve read an article with regards to being stuck.It is a story about a man who always worry about everything,About his decisions in life.He’s always in the situation of being stuck.Then a man named Jesus came by.The man kept on asking Jesus what he should do with his worries,.Jesus told him to relax, worrying too much can only make things complicated.
    So, relax,take a deep breath whenever you’re stuck.it will help you decide what to do or which to choose.

    hack333
    Addiction treatment and recovery resources for the addict and their families. http://www.addictiontreatment.net
    http://www.addictiontreatment.net

  3. Kaizen Consulting Blog Says:

    Thank you for your article. Sometimes fear of failure is what holds small business owners back, which causes them to feel stuck.

  4. Melanie Benson Strick Says:

    Jill,

    Fear is always a sign. But sometimes we misinterpret the signs based on our old stories and beliefs.

    “Kaizen Consulting” noted that fear of failure can also be the culprit. So can fear of success.

    What’s most important is that when fear (or any block) is present that you find out what fear is trying to tell you so that you can deal with it and move forward. Not dealing with it is what keeps you stuck!

    If the “smoke and mirrors” is your concern then I’d ask you — do you feel in integrity with what you teach? If you are worried about “being found out” then it’s time to do your own work to get your foundation strengthened so you can leap forward.

    good luck!

    Melanie

  5. chona Says:

    When we stuck,we ought know what are our priorities in life same as our goals.I think by doing this, we can get out on that stuff and get back on track!

    _________________

    chona
    Alcohol abuse affects millions. This site has a lot of useful information
    http://www.alcoholabusecenter.com

  6. sam Says:

    good article about values. I procrastinate alot. procrastinating because I have to do something I don’t want to do. or I am afraid it won’t turn out perfect so I never get started. i don’t have a good enough self-esteem to feel confident, so the only way people will like me is if I’m perfect. i fear being rejected by people if I come up less than perfect, so I don’t do what I should. i value feeling safe and secure so I don’t take risks. by not taking risks I can’t grow.

    if I value spending time with my family, and I fear that if my business becomes successful then I won’t have time to spend with my family, then I may sabotage my efforts so that I don’t get the success I claim I want. but if my business was successful, I could afford to hire people to do some of my work, and then I’d have more time for my family. I know what to do, but i am still afraid that it won’t work out, and all that effort will be wasted.

    I am at the point where I don’t have enough time to do things. I don’t have the energy to stay up all night finishing work. I don’t have the time to keep my house clean. and many times it’s because i’m wasting time on the web like this, instead of doing what I should be doing. i’m not doing it because I don’t like the results i am getting. so it’s like I don’t have enough time as it is, so how can I ever take on more work that I need to do to become successful? i can’t afford to take a risk by paying someone to do my housework or other stuff to free up time, because my results from my current work do not bring in enough cash. so I’m afraid i’ll just be in another failure situation.

    how do I bridge the gap between where I am, feeling safe, and where I need to be?

    in other words, how do I change my values? by seeing that the value that I have are not working?

Leave a Reply


XHTML: You can use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>