How to Get Unstuck and Get Things Moving in the Right Direction

Everything can be going smoothly in your life, and then it happens:  you encounter a situation that's messy and complicated.  In the blink of an eye, you find yourself going from feeling completely on top of things, to feeling totally overwhelmed.

How do you get things moving in the right direction, when you don't know what to do and you can't see a clear way forward?

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Taking Action Sets Things In Motion and Generates Momentum

The key is taking—any action—to set things in motion.  By setting things in motion, you generate momentum.  This, in turn, paves the way for more action.  You might not find an immediate solution, but you'll find yourself moving forward and making progress. 

This forward motion creates a healthy feedback loop, where you can assess how things are going and plan your next steps accordingly.
 

Questions to Help You Identify Where to Take Action
Here are some simple but powerful questions to ask yourself when you're trying to identify where and how you can take action to deal with a situation:

• Is there something I'm not doing that I can start doing?
• Is there something I'm doing that I can stop doing?
• Is there something I'm doing that I can do more of?
• Is there something I'm doing that I can do less of?

 
You can use these questions to navigate just about any situation you may be facing.  Don't like your job?  You might not be in a position to resign, but perhaps you can plan ways to upgrade your skills (start doing something.) 

Looking to lose 20 lbs and get into better shape? It's definitely going to take time to achieve that, but you can start the process by cutting out your morning donut (stop doing something), cutting back on your evening snacking (do less of something) and extending your evening walk for an extra 10 minutes (do more of something.)
 
For many situations in life, a quick and easy fix just isn't possible.  But some type of action is almost always possible.
 
Are you facing a problem situation and feeling stuck?  Oftentimes, the lack of motion around a problem can be just as discouraging as the problem itself.  Use these questions to reveal actions you can take to get things moving in the right direction, and you'll be on your way to putting that problem situation behind you.