Solving for the White Space When You Realize You’ve Gotten Stuck
Posted on October 21, 2020 by MELISSA ANDERSON, One of Thousands of Business Coaches on Noomii.
Perspective Design is about creating solutions to get 'unstuck.'
Do you ever get the feeling that you are running in place, or running uphill, or that maybe you’re not running towards anything at all at all? Do you feel somewhat stagnated? Or perhaps it’s less stagnation and more of a general sense of feeling “stuck.” Well, don’t worry, because it happens to the best of us.
Being stuck often means you feel as if you lack options and resources to create the necessary change you need to move forward. Sometimes, that stuckness can feel like quicksand, pulling you farther and farther away from remembering what happiness even looks like. This translates to our finances, our careers, and even our relationships with others (including our bosses and teams). The mentality of this stuckness is limiting and living in it day in and day out creates a roadblock toward clarity.
Whether you are a C-suite executive or a new associate, it’s inevitable that somewhere along your career journey you will be faced with challenges, roadblocks and a general sense of running around the proverbial hamster wheel. As a leadership and business coach, I’m here to tell you that you shouldn’t worry too long, because there is always solution and you already have the answer!
Start by acknowledging that you’re stuck
First know that there is no “magic pill” that will solve everything for you, but you can create the first step towards creating more abundant success in your job or life by asking yourself some important questions:
Do you feel like you are growing, doing what you love and living your dreams? If you answered “no” to any of the above, the next question is are you willing to do something about it?
On a scale of 1-10, how much you want/desire to be happier, to prosper, to achieve your goals?
In order to move from surviving to actually thriving, and lifting the fog around the stuckness, first acknowledge that you’re stuck. Secondly, you have to be motivated enough to realize that you aren’t living up to your fullest potential. Third, do something about it!
Implement the Perspective Design Approach
I have a coaching philosophy around how to achieve success in life, and it’s simply based on the power of perspective: I call it Perspective Design.
If you think about it, most of us view life through a singular vantage point. We see and interpret the world based on our own experience and how we feel about it, including how and what we perceive as our roadblocks. Here’s what you can do to solve for the white space and get unstuck.
Look at your approach from three-perspectives:
yours (singular-data point)
another’s (secondary-data point)
and the heaviest hitter and most productive,
from an innovation-perspective.
In other words, to gain further clarity, you may consider an alternative option or perspective, like when you consult a friend or ask a peer’s opinion. What do they see from their lens? Is there new information that you hadn’t considered yet?
With an additional perspective, you add to your arsenal of resources to make decisions. The real magic happens when you’re able to step outside of your current point of view and move into the white space of creation, where innovation happens.
Perspective Design is about the ability for an individual (or group of individuals) to see beyond the limited perceptions of what currently ‘is’ (for example, stuckness). It’s about thinking more expansively about how to create a new reality beyond what exists today. Even if that reality is unimagined, when you are able to consider the endless options available, you’ll be able to uncloud your perspective. In coaching, this is the idea generation and brainstorming portion of how to create movement in a new direction.
This requires expanding your abstract thinking skills which, with the right level of conditioning and practice, can help move you quickly and effortlessly into a Perspective Design shift, whenever you need it the most!
Make Time and Take Time to Get Unstuck
New job? No problem! Want a raise? Go get it! Want to be a stronger leader? All you have to do is think about how to change your perspective on your approach. If you could carve out 10 minutes each day to apply innovative thinking to your life, imagine how you might get unstuck and move closer to your dreams more quickly!
When put into practice, you’ll gain the capacity and wherewithal to redirect yourself when you get stuck in habitual patterns that no longer serve you. As you learn how to apply Perspective Design, you’ll be able to create new opportunities for yourself.
Discover more about getting “unstuck” and about the powerful coaching and consulting work by Boxtheoutside: www.boxtheoutside.com.
